When reviewing Nathaniel Hawthornes Tales, Edgar Allen Poe pronounced that the short story, if skillfully written, should deliver a single preconceived effect- an effect upon which incidents be fashioned to accommodate that effect. Edgar Allen Poe was indeed a skillful writer. His short story, “The Fall of the House of Usher” is a flawless example of a story in which all elements contribute to the delivery of a single emotional effect. Poe accomplishes this by achieving a perfect tone, developing suspense and unifying stylistic elements thereby meeting his own criteria. In his pronouncement Poe also wrote that “In the whole composition there should be no word written, of which the tendency, direct or indirect, is not to the one pre-established design.” Thus, in “The Fall of the House of Usher” Poe creates a perfect tone critical to the delivery of his preconceived effect. The senses of “insufferable gloom,” “utter depression of soul” and ” sinking, sickening of the heart” which pervade the narrators spirit immediately establish the tone. The narrators description of the scene as “dull,” “dark,” “bleak,” “desolate” and “terrible” all function in communicating the tone. These concrete and denotative words ensure a clear and solid tone is conveyed to the reader thereby contributing to the overall effect of terror.
The regular use or repetition of the words “dark,” “gloomy” and “oppressive” in some form serves function to further define and emphasize a perfect tone. It also perceivable that Poes choice in the narrators role being the participant supports his intent to communicate consistent feelings; hence consistent tone. In order to strengthen his already established tone, Poe selectively uses imagery in scenes of terrible nature. The imagery created by the descriptive details of “the lofty and enshrouded figure of the lady Madeline of Usher” and the “blood upon her white robes evidence of some bitter struggle upon every portion of her emaciated frame.” exemplify the imagery created by the descriptive details Poe exclusively uses in such scenes of terror. The reserved creation of imagery in these scenes is invaluable to the clarity and emphasis of the tone-a tone vital to the delivery of the single emotional effect of terror. Along with devising a perfect tone, Edgar Allen Poe builds a high degree of suspense in order to bring about his desired effect.
The Term Paper on Edgar Allan Poe 6
•Poe’s Backgroun Poe Did you know? At 27 years old, Edgar Allan Poe married his 13year-old cousin Virginia Eliza Clemm on May 16, 1836, in Richmond, Va. d •Students •Assignments •Teacher’s Page •Resources/Links Click on appropriate link Poe’s Background • Edgar Allan Poe, who was born on Jan. 19, 1809, in Boston, Massachusetts, authored more than 100 poems and short stories during his lifetime. ...
Poe is able to skillfully structure long involved sentences that contain several ideas to fit his purpose of creating confusion and mystery. The expression of the narrators “feeling of wild amazement” and his claim that he “did actually hear a low and apparently distant, but harsh, protracted and most unusual screaming or grating sound” exemplifies the mix of thought and numerous descriptions that all appear in one sentence. This technique draws the reader into a state of ponder as he tries to make sense of a somewhat overwhelming group of ideas. The intentional absence of detail, imagery and explanation of certain factors in the story, such as how, exactly, Madeline dies and the nature of her malady, serves function to arouse a great deal of curiosity in the reader as to the answer of these questions. The vagueness of such events result in a high level of suspicion felt by the reader. In preparation for the single emotional effect, Poe sets up his audience through suspense in order to ensure the effect is successfully delivered in a most powerful manner. This is accomplished through the rising level of anticipation he breeds in the reader with the anticipation the narrator feels as he reads “The Mad Twist.” While reading this story, the narrator, at intervals, hears “the very cracking and ripping sound which Sir Lancelot had so particularly described,” the “low and apparently distant, but harsh, protracted, and most unusual screaming or grating sound” and the sound of “a shield of brass fallen heavily upon a floor of silver”.
The Essay on ''The Tell-Tale Heart'' By Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe was not like most writers of his time; he was most “famous for his cultivation of mystery and the macabre” (Charles). Poe did not have a very pleasant life, with the deaths of his mother, brother, foster mother, and his wife (all caused by tuberculosis). Because of the many misfortunes of death in his life, he also had problems with drinking, drugs, and gambling. Although Poe was ...
Through the exposure to these increasingly realistic and believable sounds, Poe transposes his audience into the correct mindset for the delivery of his single emotional effect. From the first sentence where the approach to the Usher House is met by intense feelings to the last sentence of utter terror, Edgar Allen Poe creates each paragraph as pieces of a puzzle which all link together to form a single emotional picture of terror. To create a strong unity in this story Poe refrained from including any words, phrases or sentences that would not contribute to the suspense or tone he wished to establish. Other effects such as humor, morality and logic are also deliberately omitted. The consonance and repetition used in Usher speech when he asks “Not hear it?-yes, I hear it, and have heard it. Long-long-long-many minutes, many hours, many days, have I heard it” and “Do I not distinguish that heavy and horrible beating of her heart? Shows how Poe uses these techniques to enhance rhythm and create emphasis thus adding to the unity of the story. Poes use of parallel and balanced sentences also create consistent rhythm which aid in the maintenance of tone and suspense. The parallelism that exists between the poem the “The Haunted Palace” and what is occurring in the House of Usher achieves a great deal of unity as it helps to connect the events to come by foreshadowing an imminent, terrible and rapid deterioration of the House of the Ushers. Through directing all elements of his style to one common cause, Poe creates a unified story, optimal of achieving a single emotional effect.
Through diction, details, imagery, sentence structure-style-Poe develops a high degree of suspense as well as a perfect tone which remains constant throughout the story. It is clear that through his chosen style, Edgar Allen Poe has devised a believable tale of increasing terror that succeeds in leaving his audience with a powerful, single emotional effect of utmost terror..
The Term Paper on Poe Decoder Allan House Usher
Poe Decoder An Analysis of Adgar Allan Poe " s Psychological ThrillerOutlineI. Prelude II. Brief introduction to Adgar Allan Poe 1. 1. Allan Poe's Life 2. 2. Allan Poe's Works and Literary Achievement III. Adgar Allan Poe -- A Post-Gothic Writer 1. 1. Gothic Introduction 2. 2. Analysis of Two Horror 1) 1) The Fall of the House of Ushera) a) Settingb) b) Charactersc) c) Point of View 2) 2) The ...
