the root of his own downfall'.

The greatest protagonists aren't perfect people.

Like any human being they have their faults.

"- I'm not perfect."

- Sometimes, one of these shortcomings ultimately results in their undoing.

How does a writer create a great tragic flaw?

And what makes the storytelling trick so powerful?

This is Page to Picture.

How to Write a Tragic Flaw?

Before we get started, don't forget to subscribe to StudioBinder and

turn on notifications to stay in the know on all things filmmaking.

We will be spoiling the following movies.

Let's begin.

Tragic flaws in storytelling were first outlined by Aristotle in his "Poetics".

The philosopher referred to the character devices as Hamartia,

which is defined as a fault in a character that results in their ruination.

Ancient Greeks believed that Hamartia was a work of fate.

That a character's imperfections would karmically lead them to tragedy.

"- You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain."

- Hamartia can be seen in countless characters throughout

the history of storytelling.

"- Say my name."

- From Oedipus belief he can cheat the gods,

to Frankenstein's blind confidence in scientific progress.

"- Now I know what it feels like to be God!"

- As such, Hamartia can also take numerous forms.

"- What's my flaw? - Your temper."

- A character's fatal flaw may be arrogance, naivete,

jealousy, dishonesty, or countless other faults.

"- And I'm Ron Burgundy.

Go f*ck yourself San Diego.

For the last time, anything you put on that prompter Burgandy will read."

- In addition to a character's downfall humartia typically involves irony and moral.

For example, Daniel Plainview Hamartia is greed.

"- I drink your milkshake!

I drink it up!"

- The irony is that although he ends up with enormous wealth, he has

none of what actually matters.

The moral then is that a ruthless pursuit of money results in selling your soul.

"- I'm going to Mexico with my wife.

I'm going away from you.

- This makes you my competitor.

- No. No, it's not like that. - It is like that."

- There are a few techniques which writers often employ to make the

downfall, irony, and moral land.

First and foremost, it is crucial to show the consequences of the flaw.

When writing with Humartia, it's important to establish how

it affects both the character.

"- We spare no expense.

Spare no expense. Spare no expense.

We spared no expense.

No expense."

- And the people around them.

"- Look out! - Get down!"

- William Shakespeare's Hamlet has one of the most famous uses of Hamartia.

And this is partially because Shakespeare is sure to emphasize the

consequences of Hamlet's tragic flaw.

The play follows a young prince as he embarks on avenging his father's death.

But Hamlet is plagued with a tragic flaw.

Indecision.

As his famous speech outlines.

"- To be or not to be.

That is the question."

- Throughout the story, the prince wavers back and forth, unsure whether to

kill his uncle, the perpetrator of his father's murder, and he's constantly

finding reasons to delay his attack.

In Act 3, Scene 3, he decides not to kill Claudius because he's prey.

"- It is heavy with him. And am I then revenged to take him

in the purging of his soul?

When he is fit and seasoned for his passage.

No.

Up sword, and know thou are more horrid hent."

- We see the effect of hamartia in "Hamlet" almost immediately.

It plunges him into despair.

"- Oh, that this too, too solid flesh would melt thaw, and resolve itself into a dew."

- The indecision also affects the people around Hamlet.

It results in the prince killing the wrong man in the play's third of five acts.

And by having this critical mistake occur so early, Shakespeare can showcase

the domino effect of Hamlet's flaw.

"- Is it the king?

- Oh, what a rash. A bloody deed is this.

- A bloody deed almost as bad, good mother, as kill a king and marry with his brother.

- As kill a king?

Ay, lady, it was my word."

- The man Hamlet accidentally killed was his lover, Ophelia's father

and his death drives Ophelia mad with grief, resulting in her own demise.

This makes her brother Laertes hell-bent on killing Hamlet

setting up the final showdown.

In the final battle, Laertes fights with a poison blade

that will result in the ultimate death of both Hamlet and himself.

And Hamlet's uncle accidentally poisons Hamlet's mother.

This means that when Hamlet finally kills his uncle, Shakespeare

has already set up the irony.

Hamlet has avenged his father, but only after everyone else he loves has died.

Literary critic Paul Cantor prescribes the irony to Hamlet's tragic flaw.

- He does try to be everything and in a way that attempted

comprehensiveness cancels out.'

- In the end, the moral is abundantly clear, indecisiveness can be deadly.

Another key element to a powerful tragic flaw is making it central to the story.

Some of the best uses of Hamartia drive the narrative forward.

"- Listen, I had a heart attack.

And I just thought I needed to tell you."

- In other words, the character's flaw plays a primary role in each decision

they make throughout the story.

"- Your heart. - My heart? My heart's still taking.

- Yeah, but the doctor said. - I know what I'm doing.

You know, the only place I get hurt is out there."

- Darren Aronofsky's "Black Swan" uses Hamartia to propel its spiraling plight.

"- It's my turn."

- Nina's tragic flaw is her insatiable drive for perfection.

Aronofsky and screenwriters Mark Heyman, Andres Heinz, and John

McLaughlin established this trait within the first minutes of the film.

Nina dreams of getting the lead role in Swan Lake.

