In Desire's Sway, James M. McGlathery investigates the role of suppressed sexual desire in the works of the important German author Heinrich von Kleist. In contrast to the past hundred years of Kleist criticism, which has been predominately from the standpoints of ideology, moral philosophy, and abstract thought, McGlathery views Kleist as a subtly ironic humorist. Desire's Sway is a study of Kleist's plays and stories as written in the spirit of the older comic traditions of Lustspiel and commedia dell'arte. Belatedly acknowledged as one of Germany's greatest writers, Kleist has previously been regarded by critics, especially the existentialists, as a deeply troubled writer whose works are expressions of a tragic view of man's destiny in an incomprehensible world.

McGlathery provides a well-documented argument that Kleist is not the enigmatic, problematical genius he is often portrayed to be but rather a lighthearted cultivator of the traditions of romantic comedy. The introduction serves as a guide to the various critical assessments of Kleist, and the notes and bibliography supply broad and detailed reference to secondary sources.