[1.] Aim and attainment : Poe's works ; His craftsmanship ; Best-known selections ; Autobiographical echoes ; Indebtedness to his times ; Literary models ; Development as a writer

[2.] Theorist and technician : Esthetic principles in practice ; Metrics ; The journalist ; Book reviews ; Poe's readings ; Scope of his interests ; Stature as an essayist

[3.] Renown and recognition : Precursor of decadence ; Poe's vogue in France ; Imitations in Spanish ; His position in Russia ; The German school ; British receptions ; American attitudes ; Poe triumphant

[4.] Fable and fact : Legend of a poet ; Poe's own fabrications ; Gossip of the times ; Griswold's Poe ; British to the defense ; Conflicts and corrections ; Triumph of fact ; Death of a legend.