Hamartia arose from the Greek verb hamartanein, meaning "to miss the mark" or "to err." Aristotle introduced the term in the Poetics to describe the error of judgment which ultimately brings about the tragic hero's downfall. As you can imagine, the word is most often found in literary criticism. However, media writers occasionally employ the word when discussing the unexplainable misfortune or missteps of celebrities regarded as immortal gods and goddesses before being felled by their own shortcomings. For example, Alex Shephard wrote in The New Republic in 2018 that "[Bobby] Kennedy's ruthlessness and ambition, which are treated as the family's hamartia ..., are swept under the rug of his compassion."
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Kennedy’s ruthlessness and ambition—which are treated as the Kennedys’ hamartia in Chappaquiddick—are swept under the rug of his compassion.—Alex Shephard, The New Republic, 30 Apr. 2018
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