The author of the story under analysis is an
American author, poet, editor, and literary critic of the first half of the
19th century. E. A. Poe is best known for different types of stories. He is
generally considered to be the inventor of the detective fiction
genre. But it is a well-known fact, that he is a real master of horror
stories.
The writer made also
a great contribution into such a literary genre as science
fiction. Edgar Allan Poe's contribution in literature is
great. His most famous tales are: "The Black Cat", "Tha Fall f
the House of Usher", "The Mureder on the Rouge Morgue" and
others. Of course he acted as a poet and his most famous poems are: "The
Raven", "Eldorado" , "Tamerlane" etc.
The
story is about twin brother and sister, who are very ill and both of them are
going to die. The narrator is a friend of Mr. Usher who came to visit him and
spend some time in his house, but some unpredictable, strange and horrifying
things happen. Roderick’s sister dies and he together with his fried buries her
alive as it appeared later.
The
basic themes of the story are family relationships and human relationships.
According to the title of the story "The Fall of the House of
Usher" we understand that all the events depicted in the story will occur
in a house. E. A. Poe created a really horrifying image of the house: ''I
know not how it was--but, with the first glimpse of the building, a sense of
insufferable gloom pervaded my spirit." So, we understand that the
author created such an image of this house that it terrifies you from the first
sight. The writer provides the description of the house not only outside, but
also inside in a very detailed way.
Judging by the description we understand that the house is very big and old and
nobody takes care of it and it is starting to ruin. Generally while
reading the story we don't come across the information about the geographical
location of the house and the time then the events take place. But we can draw
a conclusion that the approximate time when the events take place can be the
19th century.
In the introduction and
the exposition, the author depicts the setting and the main
characters. The author starts the story in such a way : "DURING the whole of a dull, dark, and soundless day in the autumn
of the year, when the clouds hung oppressively low in the heavens, I had been
passing alone, on horseback, through a singularly dreary tract of country; and
at length found myself, as the shades of the evening drew on, within view of
the melancholy House of Usher."
So, the writer wants to draw our attention to the word "DURING'',
which is capitalized. In such a way E. A. Poe wanted to emphasize that it took
the main character of the story the whole night to get to the house of his
friend. And the writer starts the story with the description of the house
outside and inside and tells us about the feelings and emotions of the main
character when he saw the house.
Then the
story continues with the development of events. We get to know that Mister
Usher and his sister are very ill and they are going to die, that is why the
house they live in looks so terrible. They are unable to take care of such a
big mansion. Then Miss Usher dies. At least the two men think so. They bury her
in the family vaults, which was underneath the mansion.
The climax f the
story comes when the narrator and Mr. Usher are sitting in the library at night
and reading a book, and while they are reading it aloud an echo comes from
somewhere and then comes ''the dead'' sister of Mr. Usher. he thought that the
buried Madeline alive. He was scared to death. As a result they died together.
In the conclusion of the
story we see, that Mr. Usher dies together with his sister, the house cracks
into two parts and falls down. The narrator was standing outside and watching
the ruins of the house under the blood-red moon: "While I gazed, this fissure rapidly widened--there came a fierce breath
of the whirlwind--the entire orb of the satellite burst at once upon my
sight--my brain reeled as I saw the mighty walls rushing asunder--there was a
long tumultuous shouting sound like the voice of a thousand waters--and the
deep and dank tarn at my feet closed sullenly and silently over the fragments
of the "HOUSE OF USHER."
And the last words of the
story are also capitalized. May be in such a way the writer wanted to emphasize
the fact the stopped its existence and the story of it is finished.
The story is written in the
1st person narration. Reading the story we see that the author is like the
participant of the events and, of course, he describes his feelings and
emotions using personal pronoun "I".
Reading the story we
come across 3 main characters:
1) The
narrator
2) Roderick
Usher
3) Madeline
Usher
Roderick and Madeline are twins and they live together in an
old mansion. Roderick is an old friend of our narrator whom he came to
visit : "...Roderick Usher, had been
one of my boon companions in boyhood; but many years had elapsed since our last
meeting... Although, as boys, we had been even intimate associates, yet really
knew little of my friend."
