What a strange poem. Before being assigned it for my Intro to British and American Lit class, I had honestly never heard of it or the mythological tale that inspired Marlowe's pen. Even so, I thought it was a beautiful piece. The writing is brilliant, and I'm beginning to agree with the assertions some scholars make that had he been given a longer time on earth, Marlowe's body of work would have rivaled that of Shakespeare's. His use of imagery is absolutely exquisite.

But there's more to Hero and Leander than a collection of pretty words. Artifice and honesty, nature and deception, male and female forms, adoration and sex and displaced desire . . . the relation of all these things, and more, can be found within this relatively short, unfinished epic. (Relatively short, because I spent the first few weeks of the semester wrestling with one-fourth of Paradise Lost, and I was able to finish Hero and Leander in less than an hour.)

If you enjoy early modern poetry--or even if you don't, but you're willing to give it a try--Hero and Leander might be a good start. I wholeheartedly recommend it.