Theme of Fate Versus Free Will in Sophocles

I simply want to be dead.        Weeping she left me        with many tears and said this:        Oh how badly things have turned out for us.        Sappho, I swear, against my will I leave you. Step 1.  Identify the work, the approximate date of the work, its author, who is speaking, to whom he or she is speaking (if applicable), and the significance of the quote to the work as a whole. Write 1 blue-book page. Step 2. Choose one of the following questions and write a short essay (two blue-book pages) in response. Develop a relevant thesis and support your discussion with textual evidence. Include quotes and line citations from the readings. (You don’t need to quote any outside sources.) Identify your essay with the letter of the question.   A.   Discuss the theme of fate versus free will in Sophocles’ tragic play Oedipus the King. How much of what happens to Oedipus is fate, and how much is the result of his own free will? Do you think Oedipus makes mistakes when he exercises his free will? What turns out to be stronger in the play, fate or free will? Include quotes, with line citations, to support your statements.   B.   Discuss Hamlet’s treatment of women in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Hamlet is the hero, with many good qualities. Nevertheless, he has “issues” with the main female characters in the play: Queen Gertrude (his mother) and Ophelia (daughter of Lord Chamberlain Polonius). Why is Hamlet at odds with these women? Do you understand his actions? Do you think he is treating his mother and Ophelia unfairly? Bring in quotes—with act, scene, and line citations—to support your statements.