The Fall of the House of Usher Analysis Essay Example
"THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER"
Edgar Allan Poe has written many things, one of the most famous is the gothic horror story, "The Fall of the House of Usher." Poe's techniques for creating amazing imagery, no matter how dark, leaves nothing to be desired. Some of the themes in this story are classical gothic themes, but others add Poe's own twist to it. Intelligent and clever foreshadowing help to establish this story as one of Poe's classics. In Edgar Allan Poe's gothic horror story, "The Fall of the House of Usher," brilliant imagery, captivating themes, and clever foreshadowing make up the most famous of Poe's works.
Visual and aural imagery are key elements in "The Fall of the House of Usher" and give the reader a remarkable experience. Gothic imagery is especially key in the story and helps set the tone for the entire story. In the first line the unnamed narrator describes the day as dull, dark, and soundless and then states at first sight of the House of Usher that, "A sense of insufferable gloom pervaded my spirit" (Poe 231). Next, he gives a dismal description of the house and landscape, "I looked upon the scene before meupon the mere house, and the simple landscape features of the domainupon the bleak wallsupon the vacant eye-like windowsupon a few rank sedgesand upon a few white trunks of decayed treeswith an utter depression of soul which I can compare to no earthly sensation more properly than to the after-dream of a reveller upon opium" (Poe 231). These two quotes have set the gothic tone for the story and revealed the narrator's contemptuous point of view so very early in the story. Once in the house he makes his way through, "Many dark and intricate passages" (Poe 233), and also notices some of the decorations' as being, "Carvings on the ceilings, the sombre tapestries of the walls, the ebon blackness of the floor, and the phantasmagoric armorial trophies" (Poe 233). The gothic imagery in these statements establishes the inside of the
Edgar Allan Poe has written many things, one of the most famous is the gothic horror story, "The Fall of the House of Usher." Poe's techniques for creating amazing imagery, no matter how dark, leaves nothing to be desired. Some of the themes in this story are classical gothic themes, but others add Poe's own twist to it. Intelligent and clever foreshadowing help to establish this story as one of Poe's classics. In Edgar Allan Poe's gothic horror story, "The Fall of the House of Usher," brilliant imagery, captivating themes, and clever foreshadowing make up the most famous of Poe's works.
Visual and aural imagery are key elements in "The Fall of the House of Usher" and give the reader a remarkable experience. Gothic imagery is especially key in the story and helps set the tone for the entire story. In the first line the unnamed narrator describes the day as dull, dark, and soundless and then states at first sight of the House of Usher that, "A sense of insufferable gloom pervaded my spirit" (Poe 231). Next, he gives a dismal description of the house and landscape, "I looked upon the scene before meupon the mere house, and the simple landscape features of the domainupon the bleak wallsupon the vacant eye-like windowsupon a few rank sedgesand upon a few white trunks of decayed treeswith an utter depression of soul which I can compare to no earthly sensation more properly than to the after-dream of a reveller upon opium" (Poe 231). These two quotes have set the gothic tone for the story and revealed the narrator's contemptuous point of view so very early in the story. Once in the house he makes his way through, "Many dark and intricate passages" (Poe 233), and also notices some of the decorations' as being, "Carvings on the ceilings, the sombre tapestries of the walls, the ebon blackness of the floor, and the phantasmagoric armorial trophies" (Poe 233). The gothic imagery in these statements establishes the inside of the