Usher Literary Devices

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At the very beginning of The Fall of the House of Usher, what seized my attention was the strong, almost severe comparison that Poe used. “[It was] an utter depression of soul which...can[not] be compare[d] to [any] earthly sensation more properly than the after-dream of the reveler upon opium” (69). This phrase particularly stood out because it characterized the depression which the “narrator” felt. Based on his previous descriptions, one would know the general mood about house, but this comparison to such a severe occurrence as drug addiction really brings the comparison to life. This created a deeper connection to the readers, because it creates vivid imagery of how melancholy the house is. This is also a really important introductory point, …show more content…

Usher was also once a happy and joyous man, similar to the monarch of the song, but after “evil things, in robes of sorrow, assailed…[his] estate,” (80) both begin the long journey downward to despair. This song is a metaphorical description of Usher’s life, but also creates a blurred line as to what is real and what is fake in Usher’s life. He has an obsession with poems and other works of literature, and the content of his obsessions are so closely similar to real occurrences that it leaves the reader wondering if his obsession might have ushered these literary occurrences into his actual life. This song also adds to the eerie and mysterious mood of the story, because of the coincidence in its context and the depressing manner in which the content is …show more content…

Roderick Usher feared his sickness, his “dead” twin sister, his hereditary “disease,” his house, and his fears themselves. His worrying and terror over his many fears, along with the insufferable atmosphere of the mansion, eventually lead to his demise. The narrator of this story also had his many fears, but exercised control over them until the very end of the story, when he fled of panic and horror. The two contrasting examples of fear in this story show that you must control your fears, or they will end up controlling

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  • Confusion And Delusions In The Story Of Roderick Usher

    205 Words  | 1 Pages

    Roderick Usher is frequently subject to both confusion and delusion alike throughout the story. Both are indicitave of the genetic disorder schizophrenia. Usher frequently references his belief that the house is alive and has a will of it's own. Those who suffer from schizophrenia have a tendency to be abnormally superstitious about everyday objects. Known by the medical community as delusions, these beliefs "result from the patient's inability to separate real from unreal events." (Ford-Martin, Odle, Costello 5) While reality may dictate that houses do not have a concious, Usher's mental disorder blurs the line between reality and the supernatural. "In other words," Jonathan A. Cook argues, "the whole physical world, both animate and inanimate,"

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  • The Fall of the House of Usher

    655 Words  | 2 Pages

    In “The Fall of the House of Usher”, Poe’s use of dark, descriptive words allow him to establish an eerie mood. Poe’s unique style of writing along with his foreshadowing vocabulary is significant in creating a suspenseful gothic story. At the beginning of the short story, Poe describes the House of Usher to be “dull”, “oppressive”, and “dreary” (1265). His choice of words strongly emphasizes a mood of darkness and suspense as he builds on the horrific aspects of this daunting tale. At first glimpse, the house itself is surrounded by the feeling of “insufferable gloom”, (1265) “[t]here was an iciness, a sinking, a sickening of the heart, an unredeemed dreariness of thought [...]” (1265). The atmosphere that Poe describes in the statement above establishes a spine-chilling mood. Poe uses words such as “insufferable gloom”

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  • Comparing The Fall Of The House Of Usher And The House Taken Over

    680 Words  | 2 Pages

    described it less violently than Poe."The Fall of the House of Usher" shows Poe's ability to create an emotional tone in his work, specifically feelings of fear, doom, and guilt These emotions center on Roderick Usher, who, like many Poe characters, suffers from an unnamed disease. Like the narrator in “The Tall Tale Heart, his disease inflames his hyperactive senses. The illness manifests physically but is based in Roderick's mental or even moral state. He is sick, it is suggested, because he expects to be sick based on his family's history of illness and is, therefore, essentially a hypochromic. Then in the other story the author explains differently

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  • Symbolism and analysis of "The Fall of the House of Usher"

    837 Words  | 2 Pages

    Edgar Allan Poe is undoubtedly one of American Literature's legendary and prolific writers, and it is normal to say that his works touched on many aspects of the human psyche and personality. While he was no psychologist, he wrote about things that could evoke the reasons behind every person's character, whether flawed or not. Some would say his works are of the horror genre, succeeding in frightening his audience into trying to finish reading the book in one sitting, but making them think beyond the story and analyze it through imagery. The "Fall of the House of Usher" is one such tale that uses such frightening imagery that one can only sigh in relief that it is just a work of fiction. However, based on the biography of Poe, events that surrounded his life while he was working on his tales were enough to show the emotions he undoubtedly was experiencing during that time.

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  • Compare And Contrast The Yellow Wallpaper And The Fall Of The House Of Usher

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    An unnamed narrator comes into the House of Usher (a mansion house owned by his friend Roderick Usher). Of late, Roderick has been ailing by a sickness of the mind.

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  • Figures of speech in The Fall of the House of Usher

    654 Words  | 2 Pages

    Edgar Allen Poe’s short story, “The Fall of the House of Usher”, sets a tone that is dark, gloomy, and threatening. His inclusion of highly descriptive words and various forms of figurative language enhance the story’s evil nature, giving the house and its inhabitants eerie and “supernatural” qualities. Poe’s effective use of personification, symbolism, foreshadowing, and doubling create a morbid tale leading to, and ultimately causing, the fall of (the house of) Usher.

