James Baird was the Brigida Pacchiani Ardenghi Professor of English at Connecticut College. In addition to The Dome and the Rock, he wrote Ishmael, which was also published by the Johns Hopkins University Press.

• Introduction: The Grand Poem Part I. The ShaperChapter 1. Architecture Chapter 2. Adjacent Structures: English and French Antecedents Chapter 3. Stevens in the American Grain Chapter 4. The Passion for Design Chapter 5. Poetic Geometry: The Arc Part II. The Elements of SightChapter 6. The SunChapter 7. LightChapter 8. The EyePart III. The Crafting of the DomeChapter 9. The SettingChapter 10. Wing and Claw: Symbols of the ImaginationChapter 11. The Painter: Encounters of the EyeChapter 12. The Comedian: Masques and FestivalsChapter 13. The Mythological Canon: Ritual PresencesChapter 14. American Place: Of Land-Made MenChapter 15. Society: Transitions in the American Community Chapter 16. Existence: The Difficulty of Being Chapter 17. The Hero: Aspects of the Supreme Fiction Chapter 18. In the Northern Quarter: The Descent to the Rock Chapter 19. The Chapel of Wind and Weather: The Poet as Priest Part IV. AfterwordChapter 20. The Poet in His TimeTitle IndexSubject Index