ch. 1. The power of negative thinking
ch. 2. Nietzsche and Spengler on Hamlet
ch. 3. The boundless deep: Tennyson
ch. 4. The trouble with Housman
ch. 5. The mirror of depair: Conrad
ch. 6. The play as will and idea: Shaw and O'Neill
ch. 7. The wisdom of Silenus: O'Neill's spiritual ancestors
ch. 8. The empty bench: Arthur Miller and social drama.