A Canon of the Critical Works of Edgar Allan Poe with a Study of Poe as Editor and Reviewer (1941), title page and table of contents

Notes:

William Doyle Hull II was born in Westminster, SC, in 1918. (Although he might more properly have been designated as William Doyle Hull, Jr., his father being William Doyle Hull, Sr., Dr. Hull generally used a suffix of “II” in preference to “Jr.”) He obtained his B. A. degree from Furman University in Greenville, SC, in 1938. As a graduate student, he attended the University of Virginia, where he obtained an M. A. in 1940, and a PhD. in 1941. Following graduation, he taught for one year at Howard College, in Birmingham, AL (1941-1942). As the United States officially entered World War II, providing support for the allied forces, Dr. Hull joined the army in 1942. Following his years of military service, in which he was chiefly stationed in India and used as a cryptographer, he returned to teaching. For one year, he taught at North Carolina State College in Raleigh. He began his long career at what was then Hofstra College, in Hempsted, NY, in 1946, and remained there until his death in 1984, at the age of 66. As an educator and poet, he wrote on various topics, but his only contributions to the academic field in regard to Edgar Allan Poe were his Master's Thesis and Doctoral Disseration, both on the canon of Poe's critical reviews. Although neither of these important works were officially published, some copies were informally distributed over the years, and the disseration has been used as a reference source for various projects, most notably by Thomas Ollive Mabbott. The lack of easy access to these copies has restricted more general use, and it is the hope of the Poe Society of Baltimore that the present electronic edition will alleviate this problem.

Technically, the contents of this disseration are protected by copyright, but with Dr. Hull himself having died in 1984, and there being no readily identifiable heir or estate, it has not been possible to secure formal permission. Dr. Hull's papers were deposited at Hoftra University, where he taught for many years, by his brother, who has since also died. Dr. Hull appears to have never married, or had children. Both Hofstra and the University of Virginia were contacted prior to initiating this electronic edition. Although both institutions were very interested in the project, neither could assert any claims over copyright, and were therefore unable to grant formal approval. This text, then, is presented under a broad assumption of fair use, and with the idea that Dr. Hull would have been pleased to have his work widely available for use, for educational purposes and without any charge for access. If a reasonable claim for copyright can be documented, please contact the Poe Society of Baltimore to arrange for permission, or to request that we remove the material.

There is no table of contents in the original, but has been added in the present version for the sake of referencing the various sections. Because the original disseration was prepared on a ordinary typewriter, with very little avaialable in regard to formatting options, some liberties have been taken in this electronic presentation for the sake of improved appearance and readability. The use of underlines, for example, has been interpreted as indicating italics.