The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe Essay

The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe â€Å"The Fall of the House of Usher,† by Edgar Allan Poe begins with the unidentified narrator arriving, alone, at â€Å"the melancholy House of Usher.† He had received a letter from a boyhood companion, Roderick Usher, begging that he come to visit him, explaining he was suffering from a terrible illness, and longed for the companionship of his only personal friend. Approaching the decaying old house, the narrator was struck by an overwhelming sense of gloom that seemed to envelop the estate. The very sight of the manor caused within him an iciness, a sinking, a sickening of the heart, an unredeemed dreariness. He remembers Rodericks family was noted for the fact that no new branch of†¦show more content†¦The plot is rounded out when Usher announced that Madeline was no more, and the two of them carried Madelines corpse to the grim underground vaults in a coffin. There they lifted the lid, and the Narrator observes a blush on her cheek. Nevertheless, they resealed the coffin and locked the vaults heavy iron door. During the days that followed his sisters death, Roderick Usher roamed aimlessly, stared blankly into space, the luster gone from his eyes. Late one night, the Narrator found himself unable to sleep, and a terror took hold of in which he felt Usher’s condition infecting him. As he paced, Usher entered his room, with, â€Å"a species of mad hilarity in his eyes †¦ restrained hysteria in his whole demeanor (Poe, 372). In an attempt to calm Usher, the narrator began to read aloud. But in the midst of a passage describing a knight who tears apart a wooden door, the Narrator thought he heard, somewhere in the house, the same cracking and ripping sound portrayed in the book. Ignoring it, he read on— this time, a passage that described the knights fatal blow to a dragon, which then cried out with a long piercing shriek. There immediately came from somewhere in the dark recesses of the house a similar shriek. Although shaken, the Narrator kept reading. Now the book told of a â€Å"shield †¦ fell down at his feet †¦ with a mighty great and terrible ringing sound, and once again, as soon as the words left his lips,Show MoreRelatedThe Fall Of The House Of Usher By Edgar Allan Poe1570 Words   |  7 Pagesingenious Edgar Allan Poe. A prime example of Poe’s spectacular work with single effect would be in the classic short story â€Å"The Fall of the House of Usher† which was published in 1839 and holds much critical acclaim. In the story, the narrator visits an old, mentally disintegrating friend and his dying sister in a house that invokes anxiety with mere proximity. While the whole tale is wrought with single effect, the most defining creepiness of the story was brought to life through Roderick Usher. ThroughRead MoreThe Fall Of The House Of Usher By Edgar Allan Poe Essay1333 Words   |  6 PagesEdgar Allan Poe is known for his poetry and short stories especially his tales of mystery and morbidity he was one of the countries first practitioners of short stories such as the Fall in the House of Usher many of his poems and short stories is said to have been inspired by Poe’s real and tumultuous life, in â€Å"The Fall of the House of Usher† Edgar Allan Poe uses sound, feeling and sight imagery to create and explore an atmosphere of horror and to convey to the reader the idea that fear coalescedRead MoreThe Fall Of House Of Usher, By Edgar Allan Poe1603 Words   |  7 Pagesshown in the previous paragraphs of Cole and Poe, they are very different people who have had contrary life experiences . Yet their works are still very similar. To further prove my case I shall use some of their works as examples. Edgar Allan Poe s â€Å"The Fall of House of Usher† and Thomas Cole s â€Å"Vesper Hymn† will be the first two works of art that are comparable. Poe s â€Å"The Fall of House of Usher† possesses all of the Gothic elements like a haunted house, dreary landscape, unknown sickness, andRead MoreThe Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe1438 Words   |  6 PagesThe Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe The mind is a complicated thing. Not many stories are able to portray this in such an interesting manner as in Edgar Allan Poes The Fall of the House of Usher. The haunting story of a man and his sister, living in the old family mansion. But as all should know, much symbolism can be found in most of Poes works. The Fall of the House of Usher is no exception. First of all, we have the symbolisme of Roderick Ushers mind and the House ofRead MoreThe Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe668 Words   |  3 PagesThe Fall of the house of Usher Literary Analysis A â€Å"Royal house† refers to the Royal family’s members. The house becomes a representation of the family as the reputation of the house relies on the family’s actions and status. The Usher family was at one time a great family in the upper tier of society which is why they titled their family and home â€Å"the house of Usher.