Roderick Usher has direct description, because the writer expresses his
own opinion and his own feelings towards him: "... I gazed upon him with a feeling half of pity, half of awe.
Surely, man had never before so terribly altered, in so brief a period, as had
Roderick Usher!" The writer gives the detailed description of Roderick's
appearance: " A cadaverousness of
complexion; an eye large, liquid, and luminous beyond comparison; lips somewhat
thin and very pallid, but of a surpassingly beautiful curve; a nose of a
delicate Hebrew model, but with a breadth of nostril unusual in similar
formations; a finely moulded chin, speaking, in its want of prominence, of a
want of moral energy; hair of a more than web-like softness and tenuity; these
features, with an inordinate expansion above the regions of the temple, made up
altogether a countenance not easily to be forgotten." The detailed
description helps us to imagine how did the main character look like. We know
that Mr. Usher is ill and is going to die, because he suffers from
hyper-sensivity to light, sound, taste and tactile sensations.
Madeline Usher is Roderick's sister. She is also very ill. She suffers
from the sickness involving seizures. Roderick loved her very much and said,
that she is his sole companion and the last and only relative on earth. The
author also provides direct description of this character through the words of
the narrator, especially in the situation when he spoke with Roderick about
Madeline for the first time: " I
regarded her with an utter astonishment not unmingled with dread--and yet I
found it impossible to account for such feelings. A sensation of stupor
oppressed me, as my eyes followed her retreating steps." These
were his feelings when he was going to enter her room and see how horrible and
ill she was looking. He was so shocked and Roderick was so upset, that
the next few days they didn't even spoke about her.
As for the
narrator of the story, so, we don't come across his name or his description
in the text. We only come across his deed, feelings and emotions and, of
course, we understand that the narrator is the writer E. A. Poe.
Of course character's
actions help to reveal their personalities. Speaking about the narrator,
judging by his actions we cone to know that he can be an adventurer, but also a
person who is always ready to help. As for giving characteristic by personages
to each other, a good example will be the first meeting of the narrator and Mr.
Usher. The narrator gives Roderick's characteristic about how looks now and how
he looked before and even drew a conclusion that Mr. Usher changed so much,
that the narrator said that as if he didn't know this man at all.
To
portray the setting, the main characters and events of the story the writer
implies a lot of different stylistic devices. The very beginning of the story the
starts with the word “DURING”, which is capitalized, because the author wanted
to emphasize, that the narrator saw the house of Usher during his ride on the
horse and he was going there to meet his old friend. But there are some other
evidences of capitalization
in the story like “FEAR” or “HOUSE OF USHER”. The capitalization of “HOUSE OF
USHER” is used at the very end of the story to denote, that it is the end of
its existance
To emphasize
the whole utterance the writer uses enumeration
in his story several times : “I had so worked upon my imagination as
really to believe that about the whole mansion and domain there hung an
atmosphere peculiar to themselves and their immediate vicinity-an 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 vapour, dull, sluggish, faintly discernible, and
leaden-hued.” “The windows were long,
narrow, and pointed, and at so vast a distance from the black oaken floor
as to be altogether inaccessible from within.” “An air of stern, deep, and irredeemable gloom hung over and pervaded all.” “A
small picture presented the interior of an immensely long and rectangular vault
or tunnel, with low walls, smooth,
white, and without interruption or device.”
Of course to
stress and to draw the eaders attention to something important the writer uses inversion: “Such, I have long
known, is the paradoxical law of all sentiments having terror as a basis.” “The
room in which I found myself was very large and lofty.” “The words of one of
these rhapsodies I have easily remembered.” I say that even their exceeding
density did not prevent our perceiving this--yet we had no glimpse of the moon
or stars--nor was there any flashing forth of the lightning.” “Here, it will be
remembered…”
To describe
the setting, the main characters and generally to describe the development of
the events in the story, the writer provides epithets: “entire family”, “individual stones”, “original
title”, “vivid force”, “ebon blackness” and others.
