The Interpretation of Marlowe’s Hero and Leander Poem in Correlation with Elizabethan Era

Abstract

This research aims to discover the relation between the historical background in the Elizabethan Era and the poem by Christopher Marlowe entitled Hero and Leander which is written during this Era (published in 1598) and the characters’ gender orientation which are also influenced by the Era. This research uses descriptive-qualitative method since the data is collected by reading then it is identified and analyzed by the writers about the characters’ gender orientation of Marlowe’s Hero and Leander poem. In analyzing the data, for the maindata, the writers usetheprimary data source. As it is a poem that isobserved, the writer uses Hero and Leander poem by Christopher Marlowe, from Renaissance Edition text transcribed by Bear, January 2001, from the 1598 edition (STC number 17413). In order to present the data that has been collected and analyzed, the writer uses thedescriptive technique. It finds that the romantic theme is greatly influenced by the Elizabethan Era and the Roman mythological elements described in the poem. Ambiguous gender orientation also could be discovered in this narrative poem.