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Critical analysis of the fall of the house of usher
poe's writing style and techniques
Allen Poe’s Style
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When reviewing Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Tales, Edgar Allen Poe pronounced that the short story, if skillfully written, should deliver a single preconceived effect- an effect upon which incidents be fashioned to accommodate that effect. Edgar Allen Poe was indeed a skillful writer. His short story, "The Fall of the House of Usher" is a flawless example of a story in which all elements contribute to the delivery of a single emotional effect. Poe accomplishes this by achieving a perfect tone, developing suspense and unifying stylistic elements thereby meeting his own criteria. In his pronouncement Poe also wrote that "In the whole composition there should be no word written, of which the tendency, direct or indirect, is not to the one pre-established design." Thus, in "The Fall of the House of Usher" Poe creates a perfect tone critical to the delivery of his preconceived effect. The senses of "insufferable gloom," "utter depression of soul" and " sinking, sickening of the heart" which pervade the narrator’s spirit immediately establish the tone. The narrator’s description of the scene as "dull," "dark," "bleak," "desolate" and "terrible" all function in communicating the tone. These concrete and denotative words ensure a clear and solid tone is conveyed to the reader thereby contributing to the overall effect of terror. The regular use or repetition of the words "dark," "gloomy" and "oppressive" in some form serves function to further define and emphasize a perfect tone. It also perceivable that Poe’s choice in the narrator’s role being the participant supports his intent to communicate consistent feelings; hence consistent tone. In order to strengthen his already established tone, Poe selectively uses imagery in scenes of terrible nature. The imagery created by the descriptive details of "the lofty and enshrouded figure of the lady Madeline of Usher" and the "blood upon her white robes… evidence of some bitter struggle upon every portion of her emaciated frame." exemplify the imagery created by the descriptive details Poe exclusively uses in such scenes of terror. The reserved creation of imagery in these scenes is invaluable to the clarity and emphasis of the tone-a tone vital to the delivery of the single emotional effect of terror. Along with devising a perfect tone, Edgar Allen Poe builds a high degree of suspense in order to bring about his desired effect. Poe is able to skillfully structure long involved sentences that contain several ideas to fit his purpose of creating confusion and mystery.
Literary elements are a major part in the world of writers. A great author will use literary elements to capture the audience attention into what they are reading. This was true with Edgar Allan Poe; he incorporated literary elements into his short stories. In “The Cask of Amontillado” and “The Fall of the House of Usher”, Poe uses a great deal of different literary elements to entice the audience into his horror stories. Literary elements such as imagery, irony, and symbolism were well put to use in Poe’s stories.
As explained before, the "dull, dark, and soundless" house serves as both "the castle" and "gloomy atmospheres'' in this story. Poe uses the house as the main tool to create a gloomy and mysterious atmosphere. However not all of Poe's gothic elements are actual physical objects. Fear is Poe's next choice of gothic elements as even our main character Roderick predicted would "sooner or later'' become his untimely demise. Fear is the dark recesses of the human heart and conscience and Roderick's fear in this brilliant story was not even death; but it was fear its self. Lady Madeline death is Poe's next gothic element because her death is a crime. Lady Madeline is the victim a the incompetents of her twin Roderick and unfortunately suffered a premature burial. Poe dose this the emphasize the extreme emotion of Roderick and the severity of the situation. Poe as well uses the description of the "decaying house...ghastly river..[and] black and lurid tarn'' to create feelings of darkness, shadows and gloominess and give the story a gothic ambiance. Poe Uses these elements to give his literature a gothic, gloomy, and overall dark atmosphere.
Nathaniel Hawthorne was an extraordinary writer, who used real life experiences in every one of his stories. However, growing up in a Puritan society during a reformation gave Hawthorne a distorted view on God’s character. Hawthorne was intelligent, but by no means a people person, which created a pathway for him to become an author. There were a few key points in his life growing in a religion zealous society that lead him to abandon his faith. Hence, the short story of “Young Goodman Brown” representing that humans are cynical and evil, and the dangers of losing your faith in God.
For a writer, stylistic devices are key to impacting a reader through one’s writing and conveying a theme. For example, Edgar Allan Poe demonstrates use of these stylistic techniques in his short stories “The Masque of the Red Death” and “The Fall of the House of Usher.” The former story is about a party held by a wealthy prince hiding from a fatal disease, known as the Red Death. However, a personified Red Death kills all of the partygoers. “The Fall of the House of Usher” is about a man who visits his mentally ill childhood companion, Roderick Usher. At the climax of the story, Roderick’s twin sister, Madeline, murders him after he buries her alive. Edgar Allan Poe’s short stories employ the stylistic decisions of symbolism, dream-like imagery, and tone to affect the reader by furthering understanding of the theme and setting and evoking emotion in readers.
