Hero and Leander

I love this poem. It is very beautiful. It is somewhat lengthy but readable. I generally struggle with more complicated poetry. It should be noted that Christopher Marlowe died without completing this poem. This Kindle Edition reflects this. Others did render ends to this work.I have read some, but not all of the works of Christopher Marlowe. He is a contemporary of Shakespeare. I generally find Marlowe more easily read than Shakespeare. This may be because he died young and did not have a chance to mature and evolve as Shakespeare did.Although readable, this poem is full of allusions to other mythology. Therefore a reader such as I can do a great deal of studying and there by learn a much more than by just reading this poem. This is part of the experience as far as I am concerned.

The only reason I read this was for a class, my professor says that there is supposed to be humor...I got some of it. But, all in all, not my cup of tea.

I was disappointed when I received this product. It is so thin it is barely a book, and more like a leaflet. The text on the pages is really small with a lot of empty space all around it. There is nothing but the poem i.e. no introduction. I am a literature student and would rather have printed the poem for myself from an online source. I don't think this product is worth the money.

excellent service and product

Based on Ovid's Heroides 18 and 19, Marlowe goes much further than Ovid and creates a marvellous epyllion (mini epic) that engages deeply with Renaissance issues of gender allocation and the erotic.In some ways this is almost a poem about masculine coming of age as the boy Leander with his effeminised boyish beauty that seduces Neptune in a wonderful set piece become a man (and is likened to Hercules) after he consummates his relationship - at last - with the beautiful Hero.Witty, playful and often very beautiful, this shows Marlowe at his comic best.

There is speculation as to whether Marlowe died leaving this work unfinished or if he intended the conquest of Hero to be the end, rather than the traditional ending of the lover's deaths. Personally I would have liked to have read all the way up to the end of their story - this would have ensured the emphasis was on their deep and undying love for each other - rather than the sexual aspect and the questionable way in which Leander makes his conquest.However, the story does seem finished and has no sudden cut off point. I enjoyed the poetic aspect and the incredible way it was crafted. Only 4 stars - I found the pursuit of the chaste Hero's virginity a less than noble theme and a little annoying. But in a nutshell - a serious classic, and well worth a read.