While
reading the story we come across a rhetorical
question: “There can be no doubt that the consciousness of the rapid
increase of my superstition--for why should I not so term it?” E. A. Poe uses
this stylistic device to develop the idea and to continue the utterance.
The author
also uses repetitions: “It was this deficiency, I considered,
while running over in thought the perfect keeping of the character of the premises
with the accredited character of the people, and while speculating upon the
possible influence which the one, in the long lapse of centuries, might have
exercised upon the other--it was this
deficiency, perhaps, of collateral issue, and the consequent undeviating
transmission, from sire to son, of the patrimony with the name…” “The now ghastly pallor of the skin, and
the now miraculous lustre of the
eve, above all things startled and even awed me.” “Thus, thus, and not otherwise, shall I be lost.” (ordinary
repetition) “His ordinary
manner had vanished. His ordinary
occupations were neglected or forgotten.”(
anaphora)In such a way the writer wanted to stress the emotional state
of Mr. Usher. His sister died and he lost the only relative. He was so sad, that
he could do even some ordinary things.“"And you have not seen it?" he said abruptly, after having
stared about him for some moments in silence--"you have not then seen it?”. It was at night and it seemed to
Roderick as if he saw his sister. He was so shocked, that he repeats the same
question to the narrator to make sure, the he saw the same.
The use of polysyndeton is also present in
the story: “A striking similitude between the brother and sister now first
arrested my attention; and Usher, divining, perhaps, my thoughts, murmured out
some few words from which I learned that the deceased and himself had been
twins, and that sympathies of a scarcely intelligible nature had always existed
between them.” “. I will read, and you shall listen;--and so we will pass away
this terrible night together.” The author uses this stylistic device to create
some rhythmical arrangement and to make the narration more dynamic and tense.
The narrator haven't seen his friend for a long time and, of course, Roderick
Usher changed very much. In his description we come across asyndeton,
which makes this description more tense and dynamic. It seems like a constant
flow of thoughts, because the narrator was rather surprised:
"A cadaverousness of complexion; an eye large, liquid, and luminous beyond
comparison; lips somewhat thin and very pallid, but of a surpassingly beautiful
curve; a nose of a delicate Hebrew model, but with a breadth of nostril unusual
in similar formations; a finely moulded chin, speaking, in its want of prominence,
of a want of moral energy; hair of a more than web-like softness and tenuity;
these features, with an inordinate expansion above the regions of the temple,
made up altogether a countenance not easily to be forgotten."
The author
uses litotes to convey our
doubts as to the exact value or significance of the object of speech. In this
particular example he wants to convey our doubt about Madeline: “These
appearances, which bewilder you, are merely electrical phenomena not uncommon--or it may be that they
have their ghastly origin in the rank miasma of the tarn.”
From the
first sight it seems, that this is an example of simily, but
"web-like" is an epithet based on simily, which the author uses to in
the description of Roderick, when the narratior describes him:“…hair of a more
than web-like softness and tenuity; these features, with an inordinate
expansion above the regions of the temple…”
The use of aposiopesis is presented in the story,
which is marked by dashes and is used in dialogues between the main characters.
“Long--long --long--many minutes, many hours, many days, have I heard it--yet I
dared not--oh, pity me, miserable wretch that I am!--I dared not--I dared not
speak! We have put her living in the tomb!” this stylistic device denoted a
high emotional state of Roderick. He is so horrified by the fact that they
buried his sister alive that he cannot finish his utterance in a proper way.
Summing up
the analysis of the given extract we see that Edgar Allan Poe brilliantly uses
different stylistic devices such as asyndeton, polysyndeton, aposiopesis,
repetition and many others. All these stylistic devices help to create the
horrifying mood of the story.
