How does digression function in Hero and Leander?

There are numerous embedded narratives and
other insertions in the main story of Marlowes . The three lengthier ones
involve Leander and Neptune, Mercury and the country maid, and Cupid and the Destinies. The
digressions perform a number of functions out of which the two prominent may be mentioned
here.

Although all of the digressions in the poem interrupt the development
of the core plot, they are related to the two protagonists circumstances. Leanders strife with
Neptune (2nd Sestiad) prepares for the outcome of the main story: Leanders death in the waters
of the Hellespont. Similarly, Mercurys courtship of the country maid (1st Sestiad) foreshadows
the ultimate tragic end of the principal love story. This method is also illustrated by the
interaction between Cupid and the Destinies (1st Sestiad). Cupid flies to the Destinies to plead
with them on the lovers behalf. But the pitiless sisters deny his request, which emphasizes the
idea of the impending doom of the protagonists. So one of the functions of the digressions in
the poem is to mirror and thus enhance the main theme of the narrative.

The
other function of the various digressions is more of a structural and formal nature. By
incorporating lateral elements into the plot, Marlowe employs such a literary technique as
dilation. The embedded narratives and other digressions postpone the consummation of the
protagonists union and their ultimate downfall. Marlowe plays with the readers expectations. He
first intimates that the poem will end in a . But then, by dilating the plot through various
comic scenes that retard the action, he achieves a transformation of a generic nature. His
Hero and Leander does not fit the category of pure or absolute tragedy in the
classical sense.