the fall of the house of usher.doc

The Fall of the House of the Usher学号:20095061104 班级：09级一班 姓名：李晓燕Author Information Edgar Allan Poe was born on January 19, 1809, in Boston. In 1820, he studied at private schools, then attended the University of Virginia and the U.S. Military Academy, but did not complete studies at either school. He worked for several magazines and joined the staff of the New York Mirror newspaper in 1844. After the Mirror published his poem “The Raven” in January 1845, Poe achieved national and international fame. Besides pioneering the development of the short story, Poe invented the format for the detective story as we know it today. He also was an outstanding literary critic. Setting The story begins at dusk on an autumn day in an earlier time, probably the 19th Century. The place is a forbidding mansion in a forlorn countryside. The mansion, covered by a fungus, is encircled by a small lake, called a tarn, that resembles a moat. A bridge across the tarn provides access to the mansion. Type of Work The Fall of the House of Usher is a short story of Gothic horror written in first-person point of view. It was first published in September 1839 in Burtons Gentlemans Magazine. In 1840 and 1845, Poe published it with other stories in Tales of the Grotesque and of the Arabesque. Style and Imagery Word Choice Poe carefully makes every word, every phrase, every sentence in the story contribute to the overall effect, horror, accompanied by oppressing morbidity and anxious anticipation of terrifying events. Notice, for example, the tenor of the words in the opening sentence of the story. I have underlined those that help establish the mood and atmosphere. Rhythm But besides painting a gloomy picture, the words in the paragraph also beat out a funereal rhythmat first through the alliteration of during, dull, dark, and day, and then through the rhyming suffixes of oppressively, singularly, and melancholy. Alliteration Alliteration occurs frequently in the rest of the story, in such phrases as the following: iciness, a sinking, a sickening of the heart cadaverousness of complexion Main Theme The central theme of The Fall of the House of Usher is terror that arises from the complexity and multiplicity of forces that shape human destiny. Dreadful, horrifying events result not from a single, uncomplicated circumstance but from a collision and intermingling of manifold, complex circumstances. In Poes story, the House of Usher falls to ruin for the reasons listed under Other Themes (below). Other Themes Evil Evil has been at work in the House of Usher for generations, befouling the residents of the mansion. Roderick Ushers illness is a constitutional and family evil . . . one for which he despaired to find a remedy, the narrator reports. Usher himself later refers to this evil in Stanza V of The Haunted Palace, a ballad he sings to the accompaniment of his guitar music. The palace in the ballad represents the House of Usher. The first two lines of Stanza V are as follows: But evil things, in robes of sorrow, Assailed the monarchs high estate.Neither of these references identifies the exact nature of the evil. However, clues in the story suggest that the evil infecting the House of Usher is incest. Isolation Roderick and Madeline Usher seal themselves inside their mansion, cutting themselves off from friends, ideas, progress. They have become musty and mildewed, sick unto their souls for lack of contact with the outside world. Madness Roger and Madeline suffer from mental illness characterized by anxiety, depression, and other symptoms. Catalepsy, a symptom of Madelines illness, is a condition that causes muscle rigidity and temporary loss of consciousness and feeling for several minutes, several hours, and, in some cases, more than a day. Generally, it is not an illness in itself but a symptom of an illness, such as schizophrenia, epilepsy, hysteria, alcoholism or a brain tumor. Certain drugs, too, can trigger a cataleptic episode. The victim does not respond to external stimuli, even painful stimuli such as a pinch on the skin. In the past, a victim of catalepsy was sometimes pronounced dead by a doctor unfamiliar with the condition. Apparently, Madeline is not dead when her brother and the narrator entomb her; instead, she is in a state of catalepsy. When she awakens from her trance, she breaks free of her confines, enters her brothers chamber, and falls on him. She and her brother then die together. Besides Roger and Madeline, the narrator himself may suffer from mental instability, given his reaction to the depressing scene he describes in the opening paragraphs. If he is insane, all of the events he describes could be viewed as manifestations of his sick mindillusions, dreams, hallucinations. Mystery From the very beginning, the narrator realizes that he is entering a world of mystery when he crosses the tarn bridge. He observes, What was itI paused to thinkwhat was it that so unnerved me in the contemplation of the House of Usher ? It was a mystery all insoluble. Strange Phenomena The narrator describes the mansion as having a “pestilent and mystic” vapor enveloping it. He also says Roderick Usher “was enchained by certain superstitious impressions in regard to the dwelling which he tenanted.” Symbolism The Fungus-Ridden Mansion: Decline of the Usher family. The Collapsing Mansion: Fall of the Usher family. The “Vacant eye-like” Wind