...possibly speak better of the topic than the bereaved lover? The narrator of “Ligeia” describes of his dying lover, “For long hours… would she pour out before me the overflowing of a heart whose more than passionate devotion amounted to idolatry. How had I deserved to be so blessed by such confessions” (Poe 397)? Only a man who was completely enraptured in their love could tell this type of ardent description of a woman. This is an example of what Poe means, the death of a beautiful woman is best described by the person who felt the devastation of loss the most profoundly. In “Ligeia” Poe quotes Francis Bacon on exquisite beauty having certain strangeness to it. Poe admits that the perfection he sees in Ligeia is “not of a classic regularity” (Poe 395). He has trouble, however, in detecting “the irregularity and to trace home my own perception of ‘the strange’” (395). So while Poe does not claim that Ligeia fits the general mold of what is thought of as beautiful, he fails to find a single fault in her beauty. This shows that he was so in love with her that he only saw perfection. The theme of “will” is prominent throughout “Ligeia,” starting in the prologue. Poe stresses the power of the human will with Glanvill’s quote. “And the will therein lieth, which dieth not. Who knoweth the mysteries of the will, with its vigor” (Poe 393)? This serves as a type of allusion to what was to come in the story. When Ligeia is dying, she asks the narrator to read a poem that she wrote in which...
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...Poe uses the life-like characteristics of an otherwise decaying house as a device for giving the house a supernatural atmosphere. Usher feels that it is the form and substance of his family mansion that affects his morale. The narrator observes the house “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” (Poe 4). He believes that, as a result of the arrangement of the stones, the house has taken on life. When entering the house, the narrator becomes increasingly convinced that the house has some supernatural effect on those living there after observing the odd behavior and personalities of its inhabitants. Throughout the story, Poe's imagery of the house and the inanimate objects inside serve to give a supernatural atmosphere to the story. By giving inanimate objects almost life-like characteristics, he is giving the house a supernatural quality. Poe presents the possibility of a complete split between mind and body in the twin siblings of Roderick and Madeline. The siblings are an external representation of the philosophical relationship between mind and body, but become overly identified with their respective halves of the equation. Roderick projects his own morbid self-absorption onto the figure of his dying sibling, in effect turning his twin into an external mirror image of his deteriorating mental state. One might say that Madeline is the reflection of Roderick's...
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...I prefer reading tales of horror and Mystery. I however did not enjoy Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher.” I found most of the first few paragraphs lengthy with descriptions of the castle. This made it really hard for me to immerse myself in the story. The vocabulary was complicated at times and I found myself pausing to look up their meanings. This interruption furthered my confusion. I had to write the definitions in my text book and then re-read the passages. Once I did, I was able to grasp what Poe was actual trying to convey. The story is set in a gloomy deserted country side. The outside of the house was dark, and gloomy. As I read further I wanted to take refuge inside the home of Roderick. I was quick to find that...
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...The Fall of the House of Usher “In the Fall of the House of Usher, a sense of insufferable gloom pervaded my spirit.”(Poe). This story is Gothic Literature using grotesque characters, bizarre situations, and violent events. The narrator describes the grotesque or Roderick Usher Madeline Usher, the strange sounds, and the crashing of the house and the violent event of Madeline being buried alive. Inside the House of Usher there are two grotesque characters. Roderick Usher is a man with a corpse-like appearance. He has pale skin, thin lips, and bright eyes. He suffered from sensitive skin to certain textures, odors to flowers, his eyes were sensitive to light, only certain sounds sooth him and insipid foods. Madeline, Roderick’s sister...
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...In Oate's horror narrative “Where Is Here?” she begins by introducing an unknown stranger, who decides to take a visit to was once his home. The stranger would like to recapture the vibe, as well as feelings, that he once had while living there. Typically, Gothic literature mentions the use of “a sense of impending doom,” (324) which can make the reader feel uncomfortable, or even make them feel disturbed. Out of all the Gothic narratives described, the most used is a “bleak or remote setting” as some others are often grand (291). Not all horror literature pertain grand setting nor details; but rather “violent or tormented happenings” (324). As the story comes about, an unknown stranger is described to come visit on a November evening, around dinner time. Most households are settling down trying to enjoy themselves. But the strange man decides to stopover at this time of day? It seems very odd and unusual; while some visits are during the day time (325). A factor from the Gothic elements reference “character in physical torment” (291) play a huge role as Oate's states a few times too many in the story, probably trying to show it plays an important role toward the stranger. She states that he has a limp while he walks (326). Maybe while younger, he fell down the basement steps? Or there was physical abuse done by family. While making his way through the home he spots the basement door, staring at while making his decision on whether to go down or not(327). He then goes on through...