† Edgar Allan Poe uses this symbol to draw in the reader by giving the house of Usher human like characteristics similar to Lady MadelineRead MoreThe Fall Of The House Of Usher By Edgar Allan Poe1216 Words   |  5 PagesEdgar Allan Poe is a famous short story writer who writes many short stories, novels, and poems in the 19th century. Although he is obviously a very prolific writer, he is most famous for his macabre literature. This literature of his is best known for its melancholy descriptions that establish a setting and mood that contribute to the overall tale. Poe’s goal through his literature is to evoke horror into the reader’s mind. In â€Å"The Fall of The House of Usher,† Poe presents the demise of a distinguishedRead MoreThe Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe946 Words   |  4 PagesEdgar Allan Poe is known for the suspenseful and mysterious nature in his short stories, and to achieve this he uses repetitive symbolism. In the â€Å"Fall of the House of Usher†, the narrator gets a letter from an old friend saying that he needs his help. When he arrives he starts to hear voices that eventually cause the house to fall and results in the death of usher and Madeline. Poes â€Å"The fall of the House of Usher† portrays a melancholy setting and utilizes a motif of the supernatural, howeverRead MoreThe Fall Of The House Of Usher By Edgar Allan Poe896 Words   |  4 PagesEdgar Allen Poe is well-known for his frightening and disturbing short stories. He portrays his characters in unforeseen circumstances that create an eerie atmosphere, and this then leads t o unsettling actions. In his famous short story, The Fall of the House of Usher, Edgar Allan Poe utilizes dark mood, dreary allegory, and mysterious symbolism to create the thrill and suspense. The mood of the characters set the intensity of fear and gloom, while the story of the Ushers follows psychologicalRead MoreThe Fall Of The House Of Usher By Edgar Allan Poe1159 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"The Fall of the House of Usher† â€Å"The Fall of the House of Usher† by Edgar Allan Poe is an ominous tale, told in retrospect, of a man who visited an old friend, Roderick Usher, who was dying of a mental illness. This visit was quite different then how the narrator believed it would be. The narrator explained the â€Å"insufferable gloom† he felt when he saw the mansion, and this dreary feeling only grew stronger the longer he stayed (Poe 1265). The narrator endured the bleak time with his old friend whoseRead MoreThe Fall Of The House Of Usher By Edgar Allan Poe1104 Words   |  5 PagesThe Fall of the House of Usher Edgar Allan Poe is best known for his unnerving and suspenseful writings, and â€Å"The Fall of the House of Usher† is no exception. Just like Poe’s other clever writings, â€Å"The Fall of the House of Usher† portrays a sense of fear and paranoia yet also a touch of curiosity with his extraordinary descriptions about the setting and characters, along with the tone. Poe does a magnificent job creating an eerie tone while describing the setting. Even in the first paragraph of The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe Essay The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe wrote, The Fall of the House of Usher, using characterization, and imagery to depict fear, terror, and darkness on the human mind. Roderick and his twin sister, Madeline, are the last of the all time-honored House of Usher (Jacobs and Roberts, pg. 462). They are both suffering from rather strange illnesses, which may be attributed to the intermarriage of the family. Roderick suffers from a morbid acuteness of the senses(464), while Madelines illness is characterized by a settled apathy, a gradual wasting away of the person, and frequent all though transient affections of a partly cataleptical character(465) which caused her to lose consciousness and feeling. The†¦show more content†¦The narrator realizes they buried her alive and looks to Roderick for answers. Roderick, terrified, is unable to look at Madeline, realizing that death has come for him. Madeline proceeds to walk towards Roderick and falls on him, the reader assumes that she begins to eat him but the narrator flees in fear of death. #8230;. there did stand the lofty and enshrouded figure of the lady Madeline of Usher. There was blood upon her white robes, and the evidence of some bitter struggle