The Norton Critical Edition is based on the revised text from 1985 and includes updated and expanded explanatory notes as well as an introduction by Michael Gorra.

The "Historical and Contextual" section is divided into three parts, each containing a concise introduction by Michael Gorra that carefully frames the themes presented, with particular attention to the position of As I Lay Dying in Faulkner's literary life.

The "Contemporary Reception" section includes a selection of seven reviews, including those by Julia K. W. Baker, Henry Nash Smith, and Valery Larbaud.

The "Author and His Work" section examines Faulkner's statements regarding the composition of the novel and his changing views over time, sample pages from the manuscript, his speech for the Nobel Prize, and additional texts by Faulkner about Yoknapatawpha County.

The "Social Context" section reprints seven essays and advertisements—three new selections in the Second Edition—along with other materials related to questions of motherhood in the South, Agrarianism, and the Southern grotesque.

The "Criticism" begins with the editor's introduction to the critical history of As I Lay Dying and its role in academia. Eleven critical essays are included—five new to the Second Edition—from Olga W. Vickery, Cleanth Brooks, Eric Sundquist, Doreen Fowler, Dorothy J. Hale, Patrick O’Donnell, John T. Matthews, John Limon, Richard Godden, Susan Scott Parrish, and Erin E. Edwards.

A chronology and a selected bibliography are also included.

Pages: 442, Year of Publication: 0805, Dimensions: 13x13cm