Oh, Shakespeare

I have been looking at some of the common themes in Shakespeare's tragedies.  A big one is fate: are we subject to destiny, or are we able to make our own decisions?  Hamlet's fate is that he must kill his uncle to avenge his father.  Throughout the play, he struggles against his fate, so at the end, once he has finally accepted it, he dies.  Was his destiny unavoidable, or could he have lived if he had simply avenged his father at the beginning?  Was it really fate, or simply his own nature that led to his demise?

Romeo and Juliette were destined to end sadly.  Their love was forbidden, and they were unwilling to forget each other.  Their fate was to end tragically.  But were they simply the product of fate, or were their actions what led to their demise?

Finally, Macbeth.  When the witches foretold his destiny, was he already bound to be king?  Or, by hearing the prophecy, did he choose to follow a path that would fulfill the prophecy?  These questions are never answered, and the reader is left to wonder whether the witches told Macbeth his fate out of spite, or gave him a destiny that would lead to chaos in Scotland.

Shakespeare did a great job of subtly exploring the idea of fate.  Although most of the characters are never told their fate, they are all subject to what would seem to be an unavoidable end.  However, was it really fate, or did they have the ability to choose a different end?  At what point do you seal your fated doom?  This are questions that society has always struggled with, although rarely as openly as the Greeks.  We use excuses of "that's just how I am"  but are we really saying "that's just the way it was meant to be?"  Shakespeare was very good at using themes that echo in the hearts of his audience, and those themes are still applicable today.
So I leave you with the question: is it fate or choice?