Context
- Publication: Printed in 1598 by Edward Blount for Adam Islip. Chapman's additions were included in the 1600 and 1606 editions, printed for John Flasket. EEBO link.
- Scholarship: Scholars read Hero and Leander to analyze Marlowe's interpretation of the Ovidian tradition and his representation of rhetoric.
- Why I'm reading it: The Canon, vision, satire-fodder (for Jonson).
Content
- Form: Iambic pentameter, rhymed couplets. Two sestiads by Marlowe, four by Chapman.
- Genre: Amorous epic (as opposed to heroic).
- Conceit: Heavy classical reference: the rough seas of the Hellespont separate Hero from Leander; Hero is Venus' nun; each body is the object of mythical comparison.
- Other notes: Marlowe's classicism may not be entirely sincere, considering the frequent shifts of voice, anachronisms, and the "something is lacking" ending to the 1598 edition.
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