Symbolism In The Fall Of The House Of Usher

It is significant to note how certain words like “melancholy,” “dreary,” “oppressively,” and “dull, dark, and soundless” abet the fortification of this tenebrous environment that evokes such terror within the narrator. Likewise, the imagery present in the narrator’s description of “the atmosphere which had no affinity with the air of heaven, but which had reeked up from the decayed trees, and the gray wall, and the silent tarn, a pestilent and mystic vapor, dull, sluggish, faintly discernible, and leaded-hued,” contributes to the ominous mood generated by these systematically chosen words (92). This mood remains throughout the story and offers a throbbing sense of anticipation and lingering fear. Another example of how Poe’s imagery achieves this effect occurs when the narrator briefly spies Madeline in the beginning of the story: “The lady Madeline passed slowly through the remote portion of the apartment and, without having noticed my presence, disappeared. A sensation of stupor oppressed me, and my eyes followed her retreating steps” (96). Images like these contribute to the perception

The language of Edgar Allan Poe’s story “The Fall of the House of Usher” sets the creepy setting of the story from the very first paragraph. Poe uses a multitude of descriptive words to let the reader see what the setting looks like. His description is so thorough, that the reader gets the sense that they are there with the narrator. In fact the descriptions are so detailed, that when the reader think of the story in question, the reader can see the setting in their mind’s eye. Poe uses words like “dark,” “dreary,” and “bleak” and fully establish the creepy Gothic mood. The setting itself is creepy enough. The narrator travels to this house in a particularly lonesome part of the country. The house itself is in decay. The thought of this kind

When writing “The Fall of the House of Usher,” Poe used the setting outside of the mansion to illustrate the theme of the fear of death. From the outset, the Rodrick Usher’s home is portrayed in a way that gives the reader a feeling of alarm. For example, the narrator mentions the house gives him a feeling of “insufferable gloom” (Usher 1). By pointing this out, the reader begins to feel on edge as the connotation of “gloom” is unwelcoming and distressing. The home is also said to have “vacant eye like windows” (Usher 1) which make the narrator

At the beginning of the story, the narrator creates a dark image of his journey to visit an old friend: “During the whole of a dull, dark, and soundless day in the autumn year, when the clouds hung oppressively loq in the heavens, I had been passing alone” (264). Poe creates this spooky atmosphere

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.

In fact, the first five paragraphs of "The Fall of the House of Usher" are devoted to creating a gothic atmosphere. An ancient, decaying castle paints an eerie, moldy picture. The surrounding moat seems stagnant and sullen. The time period also ties into this mood. It's autumn and the weather is cool and dreary. How many horrors take place in the daytime? Not many, and this story is no different. It's dark, or at least semi-dark. Immediately Poe entraps the reader. There is a sense of being confined within the walls of the Usher house. Outside a storm is raging and inside there are mysterious rooms where windows suddenly whisk open, blowing out candles. Creaking and moaning sounds fill the air. The wind is whipping, and the landscape is barren. This is gothic writing and these are its trappings. The darkness of everything symbolizes death to come. Upon entering the gothic archway of the deteorating mansion, the narrator is led "through many dark and intricate passages" filled with "somber tapestries" and "ebon blackness". Over everything, Poe drapes his atmosphere of sorrow and irredeemable gloom. He evokes his primary effect, the anticipation that some fearful event will soon transpire.

After evaluating the work of Edgar Allan Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher, he utilizes with imagery to build up the feeling of terror. First of all, the passage is about an ill man, Roderick Usher, who invites his old friend of his to come meet him. In this passage both him and his sister, Madeline Usher, are the last remaining of the Usher race and is diagnosed with an unnatural illness. The narrator begins to feel terror with the supernatural things going on in the house of Usher and the illness of the Ushers. Although the narrator feels the sense of terror from the moment he entered the house, through the use of imagery, Poe is able to bring emotion to the reader. Throughout the passage, the author continues to build up the sense of terror by asserting the image and setting of both the passage and the atmosphere. For instance, he starts the passage by stating “a dull, dark, and a soundless day...clouds hung oppressively low in the heavens” (Poe 194). In relation to the previous quote, the quote illustrates the image of the atmosphere and the setting of the story. In particular, because Poe expresses the sense of terror by describing the atmosphere as dark, quiet, and gloomy, the reader can get an image of the surroundings and get the feeling of the darkness and horror. In addition, according to Poe, during the first glimpse of the house of Usher, the narrator describes it as gloomy and unpleasant. In particular, Poe states “the shades of the evening drew on… a sense of insufferable gloom” (Poe 194). Additionally, the description of the house adds on to the sense of terror that Poe established in the beginning of the story. Based on the past two quotes stated by the author, the reader can begin to picture a dark and dull day with a gloomy house adding on to the darkness. Lastly, in regards to Edgar Allan Poe, the house of Usher is

