| I | 'Imitation' the common principle of the Arts of Poetry. |
| II | The Objects of Imitation. |
| III | The Manner of Imitation. |
| IV | The Origin and Development of Poetry. |
| V | Definition of the Ludicrous, and a brief sketch of the rise of Comedy. |
| VI | Definition of Tragedy. |
| VII | The Plot must be a Whole. |
| VIII | The Plot must be a Unity. |
| IX | (Plot continued.) Dramatic Unity. |
| X | (Plot continued.) Definitions of Simple and Complex Plots. |
| XI | (Plot continued.) Reversal of the Situation, Recognition, and Tragic or disastrous Incident defined and explained. |
| XII | The 'quantitative parts' of Tragedy defined. |
| XIII | (Plot continued.) What constitutes Tragic Action. |
| XIV | (Plot continued.) The tragic emotions of pity and fear should spring out of the Plot itself. |
| XV | The element of Character in Tragedy. |
| XVI | (Plot continued.) Recognition: its various kinds, with examples. |
| XVII | Practical rules for the Tragic Poet. |
| XVIII | Further rules for the Tragic Poet. |
| XIX | Thought, or the Intellectual element, and Diction in Tragedy. |
| XX | Diction, or Language in general. |
| XXI | Poetic Diction. |
| XXII | (Poetic Diction continued.) How Poetry combines elevation of language with perspicuity. |
| XXIII | Epic Poetry. |
| XXIV | (Epic Poetry continued.) Further points of agreement with Tragedy. |
| XXV | Critical Objections brought against Poetry, and the principles on which they are to be answered. |
| XXVI | A general estimate of the comparative worth of Epic Poetry and Tragedy. |