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...“The Fall of the House of Usher” possesses the key features needed in order to create a Gothic tale: a spooky house, a dull landscape, and a mysterious illness. The narrator, in Poe’s eerie short story, upon looking at the Usher house describes it as “an utter depression of soul which I can compare to no earthly sensation” (702). This depression the narrator speaks of is the same type of depression the owner, Roderick Usher, has felt his entire life while living in the house. The romantic element of nature that covers the house has affected Roderick psychologically and physically. The narrator portrays the house with vivid details of imagery: “…bleak walls…,” “…vacant eye-like windows…,” and “…a few rank sedges…” (702). Anyone living in such a disheveled and haunted house like this one would certainly experience long-lasting and suppressing affects. This is profoundly true in Roderick’s case. Roderick’s character goes into a whirlwind. He starts off having a mere nervous, mental condition to going completely mad by the end of the story. Roderick believes that everything contained inside and outside of the house is watching him. The narrator picks up on this upon his arrival to the Usher property. The narrator visits the Usher house because it was Roderick’s request in the form of a letter. In this letter, the narrator states that Roderick “spoke of acute body illness- of a pitiable mental idiosyncrasy which oppressed him” (702). Roderick knows that his sister, Madeline, cannot...
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...The Fall of the House of Usher is a short story by Edgar Allen Poe that details the remainder of Roderick Usher’s life with his mental disorder alongside the narrator and how his mental disorder affects him and those around him. The short story is a literal tale of Rodericks decent into insanity which is paralleled by the fleeting conditions of the house as well as causes supernatural occurrences at the end of the story as well as, the fall of the house of usher in two ways. In the beginning of the short story the reader finds out that the narrator and Usher were childhood friends and that the narrator was on his way to be with Usher upon his request. The narrator proceeds to describe the house detailing its macabre exterior as a “remodelled and inverted images of the gray sedge, and the ghastly tree-stems, and the vacant and eye-like windows” (Poe 22) and points out that the structure of the house itself is intact but the stones themselves were crumbling, specifically, referencing a large fissure down the building which later is the demise of the house. Upon entering the house the narrator describes Roderick in a similar fashion as “a cadaverousness of complexion; an eye large, liquid, and luminous beyond comparison; lips somewhat thin and very pallid but of a surpassingly beautiful curve;... hair of a more than web-like softness and tenuity” (25) and points out that Roderick had changed so much he was not completely sure of who he was speaking to as well as, that throughout...
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..."The Fall of the House of Usher" is a short story by Edgar Allen Poe, in 1839. In autumn of the year, it was a dull, dark, and soundless day. The unnamed narrator comes across "The House of Usher". The house of his boon companions in boyhood (friend), Roderick Usher. He observes upon the scene; the house is decaying in places. He received a letter from Roderick, requesting his company to come to the house. He spoke of a mental disorder, illness, and his desire to see him which allowed him to come with no hesitation. The unnamed narrator knew little about Roderick, but was unware that the Usher family is ancient and become "the perfect keeping of character of the premises" to confuses the people with their home. Roderick's sister, lady Madeline...
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...“The Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar Allan Poe is a prime example of American gothic literature. Poe is known for his great gothic works and “The Fall of the House of Usher is no exception. Poe’s work retells an unnamed narrator’s experience inside the House of Usher when he goes to visit his sick friend, Roderick Usher. “The Fall of the House of Usher” excellently shows the gothic elements of sin and guilt, mysterious/violent events, and madness and death. Along with Roderick there is another Usher, Madeline, in the house of Usher through which Poe conveys sin and guilt. Soon after we are introduced to the character of Madeline she dies and is buried in the basement in the House of Usher. At the end it is revealed that Madeline was alive the whole time and Roderick says: 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!... Is she not hurrying to upbraid me for my haste? (Poe 235) Here Roderick knew Madeline was still alive, but told no one; here lies the sin. Roderick then asks if she is on her way to upbraid him for sealing her in a coffin; here is where the guilt lies, for he knows he should be punished for the sin. Sin and guilt are well portrayed through Madeline. Mysterious/violent events is another element of gothic literature found in Poe’s work. When Madeline dies Roderick insists on burying her in the basement and leaving her there for two weeks. Before the narrator...
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...The tale opens with the unnamed narrator arriving at the house of his boyhood friend, Roderick Usher, having received a letter from him in a distant part of the country complaining of an illness and asking for his help. Although Poe wrote this short story before the invention of modern psychological science, Roderick's symptoms can be described according to it. They include hyperesthesia 感觉过敏(hypersensitivity to light, sounds, smells, and tastes), and acute anxiety.急性焦虑 It is revealed that Roderick's twin sister, Madeline, is also ill。The narrator try every possible method to cheer his friend, and Roderick sings "The Haunted Palace", then tells the narrator that he believes the house he lives in to be sentient有感情的.Roderick later informs the narrator that his sister has died and insists that she be entombed for two weeks in a family tomb in the house before being permanently buried. The narrator helps Roderick put the body in the tomb, and he notice something strange. Then the writer use a storm to introduce the climax of the story. Both the narrator and Roderick notices that the tarn surrounding the house seems to glow in the dark although there is no lightning. The bedroom door is then blown open to reveal Madeline standing there. The narrator then flees the house and roderick is scared to death. At the end, a flash of light cause the narrator to look back upon the House of Usher, in time to watch it break in two, the fragments sinking into the tarn. "The Fall of the House...