Contrasting this would be the quintessential transcendentalist story that would tend to contain bright colors and other understated representations of divinity. (Quinn) Poe wastes no time, ridiculing this aspect in the first sentence of the story. The story begins in the fall, “during the whole of a dull, dark, and soundless day…when the clouds hung oppressively low” in the sky (Poe 2497). As the narrator approaches the house he says “a sense of insufferable gloom pervading my spirit”(Poe 2498). The decayed state of the house is inconsistent with transcendentalism, where the story settings tend towards the resplendent. This gloomy setting remains throughout the entire story, becoming increasingly so as the story advances. Poe opposes transcendentalism's positive aspects of descriptive scenery midway through the text. Poe begins the essential disdain of transcendentalism by outwardly mocking the “here and now” beliefs of the transcendentalists. In the beginning of the text the narrator is returning to a childhood dwelling to relive the past with his old friend. The narrator speaks of his sleepless nights and the uneasiness that accompanies them. He believes the room in which is he lying contributes to this insomnia saying: “…the bewildering influence of the gloomy furniture of the room-of the dark and tattered draperies…” (Poe 2507) Later, a raging storm attacks the Usher estate. The narrator states that “…all

Can death ever be stopped? In the case of ill-fated siblings, Lord and Lady Usher, the answer reveals itself. The internal conflict of the characters shows the battle between man and death. The relationship parallels a sister-like connection to looming death as it is on the horizon. This whole situation translates a frightening tale onto the reader who has an implied personal presence throughout the story.

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

The setting presented in this story has a very dark and gloomy atmosphere which has been used as a technique to help outline the scene. It is set in the one location; a bedroom. Poe describes the room as being “black as pitch with the thick darkness,” which deepens the effect of terror. The night setting gives the text an eerie feel as it focuses on the horrors of night time. This horror creates a noticeable impact which is recognisable when the victim cried out “who’s there?” against the backdrop of frighteningly still silence. Ultimately, the way in which Poe’s story is set builds anxiety and fear in the reader.

The speaker recounts their surroundings being tomb like, encompassing them in blackness and vacancy. The walls were smooth, slimy, and cold. This setting creates a feeling of dismay and uncertainty. The narrator says “The blackness of eternal night encompassed me.” This means that the tomb is dark as midnight and solitary. Feeling blind and alone in unknown surroundings is scary. If the description of the tomb was similar to that of a jail cell, it would not create the same sense of terror for the reader. At least in a jail cell, there are small amounts of light. Adding instruments of torture and a large pit into the setting also create a feeling of unease. Poe creates the mood of terror through the description of the setting.

Right from the beginning we get a clue to a couple of things, the first being the tone, or mood of the poem. “Once a upon a midnight dreary…” (Poe 1127), and “...I remember it was the bleak December, and each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor” (Poe 1127). These particular quotes pulled from the text give us, as readers, a good insight of the atmosphere the narrator is in. It was so important for Poe to let his audience envision this setting in such detail, because before we even got a chance to figure out what was occurring, we already have an idea of what mood the narrator is in.

Symbols are also used throughout to help understand the theme through the setting.Poe uses the setting to create an atmosphere in the reader's mind. He chose every word in every sentence carefully to create a gloomy mood. For example, Usher's house, its windows, bricks, and dungeon are all used to make a dismal atmosphere. The "white trunks of decayed trees," the "black and lurid tarn," and the "vacant, eyelike

Faithful to the principles of the author, the first detailed words of description of the setting announce the decadent character of the composition- “All the main lines of action are supported by a systematic elaboration of detail” (Robinson, 79). The Fall of the House of Usher begins with the description of the place where all the facts of the story will develop: “It was a dark and soundless day near the end of the year, and clouds were hanging low in the heavens… through country with little life or beauty; and in the early evening I came within view of the House of Usher” (Poe, 22). At exterior levels, the presence of a crack crosses the whole structure of the house: “a crack making its way from the top down the wall until it became lost in the dark waters of the lake.” (Poe, 23). The dark aspect is present in the obscure interiors of the house: “Dark covering hung upon the walls. The many chairs and tables had been used for a long,