Ribald Classic: The Loves Of Hero And Leander
December, 1975
Christopher Marlowe's unfinished "Hero and Leander," a retelling of the Greek legend of the two lovers, is one of the best-known poems in English literature. Its brilliant style and sensuous descriptions made it a 17th Century favorite--and a ripe subject for parody. In 1651, Dr. James Smith, an Anglican clergy man who moonlighted as a poet, wrote an anonymous burlesque called "The Loves of Hero and Leander," in which the noble lovers in Marlowe's verse were transformed into...