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...Setting is the time and place where a scene occurs. It can help set the mood, influence the way characters behave, affect the dialog, foreshadow events, invoke an emotional response, reflect the society in which the characters live, and sometimes even plays a part in the story. In the short stories “The Devil and Tom Walker” by Washington Irving and “The Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar Allan Poe the setting affects the characters and storyline. The setting in the two short stories have many similarities throughout the settings. In “The Fall of the House of Usher” and “The Devil and Tom Walker” both talk about nature in their settings. Examples are, "Tom had long been picking his way cautiously through this treacherous forest; stepping from tuft to tuft of rushes and roots, which afforded precarious footholds among deep sloughs; or pacing carefully, like a cat, along the prostrate trunks of trees; startled now and then by the sudden screaming of the bittern, or the quacking of a wild duck, rising, on the wing from some solitary pool, at length he arrived at a piece of firm ground, which ran out like a peninsula into the bosom of the swamp. (Irving 322)" This is one way Washington Irving talked about nature and setting. There are many others that are just as descriptive. In The Fall of the Long 2 House of Usher are some descriptions of nature and setting, also. For example, " I looked upon the scene before me - upon the mere house, and the simple landscape features of...
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...In my opinion, the setting of Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher” is an essential tool to uncover the mood behind the story. Right away Poe jumps into descriptive detail: “During the whole of a dark, dull, soundless day… a singularly dreary tract of country.” The gloomy, overcast of the mist and fog that surround the House of Usher wash over the narrator which, in turn, seem to seep into the very depths of his soul. The narrator’s description of his surrounding as well as of the house itself convey to the reader a sense of danger and impending doom. However, the setting delivers more than just an image of a dreary countryside. I believe, as Poe states within the story, that the atmosphere is actually representative of how the...
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...In the short story, “The Fall of the House of Usher,” the narrator who is unnamed in the story, tells a tale of an old childhood friend by the name of Roderick Usher, who admits he has a mental disorder. The narrator does not really know much about his friend because they have not spoken in many years. Usher had reached out to the narrator in the form of a letter in request of help. From the beginning of the story, the narrator continuously signals as though the residence had been haunted or something unnatural was happening. The narrator only gives us an outlook through his eyes rather than the entire picture of what is going on. As soon as the narrator arrive at the House of Usher, he senses this icy feeling, a feeling that he could not...
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...“The Fall of the House of Usher” is a short story of Gothic horror written in first person point of view. The Narrator was a friend with Roderick, which they both met at camp many years ago. The Narrator came to a house alone with his horse where he got invited by his friend Roderick. Roderick was in a situation where he would be a different person from before and would be acting strange, since the narrator saw him. Roderick had a twin sister named Madeline. Madeline never knew the narrator as much as Roderick. A death is involved with Madeline which is supposed that Roderick probably killed her. Madeline was buried alive in a tomb. The narrator had changed over the days and would act the same as Roderick, but Roderick was getting worse and worse for the death of his twin sister Madeline. The narrator would see Roderick acting and would do such the same as Roderick for being there for him. Madeline was dead, but her spirit was still in the house just like Roderick. “Roderick has on the external world at all is his twin sister, who is less a real person in the story than the last manifestation of Roderick’s physical nature. By burying her, he splits himself off from actual life. Physical life is not so easily suppressed, and Madeline returns from her underground tomb to unite her dying body with Roderick’s idealized spirit. The story nears its horrifying climax, art and reality become even more intertwined. As the narrator reads to Roderick from a gothic romance...
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...Ligeia by Edgar Allan Poe Setting * Abbey is placed in a wildest an unsocial region (abbey is a medieval term) * Big building, gloomy and dreary, almost savaged aspect. Huge windows in the building. Lofty rooms – high ceilings. Describes a window in a gothic way – tinted, ghastly lustre on the objects within the room. * Foreign elements: Eastern culture, arabesque, Egypt, * Draped in fabric and tapestries, gold and jetty black * The room is shaped as a pentagon in a high turret in each corner is a sarcophagus (a coffin) * Heavy materials: ebony, oak, granite * High turret gothic binaries. Semantic scheme to describe the room: * Heavy, dark, dramatic, large, draped, The rooms symbolic meaning: * Narrators psyche * Death and isolation * Cathedral tomb. The bridal chamber is decked as a tomb. * Satanic five star room - pentagonal The relationship to Rowena * They don’t love – they tolerate each other * Despises her and loaths her because he misses Ligeia * Describes her looks in comparison to Ligeia: * Fair haired girl with blue eyes – the opposite of Ligeia who is a dark and gothic beauty * He likes her disaffection – he feels like a demon more than a man Analysis with focus on exams 1. Introduction of the disposition 2. Introduction of the text 3. Gothic traits: a. The gothic setting – the symbolic meaning of the room b. The gothic binary of Ligeia and Rowena ...
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