upon every portion of her emaciated frame. For a moment she remained trembling and reeling to and fro upon the threshold- then, with a low moaning cry, fell heavily inward upon#8230;her brother, and in her violent and now final death-agonies, bore him to the floor a corpse#8230;(Jacobs and Roberts, pg. 473). Suddenly the wrath of the storm increased, and the mansion began to shake and crumble. The narrator frantically fled from the mansion in terror. Only once did he glance back at the mansion, when a wild light arrested his attention. The radiance was that of the full, setting, and blood red moon, which now shone vividly through that once barely-discernible fissure#8230; There was a loud explosion, and the walls of the mansion came crashing down. Deep and dank tarn closed sullenly and silently of over theShow MoreRelatedThe Fall Of The House Of Usher By Edgar Allan Poe1570 Words   |  7 Pagesingenious Edgar Allan Poe. A prime example of Poe’s spectacular work with single effect would be in the classic short story â€Å"The Fall of the House of Usher† which was published in 1839 and holds much critical acclaim. In the story, the narrator visits an old, mentally disintegrating friend and his dying sister in a house that invokes anxiety with mere proximity. While the whol e tale is wrought with single effect, the most defining creepiness of the story was brought to life through Roderick Usher. ThroughRead MoreThe Fall Of The House Of Usher By Edgar Allan Poe Essay1333 Words   |  6 PagesEdgar Allan Poe is known for his poetry and short stories especially his tales of mystery and morbidity he was one of the countries first practitioners of short stories such as the Fall in the House of Usher many of his poems and short stories is said to have been inspired by Poe’s real and tumultuous life, in â€Å"The Fall of the House of Usher† Edgar Allan Poe uses sound, feeling and sight imagery to create and explore an atmosphere of horror and to convey to the reader the idea that fear coalescedRead MoreThe Fall Of House Of Usher, By Edgar Allan Poe1603 Words   |  7 Pagesshown in the previous paragraphs of Cole and Poe, they are very different people who have had contrary life experiences . Yet their works are still very similar. To further prove my case I shall use some of their works as examples. Edgar Allan Poe s â€Å"The Fall of House of Usher† and Thomas Cole s â€Å"Vesper Hymn† will be the first two works of art that are comparable. Poe s â€Å"The Fall of House of Usher† possesses all of the Gothic elements like a haunted house, dreary landscape, unknown sickness, andRead MoreThe Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe1438 Words   |  6 PagesThe Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe The mind is a complicated thing. Not many stories are able to portray this in such an interesting manner as in Edgar Allan Poes The Fall of the House of Usher. The haunting story of a man and his sister, living in the old family mansion. But as all should know, much symbolism can be found in most of Poes works. The Fall of the House of Usher is no exception. First of all, we have the symbolisme of Roderick Ushers mind and the House ofRead MoreThe Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe668 Words   |  3 PagesThe Fall of the house of Usher Literary Analysis A â€Å"Royal house† refers to the Royal family’s members. The house becomes a representation of the family as the reputation of the house relies on the family’s actions and status. The Usher family was at one time a great family in the upper tier of society which is why they titled their family and home â€Å"the house of Usher.† Edgar Allan Poe uses this symbol to draw in the reader by giving the house of Usher human like characteristics similar to Lady MadelineRead MoreThe Fall Of The House Of Usher By Edgar Allan Poe1216 Words   |  5 PagesEdgar Allan Poe is a famous short story writer who writes many short stories, novels, and poems in the 19th century. Although he is obviously a very prolific writer, he is most famous for his macabre literature. This literature of his is best known for its melancholy descriptions that establish a setting and mood that contribute to the overall tale. Poe’s goal through his literature is to evoke horror into the reader’s mind. In â€Å"The Fall of The House of Usher,† Poe presents the demise of a distinguishedRead MoreThe Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe946 Words   |  4 PagesEdgar Allan Poe is known for the suspenseful and mysterious nature in his short stories, and to achieve this he uses repetitive symbolism. In the â€Å"Fall of the House of Usher†, the narrator gets a letter from an old friend saying that he needs his help. When he arrives he starts to hear