Edgar Allan Poe primarily authored stories dealing with Gothic literature; the stories were often quite dreary. Poe possessed a very sorrowful view of the world and he expressed this throughout his literary works. His goal was to leave an impression with every detail that he included in his stories. Although Poe’s stories seem very wretched and lackluster they all convey a certain idea. A trademark of Poe’s is his use of very long complex sentences. For instance, in his work The Fall of the House of Usher, Poe tried to ensure that every detail was as relevant as possible by integrating a wide variety of emotion. In the third paragraph, of page two hundred ninety-seven, Poe wrote, “Feeble gleams of encrimsoned light made their way through the trellised panes, and served to render sufficiently distinct the more prominent objects around…” This sentence illustrates the descriptiveness and complexity that Edgar Allan Poe’s works consisted of. The tormented cognizance of Poe led him to use a very gloomy diction throughout his writing. Edgar Allan Poe’s use of symbols and the way he conveyed his writing expr...
On July 4, 1804, an author by the name of Nathaniel Hawthorne was born (Meltzer). As Hawthorne grew, he began to develop a view of himself as “the obscurest man in American letters.” Through the use of popular themes such as isolation, guilt, and earthly imperfection, Hawthorne was able to involve much of his life and ancestral past in his work to answer his own political and religious wonders (“Nathaniel”). Hawthorne successfully “confronts reality rather than evading it” in many of his stories (Clendenning).
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”
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.
Poe and Fuseli each infuse their works with dramatic energy. In The Nightmare, Fuseli uses expressive coloration, contrasting the dark shadows and the bright white flowing garments of the woman. He also creates a dynamic scene through asymmetrical structure and diagonal lines. The incubus posing on the woman's stomach is off centered, and instead his shadow on the deep red curtain serves the perspective center of the work. The woman's body twists dramatically and her arm hangs limply off the bed. Poe, in The Raven, creates a similar sense of dynamic drama. He employs consonance, writing "the silken sad uncertain rustling of each purple curtain," and the repeated sounds reflect the ssshing sound curtains make. This consonance creates the eerie atmosphere that perturbs the narrator. Through internal rhyme and polysyndeton, Poe creates an impression of intensifying and rising action. For example, he writes, "but the silence was unbroken, and the darkness gave no token/And the only work there s...
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.
Edgar Allan Poe has a unique writing style that uses several different elements of literary structure. He uses intrigue vocabulary, repetition, and imagery to better capture the reader’s attention and place them in the story. Edgar Allan Poe’s style is dark, and his is mysterious style of writing appeals to emotion and drama. What might be Poe’s greatest fictitious stories are gothic tend to have the same recurring theme of either death, lost love, or both. His choice of word draws the reader in to engage them to understand the author’s message more clearly. Authors who have a vague short lexicon tend to not engage the reader as much.
Edgar Allan Poe is the skilled author of The Fall of the House of Usher, a story that especially emphasizes mood and has the theme that fear is your worst enemy. He brings a feeling of mystery and eeriness to his readers by describing with colorful words the location and condition of the the House of Usher, the narrator’s thoughts, Usher’s strange disposition, and the peculiar circumstances under which the narrator decides to visit him. Poe’s use of mood follows the Gothic Romantic way of exploring the darker side of human nature.
The technique in which every word, character, and aspect in a story is used to convey themes is recognized as, single effect. Throughout “ The Fall of the House of Usher” this technique is used repeatedly. Edgar Allan Poe is often found using this technique, he was able to portray multiple themes in a way deeper than just words. Through the use of single effect readers were able to visualize, and actually understand the reading much further than just on paper. The use of single effect is what has made this story a phenomenon throughout the years. Each detail in the story, Poe used to build up different themes. The main themes conveyed were fear, madness, and isolation.
In conclusion Poe excellent use of characterization and imagery to depict fear and darkness, truly make The Fall of the House of Usher a story of the battles the we must face our fears in order to free our mind.
An author's use of literary devices creates mental images for the reader and keeps the reader interested throughout the narrative. In "The Fall of the House of Usher", Poe uses suspense, symbolism, and Gothic elements, such as dark atmospheres, because his purpose is to make the reader anticipate upcoming events in the story.