This lively and innovative work treats a body of literature not previously regarded as a unified genre. Offering comparative readings of a number of texts that are traditionally called allegories and that cover a wide time span, Maureen Quilligan formulates a vocabulary for talking about the distinctive generic elements they share. The texts she considers range from the twelfth-century to Pynchon's , and include such works as , Langland's , Hawthorne's , Melville's , and Spenser's . Whether or not readers agree with this book, they will enjoy and profit from it.