Genna+B.

 Parallels from Different Time Periods

A Shakespearian figure and a Hollywood icon seem to have nothing in common **(great opening sentence)**. This is proven to be false when comparing the characteristics and lives of Marilyn Monroe and Lady Macbeth. Although they are centuries apart, they still share many commonalities. and Marilyn Monroe both had a great deal of strength, similar relationships, and devastating downfalls. They are easily compared because of the very qualities that they have and how they use them.**(excellent intro.)**

Strength was the most prominent characteristic that both Lady Macbeth and [|Marilyn Monroe] had. Monroe was an idol in Hollywood. She created a name for herself, and at the time, everyone knew of her. Her blonde curls and white dress became iconic in the eyes of most Americans. She worked very hard her entire life while her fame surpassed that of any other entertainer during her time. “I don’t mind living in a man’s world as long as I can be a woman in it”.**(Incorporate this quote more smoothly)** She embraced her femininity and used it to overcome the many challenges that she faced. Her perseverance helped her obtain many things during her life.

Lady Macbeth also exuded strength throughout Shakespeare’s //Macbeth.// When Macbeth was wary about his murder of Duncan, Lady Macbeth stood strong and questioned his manhood. She had a great influence over Macbeth because of her vast amount of self-confidence and undeniable strength. Without her, Macbeth would not have had that final push to follow through with his furtive **(great diction!)** plans. Both women have the strength to overcome the obstacles that surrounded them. To Marilyn, her troubles came from celebrity status and the Hollywood society. Lady Macbeth overcame her conspiracy in the murder **(overcame her conspiracy? - awkward - rephrase)** of Duncan while Macbeth was still struggling with it.

The strong qualities of the two females also become apparent through their relationships. It was not mentioned in the text, **(Use a semicolon instead of a comma, and place a comma after however)** however Lady Macbeth was previously married to a man named Gillacomean. Lady Macbeth had a son with Gillacomean named Lulach. He was briefly recognized as king but was defeated at Essie, Aberdeenshire in 1058. Lady Macbeth later marries Macbeth. In her relationships she played the dominant role. She is able to manipulate Macbeth, especially during the time when Macbeth was indecisive about the plan to kill Duncan, “What beast was’t then/ that made you break this enterprise to me?/ When you durst do it, then you were a man; /And to be more than what you were, you would /be so much more the man” (1.7.48-50). Lady Macbeth is able to attack Macbeth’s manhood in order to force her husband to agree and follow through with the plan.  Marilyn also played the prevailing role in her marriages. She had one previous marriage and one other marriage which had the most significance during her lifetime. Monroe’s second marriage was to Joe DiMaggio. They had a strong relationship, but first ended **(first ended? - awkward)** because Marilyn had such success with her career which was overwhelming for DiMaggio.  The last similarity between the historical figure Marilyn and Shakespeare’s Lady Macbeth is the downfall that ended each one’s life. Lady Macbeth’s conditions worsen from her guilty conscious of assisting the murder of Duncan. She sleepwalks, and is haunted by visions of spots on her hands which she cannot wash off:  Out, dammed spot! Out, I say! One: two: why, then ‘tis time to do’t. Hell is murky. Fie, my lord, fie! A soldier, and afeard? What need we fear who knows it, when none can call our pow’r to accompt? Yet who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him? (5.1.36-41)  Although Lady Macbeth is not directly responsible for the act that was committed, she is tormented into madness by the guilt having pushed her husband to his state of tyranny. Apparently at then **(the)** end of the play Lady Macbeth commits suicide right before the battle between Macbeth and Macduff. The play does not explicitly reveal her cause of death, but she is one of Shakespeare’s most talked about female lead roles because of the complexity of her character. ` Marilyn Monroe’s tragic death occurred on August 5, 1962. Parallel to Lady Macbeth, Marilyn’s **(cause of)** death is unknown. It was possibly the result of a tragic accidental drug overdose, or possibly administered by someone other than Marilyn herself. When Marilyn died, she was engaged to Joe DiMaggio, and had finally agreed to remarry him just four short months after she passed away. Monroe’s Hollywood fame ended up leading to drug therapy and routinely psychotherapy. “I knew I belonged to the public and to the world, not because I was talented or even beautiful, but because I had never belonged to anything or anyone else.” **(good quote - but incorporate in a smooth way)**  Marilyn Monroe and Lady Macbeth are two of the last women **(What does this mean? two of the last women?)** to be considered parallels. Throughout research, more similarities became apparent. Although these women lived during completely opposite time periods, their strengths as women, relationships, and downfalls that ended each ones **('s)** life were exceptionally comparable.