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Poe's The Fall Of The House Of Usher
Of all the authors to employ use of the Gothic style in their poetry or prose, none mastered the craft more than Edgar Allen Poe. The classic American fiction writer specialized in fostering a unique sense of dread and terror for his readers by successfully using elements of the Gothic genre such as the grotesque, or distorted imagery and setting, mysterious circumstances and a slowly building and suspenseful pace. The short story which best displays Poe's use of Gothic literary themes is believed by many to be The Fall of the House of Usher, his hauntingly disturbing depiction...
Considered to be a masterpiece of Gothic prose, Poe's The Fall of the House of Usher touches on all of the centerpieces of the genre, including perfectly chosen diction which evokes an atmosphere of gloom, the presence of a crumbling castle setting, supernatural circumstances which cannot be explained and a secret which is withheld from the reader until the climax. By examining the literary strategies Poe takes advantage of in The Fall of the House of Usher, it is possible to gain a better understanding of the Gothic style as a whole.
Poe immediately grips the reader with a jarring description of a "dull, dark, and soundless day in the autumn of the year, when the clouds hung oppressively low in the heavens" and his choice of descriptive words heightens the sense of fear. Other words such as "dreary," "melancholy," "insufferable gloom," "bleak" and "utter depression of the soul" all enhance the foreboding feeling which builds…
As Poe builds this emotional tension in the reader on through his construction of the sentences, he also does it on the level of the narrative itself. The sense of dramatic tension within the narrative is created by Poe's masterful use of foreshadowing and delay. A prime example of this occurs early in the story, when the narrator explains his presence at the Usher mansion. He reveals that the occupant
Fall of the House of Usher Although Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher" is a work of gothic horror, it is worth noting that the story's meaning is constructed in part by the use of puns. I do not use the word "pun" to refer to a joking play on words, but rather on the conscious use of a word that plays upon two potential meanings: the effect is
In conclusion, Edgar Allen Poe was the master of Gothic horror fiction, and his stories are still popular today because of his abilities. Poe was not above parody and humor, however, and this tale shows that. It is so ghastly that it gently pokes fun at the entire genre of horror fiction, and it is so unbelievable it remains as one of his most memorable tales. "The Fall of the
We see the creative mind at work in "The Fall of the House of Usher" as Poe creates a parallel between the house and Roderick. The suspense with this thriller is heightened with the fact that the narrator is inches from the same fate as Roderick. There is undeniable connection between the two that is never fully disclosed. The narrator looks for logical ways to explain what occurs in
Poe, Fall of the House of Usher Edgar Allan Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher" is perhaps the best-known American entry into the genre of Romantic and Gothic tale, yet it is worth asking what elements actually identify it as such. Spitzer describes the level of Gothic excess here: Roderick and Madeline, twins chained to each other by incestuous love, suffering separately but dying together, represent the male and the
Setting in the Fall of the House of Usher In many of Poe's stories and poems, setting is one of the most important elements used by the author. Poe possessed an uncanny ability to paint a gloomy and supernatural picture in the minds of his readers. Many critics believe that the reason for his use of gloom and despair was to make his readers understand the correlation between darkness and