| Alternate Contents | p. xxi |
| Preface to the Third Edition | p. xxiii |
| Parents and Children | p. 1 |
| The Myth of Demeter and Persephone (from the Homeric Hymns) | p. 3 |
| The Myth of Daedalus and Icarus | p. 12 |
| Luke 15:11-32 (King James Bible), The Parable of the Prodigal Son | p. 14 |
| Snow-White | p. 16 |
| Writing Topics for Myths, Parables, and Folktales | p. 22 |
| Snow White and Her Wicked Stepmother | p. 23 |
| The Woman Warrior: Memories of a Childhood Among Ghosts (excerpt) | p. 29 |
| El Doctor | p. 34 |
| Writing Topics for Essays | p. 41 |
| Through the Tunnel | p. 43 |
| Seventeen Syllables | p. 50 |
| Marriage Is a Private Affair | p. 60 |
| I Stand Here Ironing | p. 65 |
| Everyday Use: For Your Grandmama | p. 71 |
| Counterparts | p. 78 |
| The Moment Before the Gun Went Off | p. 86 |
| Writing Topics for Short Stories | p. 89 |
| Metaphors | p. 91 |
| Now That I Am Forever with Child | p. 92 |
| Mother to Son | p. 93 |
| Those Winter Sundays | p. 94 |
| Pomegranate | p. 94 |
| The Pomegranate | p. 96 |
| Daedalus | p. 97 |
| O Daedalus, Fly Away Home | p. 99 |
| The Prodigal | p. 100 |
| The Prodigal Son | p. 101 |
| My Papa's Waltz | p. 102 |
| Daddy | p. 103 |
| His Story | p. 106 |
| Ms. Lot | p. 107 |
| I Go Back to May 1937 | p. 108 |
| Portrait of My Father as a Young Man | p. 109 |
| Yesterday | p. 110 |
| The Portrait | p. 111 |
| The Envious Heart | p. 112 |
| Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night | p. 114 |
| Myth | p. 115 |
| Writing Topics for Poems | p. 115 |
| The Tempest | p. 117 |
| Writing Topics for Drama | p. 190 |
| Part 1: Parents and Children: Cross-Genre Discussion and Writing Topics | p. 190 |
| Sisters and Brothers | p. 193 |
| Genesis 4:1-26 (King James Bible), The Story of Cain and Abel | p. 194 |
| Hansel and Gretel | p. 196 |
| Cinderella or, The Little Glass Slipper | p. 202 |
| Vasilisa the Beautiful | p. 207 |
| Writing Topics for Myths, Parables, and Folktales | p. 212 |
| Cinderella (excerpt from The Uses of Enchantment) | p. 213 |
| The Theme of the Three Caskets | p. 219 |
| Shakespeare's Sister (excerpt from A Room of One's Own) | p. 227 |
| Writing Topics for Essays | p. 229 |
| Legend | p. 230 |
| In Memoriam, J.F.K. | p. 231 |
| The Rich Brother | p. 233 |
| The Brother | p. 246 |
| Boys and Girls | p. 250 |
| Soldier's Home | p. 260 |
| The Shawl | p. 266 |
| Writing Topics for Short Stories | p. 269 |
| I Am Not. The Brother Did Something to Me | p. 271 |
| Abel | p. 272 |
| Two Sisters of Persephone | p. 273 |
| Hansel and Gretel | p. 274 |
| Gretel in Darkness | p. 277 |
| Cinderella | p. 279 |
| Mid-Term Break | p. 282 |
| Far Summers | p. 283 |
| Catullus, Poem 101 (Hail and Farewell) | p. 284 |
| Writing Topics for Poems | p. 285 |
| The Glass Menagerie | p. 286 |
| Writing Topics for Drama | p. 339 |
| Part 2: Sisters and Brothers: Cross-Genre Discussion and Writing Topics | p. 340 |
| People in Love | p. 343 |
| The Myth of Cupid and Psyche | p. 345 |
| The Myth of Pygmalion | p. 352 |
| Chinese Folktale, Faithful Even in Death | p. 354 |
| Beauty and the Beast | p. 357 |
| English Folktale, The Lady of Shalott | p. 366 |
| The lover and the letter, on complete absorption (A Sufi Parable) ) | p. 369 |
| Writing Topics for Myths, Parables, and Folktales | p. 369 |
| The Marriage of True Minds and Romantic Love After the Middle Ages (excerpts from The Book of Courtly Love: The Passionate Code of the Troubadours) | p. 371 |
| I Love You and Romantic Love (excerpts from About Love) | p. 378 |
| Love and Death (excerpt from Love and Will) | p. 385 |
| Writing Topics for Essays | p. 387 |
