The techniques of literary criticism employed are as diverse as the texts themselves. Steven M. Oberhelman, a Classicist, brings a rigorous reading of gender and power relationships to Greek and Arab dream literature, while James T. Monroe's more traditional close reading effectively highlights the alien literary culture within which homoerotic motifs function. Yet the readings of texts offered here necessarily require an interpretation of the social background against which they operate, and while the main focus of the book lies in its application of different critical lenses to various texts, the reader gleans much valuable information about medieval Arabic attitudes to same-sex love along the way. Thus pederasty becomes part of a poetic code of rebellion, requiring caution in any attempt on our part to extrapolate social reality. It is striking how mores familiar from Classical Greece recur in the discussion of this book, specifically the role of sex between older men and beardless boys.
Submissive partners are males of a lower social class, eunuchs, young boys, or slaves.
Theory is not practice, however. Oberhelman's article is rare in addressing feminist concerns. Indeed, female homoeroticism is conspicuous by its absence throughout the whole volume. One comes away from the book enlightened about the codes of a society and literature obsessed by male beauty. The strength of this volume lies in the diversity of the texts read and the readings offered.