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  • Imagry in the Fall of the House of Usher

    1382 Words  | 3 Pages

    He describes his superstition one night, "I endeavored to believe that much, if not all of what I felt, was due to the phantasmagoric influence of the gloomy furniture of the room…" (1468). Hence, Poe makes use of the house to create a supernatural effect. Likewise, Poe describes the house to create a terrifying effect. "The Fall of the House of Usher" is a horror story. In order to develop a mood to get the reader frightened, Poe must portray the setting of the story. The house is described initially by the narrator, who sees the image of the house as a skull or death’s head looming out of the dead. He is not sure what to think and comments of the properties of the old house: "What was it, I paused to think, what was it that so unnerved me in the contemplation of the house of Usher?

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  • Poe's Fall of The House of Usher Essays: Suspense

    418 Words  | 1 Pages

    In "The Fall of the house of Usher," Edgar Allen Poe creates suspense and fear in the reader. He also tries to convince the reader not to let fear overcome him. Poe tries to evoke suspence in the reader's mind by using several diffenent scenes. These elements include setting, characters, plot, and theme.  Poe uses setting primarily in this work to create atmosphere. The crack in the house and the dead trees imply that the house and its surroundings are not sturdy or promising. These elements indicate that a positive outcome is not expected. The thunder, strange light, and mist create a spooky feeling for the reader. The use of character provides action and suspense in the story through the characters' dialogue and actions. Roderick, who is hypochondriac, is very depressed. He has a fearful apperance and his senses are acute. This adds curiosity and anxiety. The narrator was fairly normal until he began to imagine things and become afraid himself. Because of this, the audience gets a sense that evil is lurking. Madeline is in a cataleptic state. She appears to be very weak and pail. Finally, when she dies, she is buried in a vault inside of the mansion. In this story, the plot consists of rising events, conflict, climax, and resolution. The rising events include the parts in the story when the narrator first arrives at the house, meets Roderick, and hears about Roderick's and Madeline's problems. Madeline's death and burial are part of the conflict. At this point, Roderick and the narrator begin to hear sounds throughout the house. The sounds are an omen that an evil action is about to occur. The climax is reached when Madeline comes back from the dead and she and her twin brother both die. Finally, the resolution comes when the narrator escapes from the house and turns around to watch it fall to the ground. The theme that Edgar Allen Poe is trying to convey is do not let fear take over your life because it could eventually destory you.

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  • Ambiguous Elements in Edgar Allan Poe's Fall of the House of Usher

    322 Words  | 1 Pages

    The ultimate demise of the House of Usher and its connected members is the second part of the theme. A separation from the external world will result in death. The fragments in the house that were so miniscule in the beginning of the story can be likened to the fragmented connection between Usher and the external world. As the story progresses the cracks grow and result in the collapse of the house and of the death of Roderick Usher.

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  • Compare And Contrast The Fall Of The House Of Usher And The Tell Tale Heart

    1165 Words  | 3 Pages

    Poe sets the setting as dark and gloomy, most likely to give the reader the death is in the air vibe in the beginning of “The Fall of the House of Usher”. “There was an iciness, a sinking, a sickening of the heart - an unredeemed dreariness of thought which no goading of the imagination could torture into aught of the sublime. What was it - I paused to think - what was it that so unnerved me in the contemplation of the House of Usher?” The narrator, who is nameless throughout the whole story, receives a letter from an old childhood friend. According to the letter Roderick, the narrator’s childhood friend, has invited the narrator

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  • Single Effect In The Fall Of The House Of Usher

    904 Words  | 2 Pages

    Fear is a prominently depicted theme in this short story. From the start of the short story, you are able to sense the fear through the words of the narrator. The words of the narrator convey that the setting as a fearful place, the House of Usher. When the narrator makes his way towards the House of Usher, the sense of mystery and fear takes over, intimately causing the narrator to shiver. The setting itself was not the only detail conveying fear, further in the story we encounter Roderick. Roderick is the excellent example of fear, as exemplified when he said: “I have, indeed, no abhorrence of danger, except in its absolute effect--in terror. In this unnerved—in this pitiable condition--I feel that the period will sooner or later arrive when I must abandon life and reason

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  • The House Of Usher Response

    633 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Fall Of The House of Usher is a terrifying tale of the demise of the Usher family, whose inevitable doom is mirrored in the diseased and evil aura of the house and grounds. Poe uses elements of the gothic tale to create an atmosphere of terror. The decaying house is a metaphor for Roderick Usher’s mind, as well as his family line. The dreary landscape also reflects his personality. Poe also uses play on words to engage the reader to make predictions, or provide information. Poe has also set the story up to be intentionally ambiguous so that the reader is continually suspended between the real and the fantastic.

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  • Poe's Fall of The House of Usher - The House and its Inhabitants

    915 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the story “The Fall of the House of Usher”, Poe presents the history of the end of an illustrious family.  As with many of Poe’s stories, setting and mood contribute greatly to the overall tale.  Poe’s descriptions of the house itself as well as the inhabitants thereof invoke in the reader a feeling of gloom and terror.  This can best be seen first by considering Poe’s description of the house and then comparing it to his description of its inhabitants, Roderick and Madeline Usher.

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  • The Depiction of Fear in The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe

    2174 Words  | 5 Pages

    The Depiction of Fear in The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe

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  • Double Meaning in The Fall Of The House Of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe

    1545 Words  | 4 Pages

    If there is one thing that is widely agreed upon in regards to Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher” it is surely the fact that the short story is one of the greatest ever written. The very words that Poe selects and the manner in which he pieced them was nothing short of phenomenal. This however, is pretty much all that people are able to agree upon. Indeed, to almost everyone who reads it sees the story as great, but for different reasons. In a way the tale can be compared to a psychiatrist’s inkblots. While everyone may be looking at the same picture, they all see different things. What mainly gives “The Fall of the House of Usher” this quality is the double meanings and symbols Poe seems to use throughout.

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