Allegories of Writing presents the first full synthesis of allegory theory and literary metamorphosis. It examines the leading themes and the literary transformations of metamorphic narratives. By applying current theories of the text and the subject to metamorphic tales from Homer, Plato, and Apuleius to Keats, Kafka, and Calvino, this book recovers the critical force of metamorphosis in secular Western literature.

The author clarifies the cultural history of literary metamorphosis from the perspective of allegory theory. At the core of the study are the connections among Plato's Phaedrus, Apuleius's Golden Ass, Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, and Keats's Lamia. Other primary texts are arranged around this core by their significant participation in the ironic literary deployment of metamorphic devices.