Melpomene lyrical poetry), Terpsichore (muse of dancing), Erato (muse of erotic poetry), Thalia (muse of comedy), Polyhymnia (muse of hymns), and Urania (muse of astronomy). She is also the mother of several of the Sirens, the divine handmaidens of Kore (Persephone/Proserpina) who were cursed by her mother, Demeter/Ceres, when they were unable to prevent the kidnapping of Kore (Persephone/Proserpina) by Hades/Pluto. In Roman and Greek poetry, it was traditional to invoke the goddess Melpomene so that one might create beautiful lyrical phrases (see Horace's Odes). Melpomene Melpomene (; ), initially the Muse of Chorus, she then became the Muse of Tragedy,
Erotic literature eroticism for which his poetry is noted resulted in W H Smith's banning of his "The Pleasures of the Flesh" (1966) from their shops. Canadian poet John Glassco wrote "Squire Hardman" (1967), a long poem in heroic couplets, purporting to be a reprint of an 18th-century poem by George Colman the Younger, on the theme of flagellation. The Australian poet Colin Dean as listed in the Australian Literature Resource database has an immense output of erotic verse e.g. Scribd. He has written erotic poetry in many genres: surrealist; imagist; Gothic; Phantasy; Decadent; and on Japanese, Chinese, Arabic and Indian themes.