| The Horse Dealer's Daughter | p. 388 |
| The Lady with the Dog | p. 401 |
| The Storm | p. 413 |
| In The Life | p. 417 |
| A Dill Pickle | p. 426 |
| Writing Topics for Short Stories | p. 431 |
| Western Wind | p. 432 |
| Meeting at Night | p. 432 |
| Parting at Morning | p. 433 |
| Sonnet XLIII: How Do I Love Thee? Let Me Count the Ways | p. 434 |
| The Good-Morrow | p. 435 |
| A Red, Red Rose | p. 436 |
| My Love Is Nothing Like the Moon | p. 437 |
| Sonnet CXXX: My Mistress' Eyes Are Nothing Like the Sun | p. 437 |
| Sonnet XVIII: Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's Day | p. 438 |
| Song | p. 439 |
| Recuerdo | p. 440 |
| "Wild Nights--Wild Nights" (Poem 249) | p. 441 |
| Free Union | p. 442 |
| No Second Troy | p. 444 |
| When You Go Away | p. 444 |
| One Art | p. 445 |
| To His Coy Mistress | p. 446 |
| Waiting for Icarus | p. 448 |
| La Belle Dame sans Merci | p. 449 |
| The Lady of Shalott | p. 451 |
| Porphyria's Lover | p. 456 |
| Lovesong | p. 457 |
| The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock | p. 459 |
| Writing Topics for Poems | p. 463 |
| A View from the Bridge | p. 464 |
| Writing Topics for Drama | p. 512 |
| Part 3: People in Love: Cross-Genre Discussion and Writing Topics | p. 512 |
| Wives and Husbands | p. 515 |
| Genesis 18:16-33, 19:1-38 (Jerusalem Bible), The Story of Lot | p. 517 |
| The Myth of Orpheus and Eurydice | p. 520 |
| Coyote and the Shadow People (a Nez Perce myth, told by Wayi'latpu to Archie Phinney) | p. 524 |
| The Story of Odysseus and Penelope (excerpt from The Odyssey) | p. 528 |
| The Blue Beard | p. 533 |
| Writing Topics for Myths and Folktales | p. 536 |
| Marrying Absurd | p. 537 |
| The Wedding (excerpt from Russian Journal) | p. 540 |
| Writing Topics for Essays | p. 542 |
| The Gift of the Magi | p. 543 |
| Wife-Wooing | p. 547 |
| The Necklace | p. 551 |
| Semley's Necklace | p. 558 |
| Sweat | p. 572 |
| The Legacy | p. 581 |
| Writing Topics for Short Stories | p. 586 |
| Proposal | p. 587 |
| Anniversary | p. 589 |
| The River-Merchant's Wife: A Letter | p. 590 |
| Poem in Praise of My Husband | p. 591 |
| Eurydice | p. 593 |
| Orpheus and Eurydice | p. 597 |
| An Ancient Gesture | p. 599 |
| Penelope | p. 600 |
| Sea Grapes | p. 601 |
| Ulysses | p. 602 |
| Man and wife | p. 604 |
| Lot's Wife | p. 605 |
| Lot's Wife | p. 606 |
| My Last Duchess | p. 607 |
| My Last Duke | p. 609 |
| The Widow's Lament in Springtime | p. 610 |
| Writing Topics for Poems | p. 611 |
| Trifles | p. 612 |
| A Doll's House | p. 624 |
| Writing Topics for Drama | p. 676 |
| Part 4: Wives and Husbands: Cross-Genre Discussion and Writing Topics | p. 676 |
| Friends and Enemies | p. 679 |
| Bear Man Myth (from Myths of the Cherokee) | p. 681 |
| The Story of Quetzalcoatl (from Myths of the World) | p. 684 |
| The Fox and The Little Prince (excerpt from The Little Prince) | p. 687 |
| Writing Topics for Myths and Folktales | p. 690 |
| The Realization of the Shadow (from Man and His Symbols) | p. 691 |
| The Jealous Mistress (excerpt from Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl) | p. 698 |
| Friendship's Gift | p. 703 |
| Writing Topics for Essays | p. 709 |
| William Wilson | p. 710 |
| The Secret Sharer | p. 724 |
| Roman Fever | p. 752 |
| The Wall | p. 762 |
| The Necessary Knocking on the Door | p. 775 |
| Recitatif | p. 780 |
| Writing Topics for Short Stories | p. 794 |
| Friends | p. 795 |
| A Shady Friend--for Torrid Days--(Poem 278) | p. 796 |
| To an Athlete Dying Young | p. 796 |
| How It Is | p. 798 |
| Mending Wall | p. 799 |
| To Julia de Burgos | p. 800 |
| The Tunnel | p. 802 |