voices that eventually cause the house to fall and results in the death of usher and Madeline. Poes â€Å"The fall of the House of Usher† portrays a melancholy setting and utilizes a motif of the supernatural, howeverRead MoreThe Fall Of The House Of Usher By Edgar Allan Poe896 Words   |  4 PagesEdgar Allen Poe is well-known for his frightening and disturbing short stories. He portrays his characters in unforeseen circumstances that create an eerie atmosphere, and this then leads t o unsettling actions. In his famous short story, The Fall of the House of Usher, Edgar Allan Poe utilizes dark mood, dreary allegory, and mysterious symbolism to create the thrill and suspense. The mood of the characters set the intensity of fear and gloom, while the story of the Ushers follows psychologicalRead MoreThe Fall Of The House Of Usher By Edgar Allan Poe1159 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"The Fall of the House of Usher† â€Å"The Fall of the House of Usher† by Edgar Allan Poe is an ominous tale, told in retrospect, of a man who visited an old friend, Roderick Usher, who was dying of a mental illness. This visit was quite different then how the narrator believed it would be. The narrator explained the â€Å"insufferable gloom† he felt when he saw the mansion, and this dreary feeling only grew stronger the longer he stayed (Poe 1265). The narrator endured the bleak time with his old friend whoseRead MoreThe Fall Of The House Of Usher By Edgar Allan Poe1104 Words   |  5 PagesThe Fall of the House of Usher Edgar Allan Poe is best known for his unnerving and suspenseful writings, and â€Å"The Fall of the House of Usher† is no exception. Just like Poe’s other clever writings, â€Å"The Fall of the House of Usher† portrays a sense of fear and paranoia yet also a touch of curiosity with his extraordinary descriptions about the setting and characters, along with the tone. Poe does a magnificent job creating an eerie tone while describing the setting. Even in the first paragraph of The Fall Of The House Of Usher By Edgar Allan Poe Essay Edgar Allan Poe is known for his poetry and short stories especially his tales of mystery and morbidity he was one of the countries first practitioners of short stories such as the Fall in the House of Usher many of his poems and short stories is said to have been inspired by Poe’s real and tumultuous life, in â€Å"The Fall of the House of Usher† Edgar Allan Poe uses sound, feeling and sight imagery to create and explore an atmosphere of horror and to convey to the reader the idea that fear coalesced by isolation and enclosure can lead to insanity. Poe’s uses the sound imagery for instance when he says â€Å" Frequent and violent alterations of the wind â€Å" it gives the story a sort of a haunted house feeling. In the â€Å"The Fall of the House of Usher† Poe is an absolute master at keeping his audience guessing in each corner an building up each emotion just like when he says† Have I Not heard her footsteps on the stair? Do I not distinguish the heavy beating of her heart?† Gives the readers exactly what they were asking which is to find more about the mentality and psychological components of Roderick Usher. The mentality of Roderick is further demonstrated when he says, â€Å"Oh, pity me, miserable wretch that I am! — I dared not — I dared not speak! We have put her living in the tomb! Said I not that my senses were acute? I now tell you that I heard her first feeble movements in the hollow coffin. I heard them — many, many days ago — yet I dared not — I dared not speak! And now —Show MoreRelatedThe Fall Of The House Of Usher By Edgar Allan Poe1570 Words   |  7 Pagesingenious Edgar Allan Poe. A prime example of Poe’s spectacular work with single effect would be in the classic short story â€Å"The Fall of the House of Usher† which was published in 1839 and holds much critical acclaim. In the story, the narrator visits an old, mentally disintegrating friend and his dying sister in a house that invokes anxiety with mere proximity. While the whole tale is wrought with single effect, the most defining creepiness of the story was b rought to life through Roderick Usher. ThroughRead MoreThe Fall Of House Of Usher, By Edgar Allan Poe1603 Words   |  7 Pagesshown in the previous paragraphs of Cole and Poe, they are very different people who have had contrary life experiences . Yet their works are still very similar. To further prove my case I shall use some of their works as examples. Edgar Allan Poe s â€Å"The Fall of House of Usher† and Thomas Cole s â€Å"Vesper Hymn† will be the first two works of art that are comparable. Poe s â€Å"The Fall of House of Usher† possesses all of the Gothic elements like a haunted house, dreary landscape, unknown sickness, andRead