Edgar Allan Poe is forever identified with his eerie poem “The Raven” with his many gothic horror stories, and as the father of the detective story (Werlock1). Poe’s stories are known in America and Europe. Most of Poe’s stories are Gothic, which he describes them as “arabesque” a term that he felt best described as flowery (Wilson52). Poe proclaimed his writing a reaction to typical literature of the day, which he called “the heresy of the Didactic” for its tendency to preach (Wilson52). Some of Poe’s stories are also comedies. “The Fall of the House of Usher” was a nevertheless typical of Poe’s short stories in that it presents narrator thrust into a psychologically intense situation in which otherworldly forces conspire to drive at least one of the characters insane (Wilson53).Edgar Allan Poe had a difficult life after dropping out of college. He became a short story writer, one of his stories being “The Fall of the House of Usher”. “The Fall of the House of Usher” uses literary elements of symbols and settings to further the theme of evil.
Edgar Allan Poe was a gothic writer living in the early 1800’s. Poe had a very hard and tough life and in his stories you could see what a troubled man he was. He set the path for writers today. Literature would not be the same without Poe’s influence. Most of his stories are gory and relate to death as in The Fall of the House of Usher and The Raven. They are some of Poe’s best works. Poe uses gothic elements within “The Fall of the House of Usher,” and “The Raven” to portray the dark side of human nature.
Edgar Allan Poe has been debated to be the author of the most dark and horrific pieces of literature. He was favored by many for his complex pieces of literature that have ultimately impacted the world of literature today. However, Poe’s pieces of work did receive harsh criticism before and after his death. Because Poe was generally known for his thought-provoking short stories, his short stories often received mixed reviews. One of Poe’s most arguable short stories is “The Fall of the House of Usher”. This short story was “regarded as an early and supreme example of the Gothic horror story” (Plot Summary: "The Fall of the House of Usher"). Poe himself described this piece as “arabesque” due to its ornate prose (Plot Summary: "The Fall of the House of Usher"). However, many critics disagreed with each other on their views of “The Fall of the House of Usher”.
Gothic texts are typically characterized by a horrifying and haunting mood, in a world of isolation and despair. Most stories also include some type of supernatural events and/or superstitious aspects. Specifically, vampires, villains, heroes and heroines, and mysterious architecture are standard in a gothic text. Depending upon the author, a gothic text can also take on violent and grotesque attributes. As an overall outlook, “gothic literature is an outlet for the ancient fears of humanity in an age of reason” (Sacred-Texts). Following closely to this type of literature, Edgar Allan Poe uses a gloomy setting, isolation, and supernatural occurrences throughout “The Fall of the House of Usher”.
Edgar Allan Poe illustrates the House of Usher in great detail to evoke a mood of eeriness. When riding up to the house, the narrator looks “upon the bleak walls- upon the vacant eye-like windows- upon a few rank sedges- and upon a few white trunks of decayed trees- with an utter depression of soul”(416). He uses particularly vivid words such as “bleak”, “vacant”, and “decayed” to convey the mood. Once inside, the narrator observes,
Usher was settled in a castle that falls because of the crack on the front exterior. To illustrate, “...this fissure rapidly widened… my brain reeled as I saw the mighty walls rushing sunder” (Poe 30) expresses the point where the narrator literally witnesses the castle collapse upon itself. Poe chose to focus on the environment around the castle. He describes the trees and pond to add towards the sensation of the house. For example, “...upon the vacant eyelike windows upon a few rank sedges and upon a few white trunks of decayed trees” (Poe 14) shows how the author decides to focus on the exterior of the castle. Usher consisted of a brother and sister. The plot, however, revolved around the sister escaping her coffin. To prove, “rending of her coffin, and the grating of the iron hinges of her prison, and her struggles within the coppered archway of the vault” (Poe 29) justifies the explanation of the sister trying to escape her coffin. It was very morbid and definitely played on the gore
While reading “Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, I couldn’t help but feel a constant overwhelming sense of dread. The root of this could have come from the story’s dark setting deep within an “haunted forest” or from Brown’s mysterious “Devil”-esque companion. While I read, another story came into my mind; the story of the “Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar Allan Poe. In Poe’s tale the same heart pounding emotion can be felt as he describes the reunion of two friends within “the House of Usher.” With the manors “eye-like windows” and “sorrowful impression,” Poe wastes no time in setting the Gothic mood. Through their distinct writing styles Hawthorne and Poe establish a common Gothic theme within their stories.
First, in “The Fall of the House of Usher” Poe start to create tension when he started to set the mood and unity of effect by describing the area around and inside the house, he often gives it a gothic feel. Secondly, Poe created tension when talking about Roderick Usher's depression and his illness, which symbolizes him and to the conditions of the house. Thirdly, there is a gothic feel to the story when they mention the Usher family has almost died out, except from Roderick Usher and his sister Madeline who
Poe story contains many symbolizes. In "The Fall of the House of Usher," I believe the story was written ma...
Upon entering the dark and dismal house, the narrator was joined with Roderick Usher. Shocked by the appearance of his companion from early childhood, the narrator explained, "I gazed upon him with a feeling half of pity, half of awe. Surely, man had never before so terribly altered, in so brief a period, as had Roderick Usher!" Through conversation with his childhood friend, the narrator finally discovered the true source of Roderick's illness and sickly appearance. Usher said, "I feel that the period will sooner or later arrive when I...
The human condition, a concept prevalent in several pieces of literature, encompasses the emotional, moral, questioning, and observant nature of humans. This concept is often used by authors to emphasize the characteristics that set humans apart from other living creature. Edgar Allan Poe’s dark fantasy piece “The Fall of the House of Usher” perfectly depicts the human condition as it conveys how fear and over-thinking can control one’s actions and life.
In the Fall of the House of Usher the author Edgar Allen Poe applies gothic elements in order to criticize the white aristocracy in the eighteenth century to bring attention to the travesty and the disaster brought on by it.
Beside his illness and his sister dieing, Roderick believes his condition is being controlled by the house. He call on the narrator a boyhood friend to in a last ditch effort to cheer his life up and give him someone to communicate with. The narrator arrives to a house of gloom, darkness and decaying furniture. He immediately is afraid for his life and how his friend can live a house of darkness. Several days past and it is filled with art discussions, guitar playing, and literature reading, all to keep Roderick's mind busy from the reality that he is losing his mind. The narrator and Roderick prematurely enconffined Madeline in a vault in a hope to alleviate his metal condition. She is either dead, in a coma, or a vampire. You don't know but Poe allows the reader to make there own assumptions.
A grimy, crumbling house, a disease burdened friend from the past, and his sister that is supposedly dead. This is all that awaits in Edward Alan Poe’s horrific tale, The Fall of the House of Usher. It is possible that this story will send a shiver down your spine. This mysterious story qualifies as gothic literature, using grotesque characters, bizarre situations, and violent events. Strong thesis! Wonderful writing, you really command the attention of the reader! Be diligent in your proofreading – be sure and get the author’s name right…Edgar Allan Poe! These simple mistakes make your paper seem rushed and unpolished.
The Usher twins are genetically close as twins, they are even closer genetically to each other than normal fraternal twins. Roderick tried to kill Madeline because he believed that he was going to die of fear and one of his biggest fears was for his sister dying and himself being left alone. So therefore he wants Madeline to die so he could be alone and he won’t be able to overcome his anxiety for her being alone so he would die soon too. Roderick wants to be put an end to his torture by being forced to face his fears and he believes that would be the cause of his death.