The Use Of Metaphors In Edgar Allen Poe's Short Stories

The more recent author Orson Scott Card once described the metaphor as a “way of holding the most truth in the least space. ” Furthermore, a far older author, Edgar Allen Poe, is often remembered for his works of dark, dreary, and ominous tales. Additionally, his use of forbidding and powerful metaphorical statements and allusions bring great meaning to otherwise insignificant fictional events. It is not unlike Poe, to write in such a way as for his voice to be heard speaking with more than a single objective within a singular statement. Every expression seeking to achieve a common goal, a common mood, and a common message. Often, this is a message of darkness, sadness, and death. It is with very little surprise, therefore, that one of Poe’s

It is quite remarkable how this is done within the story. Near the beginning extremity of the story, the narrator's initial observation of the mansion is that “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” (1). It is quite uncanny how nearly this describes Roderick with a few noun changes, yet all adjectives allowed to remain constant. For instance: bleak skin, vacant window-like eyes, decaying mind, and most of all, “an utter depression of soul”. This version of the metaphorical use of the word house can be seen at multiple other points as well. Once more, while describing the mansion, the narrator points out yet another peculiar observation. That is, “a wild inconsistency between its still perfect adaptation of parts, and the crumbling condition of the individual stones” (3). In this instance, rather than refer to the family as a whole, the narrator is referring to the remaining individual crumbling pieces. These pieces, are Madeline’s physical state, and Roderick’s mental