MoreThe Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe1438 Words   |  6 PagesThe Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe The mind is a complicated thing. Not many stories are able to portray this in such an interesting manner as in Edgar Allan Poes The Fall of the House of Usher. The haunting story of a man and his sister, living in the old family mansion. But as all should know, much symbolism can be found in most of Poes works. The Fall of the House of Usher is no exception. First of all, we have the symbolisme of Roderick Ushers mind and the House ofRead MoreThe Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe668 Words   |  3 PagesThe Fall of the house of Usher Literary Analysis A â€Å"Royal house† refers to the Royal family’s members. The house becomes a representation of the family as the reputation of the house relies on the family’s actions and status. The Usher family was at one time a great family in the upper tier of society which is why they titled their family and home â€Å"the house of Usher.† Edgar Allan Poe uses this symbol to draw in the reader by giving the house of Usher human like characteristics similar to Lady MadelineRead MoreThe Fall Of The House Of Usher By Edgar Allan Poe1216 Words   |  5 PagesEdgar Allan Poe is a famous short story writer who writes many short stories, novels, and poems in the 19th century. Although he is obviously a very prolific writer, he is most famous for his macabre literature. This literature of his is best known for its melancholy descriptions that establish a setting and mood that contribute to the overall tale. Poe’s goal through his literature is to evoke horror into the reader’s mind. In â€Å"The Fall of The House of Usher,† Poe presents the demise of a distinguishedRead MoreThe Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe946 Words   |  4 PagesEdgar Allan Poe is known for the suspenseful and mysterious nature in his short stories, and to achieve this he uses repetitive symbolism. In the â€Å"Fall of the House of Usher†, the narrator gets a letter from an old friend saying that he needs his help. When he arrives he starts to hear voices that eventually cause the house to fall and results in the death of usher and Madeline. Poes â€Å"The fall of the House of Usher† portrays a melancholy setting and utilizes a motif of the supernatural, howeverRead MoreThe Fall Of The House Of Usher By Edgar Allan Poe896 Words   |  4 PagesEdgar Allen Poe is well-known for his frightening and disturbing short stories. He portrays his characters in unforeseen circumstances that create an eerie atmosphere, and this then leads t o unsettling actions. In his famous short story, The Fall of the House of Usher, Edgar Allan Poe utilizes dark mood, dreary allegory, and mysterious symbolism to create the thrill and suspense. The mood of the characters set the intensity of fear and gloom, while the story of the Ushers follows psychologicalRead MoreThe Fall Of The House Of Usher By Edgar Allan Poe1159 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"The Fall of the House of Usher† â€Å"The Fall of the House of Usher† by Edgar Allan Poe is an ominous tale, told in retrospect, of a man who visited an old friend, Roderick Usher, who was dying of a mental illness. This visit was quite different then how the narrator believed it would be. The narrator explained the â€Å"insufferable gloom† he felt when he saw the mansion, and this dreary feeling only grew stronger the longer he stayed (Poe 1265). The narrator endured the bleak time with his old friend whoseRead MoreThe Fall Of The House Of Usher By Edgar Allan Poe1104 Words   |  5 PagesThe Fall of the House of Usher Edgar Allan Poe is best known for his unnerving and suspenseful writings, and â€Å"The Fall of the House of Usher† is no exception. Just like Poe’s other clever writings, â€Å"The Fall of the House of Usher† portrays a sense of fear and paranoia yet also a touch of curiosity with his extraordinary descriptions about the setting and characters, along with the tone. Poe does a magnificent job creating an eerie tone while describing the setting. Even in the first paragraph ofRead MoreThe Fall of the House of Usher, by Edgar Allan Poe785 Words   |  4 Pagesis a relation which relates itself to its own self.† I understand The Fall of the House of Usher in these terms; the story is a description of the sick self, the sick spirit, the mortally morbid human. The title provides a reasonable summary of the story: the subject is the House of Usher and what happens to the House is a fall. That would be simple enough, but matters are complicated by the fact that the phrase â€Å"House of Usher† has more than one meaning; the phrase can mean, â€Å"both the family and