ABSTRACT
Apuleius’ Metamorphoses. In all four cases I am indebted to the work of other critics and my readers will find a greater level of reference to discussions in the secondary literature than in earlier chapters, which will accordingly allow them to pursue the debates in greater depth. I have chosen these four examples to offer an introduction to the role of metapoetics in Latin literature, all the time aware that it is impossible to argue categorically for a metapoetic interpretation of any text, as I shall make clear. But I hope that the levels of self-consciousness manifested in these texts make a good case for the possibility of metapoetic readings of Latin literature.
