A Comparison Between Two Poets and Their Poems

It seems that they both fall in love spontaneously upon first sight. Although many people view this occurrence as a strictly mythic happening, Marlowe states his belief that, "What we behold is censured by our eyes .Who ever loved, that loved not at first sight?" (174)" .
             The power of appearance was not the only generality presented by Marlowe in the work, though. He makes several sweeping statements in the poem wherein he seems to try to pigeonhole different aspects of love and make them reasonable, and thus more controllable. He does state at one point that, "It lies not in our power to love or hate, For will in us is overruled by fate (167)." However, a person reading Marlowe's poem who was not familiar with the concept of love might begin to believe that, while the initial feeling of love was uncontrollable, the persuasion of one to act of these feelings was in fact quite formulaic. In the section of the work when Leander is trying to convince Hero to succumb to his advances, the rational tone of the poem is emphasized. Leander insists that she will not lose any honor if she has sex with him, stating that she has no honor to lose. After all, isn't honor something that is earned with time and deeds? If hero was not born with any honor, she has nothing to lose by having sex with him, since "Honor is purchased by the deeds we do (280)." In this way Leander refutes the idea that a woman's maidenhead is a virtue to be kept. This aspect of Marlowe's work is echoed later on by the poet Marvell in his work "To His Coy Mistress." That work as well emphasized the rational, and disregarded the notion that anything meaningful would be lost if one were to engage in premarital sex. The practice of attempting to talk women into engaging in acts which they are reluctant, for one reason or another, to do, is explained at one point by Marlowe. He says, "Maids are not won by brutish force and might But speeches full of pleasure and delight (419).