| Faces | p. 803 |
| A Poison Tree | p. 805 |
| The Man He Killed | p. 806 |
| Siren Song | p. 807 |
| The Colonel | p. 808 |
| Seeing a Friend Off | p. 809 |
| Farewell Once More, To My Friend Yen at Feng Chi Station | p. 810 |
| Auld Lang Syne | p. 811 |
| Writing Topics for Poems | p. 812 |
| The Children's Hour | p. 814 |
| Writing Topics for Drama | p. 862 |
| Part 5: Friends and Enemies: Cross-Genre Discussion and Writing Topics | p. 862 |
| Students and Teachers | p. 865 |
| The War Within and The Illumined Man (excerpts from The Bhagavad Gita) | p. 867 |
| Four Zen Parables (excerpt from Zen Flesh, Zen Bones) | p. 873 |
| The Parable of the Host and the Guests | p. 875 |
| The Emperor's New Clothes | p. 877 |
| Writing Topics for Myths, Parables, and Folktales | p. 880 |
| The Story of My Life (excerpts) | p. 881 |
| Mrs. Bertha Flowers (excerpt from I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings) | p. 889 |
| Teacher Wei (excerpt from Iron and Silk) | p. 895 |
| Writing Topics for Essays | p. 902 |
| The Lesson | p. 903 |
| As It Was in the Beginning | p. 909 |
| Soap and Water | p. 916 |
| Cathedral | p. 921 |
| Writing Topics for Short Stories | p. 931 |
| Theme for English B | p. 932 |
| Ballad of Orange and Grape | p. 933 |
| The Soul, Like the Moon | p. 935 |
| Letter Written on a Paper Mountain | p. 936 |
| Tell all the Truth but tell it slant (Poem 1129) | p. 937 |
| Ethics | p. 938 |
| Musee des Beaux Arts | p. 939 |
| Snake | p. 940 |
| The Fish | p. 942 |
| A True Account of Talking to the Sun at Fire Island | p. 945 |
| Writing Topics for Poems | p. 947 |
| Pygmalion | p. 948 |
| The Lesson | p. 1014 |
| Writing Topics for Drama | p. 1035 |
| Part 6: Students and Teachers: Cross-Gener Discussion and Writing Topics | p. 1036 |
| People Alone | p. 1039 |
| The Death of Adam | p. 1041 |
| The Myth of Sisyphus (told by J.F. Bierlein) | p. 1042 |
| Writing Topics for Myths, Parables, and Folktales | p. 1043 |
| The Myth of Sisyphus | p. 1044 |
| Solitude (excerpt from Walden) | p. 1048 |
| Writing Topics for Essays | p. 1054 |
| The Ring | p. 1055 |
| The Yellow Wall-Paper | p. 1061 |
| To Build a Fire | p. 1073 |
| A Hunger Artist | p. 1084 |
| The Death of Ivan Llych | p. 1091 |
| Writing Topics for Short Stories | p. 1129 |
| The Soul Selects Her Own Society (Poem 303) | p. 1131 |
| Song of Myself | p. 1132 |
| I wandered lonely as a cloud | p. 1133 |
| Blackberry Eating | p. 1134 |
| Pied Beauty | p. 1134 |
| Drinking Alone by Moonlight | p. 1135 |
| Madly Singing in the Mountains | p. 1136 |
| Madrigal: Another Life | p. 1137 |
| Sonnet | p. 1137 |
| In Blackwater Woods | p. 1138 |
| Mid-day | p. 1139 |
| Domination of Black | p. 1140 |
| My Sad Self | p. 1142 |
| The Road Not Taken | p. 1144 |
| Lying in a Hammock at William Duffy's Farm in Pine Island, Minnesota | p. 1145 |
| In the end there is nobody | p. 1145 |
| Fear of Death | p. 1147 |
| Final Notations | p. 1148 |
| The Snow Man | p. 1148 |
| Acquainted With the Night | p. 1149 |
| After Great Pain, a Formal Feeling Comes | p. 1150 |
| Of the Terrible Doubt of Appearances | p. 1151 |
| Writing Topics for Poems | p. 1152 |
| Oedipus the King | p. 1153 |
| Writing Topics for Drama | p. 1191 |
| Part 7: People Alone: Cross-Genre Discussion and Writing Topics | p. 1192 |
| Reading and Analyzing Fiction | p. 1193 |
| Reading and Analyzing Poetry | p. 1207 |
| Reading and Analyzing Drama | p. 1221 |
| Reading, Analyzing, and Writing Essays | p. 1231 |
| Glossary | p. 1251 |
| Biographical Notes | p. 1259 |
| Credits | p. 1303 |
| Index | p. 1311 |
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