And all of her actions are in pursuit of this goal.

The screenplay emphasizes Nina's drive for perfection in its lines on page two.

She moves in precise motions and is obsessed with doing everything correctly.

By highlighting Nina's Hamartia so early and so clearly, Aronofsky and the writers

establish that this drive for perfection is going to be the center of the film.

Nina's tragic flaw is accentuated by the world in which "Black Swan" takes place.

Ballet is a notoriously cutthroat and perfectionist field, especially

in its upper echelons, like the New York City Ballet Company.

"- Attack it!"

- As such, everyone around Nina only accentuates her hamartia.

"- Vanilla with strawberry filling. - Oh, Mom, not too big.

My stomach's still in knots."

The director, Thomas, is manipulative and rarely satisfied with Nina's performance.

"- Maybe you need a little break. Like a day or two.

- Thomas. - Or maybe a month.

- What do you think? - She shouldn't have said anything.

- No, you shouldn't be whining in the first place.

- I didn't.

- You could be brilliant.

But you're a coward.

Sorry.

- Now stop saying that!

That's exactly what I'm talking about!

Stop being so f*cking weak!

Again!"

- Lily, meanwhile, acts as a threat to Nina's ascension to the lead role.

"- What's she doing here?

He made me your alternate."

- This sequence illustrates how Lily's presence exacerbates Nina's tragic flaw.

In the action, the writers highlight that Nina is fueled by the competition and

that she is pushing herself to her limits.

Nina's Hamartia acts as the root of her inner turmoil.

Her drive for perfection results in paranoia, and even hallucinations.

By the film's final act, Nina's downfall is all but inevitable.

Her final lines highlight the dark irony of the situation.

"- I'm perfect. - What?

- I'm perfect."

- She has achieved perfection.

But it cost her her sanity, and perhaps her life.

"- It was perfect."

- By centering the film around Nina's Hamartia, Aronofsky and the screenwriters

create a gripping character study with a powerful moral, that ruthless pursuit

of perfection can result in pain.

Darren Aronofsky notes that by focusing on Nina's Hamartia,

a film about a very specific world can become universal.

- I think it's about performance and performers, and I think anyone that

makes sacrifices for their art, or for their work, or for anything, you

know, that they can relate to it.

- To further heighten the tragedy of Hamartia,

it is crucial for a writer to give their character a chance to change.

"- You underestimate my power!

- Don't try it!"

- By definition, a protagonist doesn't overcome their tragic flaw.

That's why it's tragic.

"- I'm finished."

- But writers would typically keep their audiences engaged by giving

the flawed character multiple chances to better themselves.

"- Give me your hand. Give me your other hand!"

- This approach can also sharpen the irony and moral of a story.

As is the case in the Coen Brothers, "Burn After Reading".

"- I can't believe this.

This is like, intelligence sh*t."

- The duo's farce of the U. S. intelligence community

uses Hamartia to create a chaotic situation that

could have easily been avoided.

"- This is a crucifixion!

This is political!

And don't tell me it's not!"

- Because it is an ensemble film

multiple characters have fatal flaws.

Harry is paranoid.

"- Who are you?

- What?

- Who are you? The CIA?

NSA? You're military?"

- Osbourne is prideful.

"- Is that goat cheese? - Chevron.

Yes, that is a goat cheese.

- Because I have a lactose reflux and I can't...

- You're lactose intolerant?

- Yeah, but I can't... - Or you have acid reflux.

They're different things.

- I know what they are. - So you misspoke.

- Well, thank you for correcting me."

- Linda is vain.

"- I need those surgeries, Ted.

- You're a beautiful woman.

- I have gone just about as far as I can go with this body."

- And Chad is plain dumb.

"- I know who the guy is.

- The guy?"

- Each character's demise is entirely self-inflicted.

And as such, they have plenty of opportunities to remove

themselves from their situations.

"- Ah! Ah! Ah!"

- Harry can stop cheating.

"- You kidding? Pull around the corner, we'll do it in the back."

- Osborn can stop engaging with Linda and Chad.

"- What you're engaged in is blackmail.

That is a felony, that's for starters."

- And Linda and Chad can stop blackmailing.

"- I'm sorry I'm calling at such an hour, but I thought you might be more...

about the security...

of your sh*t."

- Ted acts as the voice of reason throughout the film, reminding Linda and Chad that

everything they do is voluntary, as we see in this climactic conversation.

"- This whole thing's crazy. It was crazy the first time. You want to do it again?

Break into the man's house? What?

You said the Russians didn't even want this stuff.

- My world is bigger than that, Ted.

There are other people.

They're the Chinese.

- Linda, these surgeries...

- No, it's not about the surgeries, Ted.

We can use this as leverage to get Chad back.

- What do you mean, get him back?

- Information is power, Ted. Hello?"

- This ensemble of tragic flaws allow the Coen brothers to create

an increasingly convoluted plot where the stakes feel high.

"- But what if I had, uh, oh say, secrets of a highly, secrets that

might interest the organs of this?

- Yes."

- In reality, any character for most of the film can get out

of their downward trajectories.

"- Harry, stop the foolishness."

- This creates the final irony.