Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Edgar allan poe influence on literature
The fall of the house of usher literary analysis
Romanticism movement essay
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Edgar allan poe influence on literature
Literature is powerful. Every day people around the world are directly and indirectly influenced by books written throughout the centuries of human existence. Some people turn to literature for inspiration, others to understand a concept from school, and some for mere pleasure and enjoyment. Whatever the reason, literature impacts people and leaves an impression on their lives; its presence is seen everywhere and its legacy is present throughout the ages. Through the years, different literary movements –like Romanticism, Realism, and Transcendentalism– sprouted with the goal of making their own lasting mark in literature. Romanticism, originally started in Europe, found its way to New America in the early eighteen-hundreds and blossomed into
In the short story, Poe, similarly to Hawthorne in The House of the Seven Gables, sets the story in a dark house where no light or happiness seems to exist. Poe describes the house “as the melancholy House of Usher” that causes a “sense of insufferable gloom to pervade [the narrator’s] spirit” (Poe 264). This is crucial because it shows Poe incorporate the Dark Romantic quality of a gloomy, supernatural-like atmosphere. The haunting exterior creates a sense of dread which builds suspicion and suspense throughout the story. Poe describes the house as having “minute fungi overspread the whole exterior, hanging in a fine tangled web from the eaves… and a crumbling condition of the individual stones…woodwork which has rotted for years” (Poe 265). In this quote, Poe describes the decaying state of the house and seems to compare it to the person inside the house, Rodrick Usher. The windows resemble his eyes and the fungi is his hair. This is important because Poe expresses the Dark Romantic qualities of suffering in the human spirit. Just like the outside of the house is falling apart, so is Rodrick’s mental stability and sanity; Rodrick suffers inside the house and his mind is deteriorating and decaying. Keith Neilson writes how “The Fall of the House of Usher” is a Dark Romantic work because it contains a “haunted atmosphere, darkness, and evilness” (Neilson). Poe writings and works are heavily layered with Dark Romantic ideas to visually display the supernatural and mystical scenes that he presents to the readers. Edgar Allan Poe writes of evilness and suffering to expose the readers to the faults of humanity and the darkness that exists in the world. His powerful and dark descriptions not only leave a lasting mark on readers’ emotions but an impression on the literary world as
From the onset of the story, it is apparent that Poe is employing a gothic theme upon his work. The narrator’s portrayal of the home of his longtime friend, Roderick Usher was as follows, “I looked upon the scene before me – upon the bleak walls – upon the vacant eye-like windows – upon a few rank sedges – and upon a few white trunks of decayed trees” (Poe, 75). T...
In "The Fall of the house of Usher," Edgar Allen Poe creates suspense and fear in the reader. He also tries to convince the reader not to let fear overcome him. Poe tries to evoke suspence in the reader's mind by using several diffenent scenes. These elements include setting, characters, plot, and theme. Poe uses setting primarily in this work to create atmosphere. The crack in the house and the dead trees imply that the house and its surroundings are not sturdy or promising. These elements indicate that a positive outcome is not expected. The thunder, strange light, and mist create a spooky feeling for the reader. The use of character provides action and suspense in the story through the characters' dialogue and actions. Roderick, who is hypochondriac, is very depressed. He has a fearful apperance and his senses are acute. This adds curiosity and anxiety. The narrator was fairly normal until he began to imagine things and become afraid himself. Because of this, the audience gets a sense that evil is lurking. Madeline is in a cataleptic state. She appears to be very weak and pail. Finally, when she dies, she is buried in a vault inside of the mansion. In this story, the plot consists of rising events, conflict, climax, and resolution. The rising events include the parts in the story when the narrator first arrives at the house, meets Roderick, and hears about Roderick's and Madeline's problems. Madeline's death and burial are part of the conflict. At this point, Roderick and the narrator begin to hear sounds throughout the house. The sounds are an omen that an evil action is about to occur. The climax is reached when Madeline comes back from the dead and she and her twin brother both die. Finally, the resolution comes when the narrator escapes from the house and turns around to watch it fall to the ground. The theme that Edgar Allen Poe is trying to convey is do not let fear take over your life because it could eventually destory you.
He describes his superstition one night, "I endeavored to believe that much, if not all of what I felt, was due to the phantasmagoric influence of the gloomy furniture of the room…" (1468). Hence, Poe makes use of the house to create a supernatural effect. Likewise, Poe describes the house to create a terrifying effect. "The Fall of the House of Usher" is a horror story. In order to develop a mood to get the reader frightened, Poe must portray the setting of the story. The house is described initially by the narrator, who sees the image of the house as a skull or death’s head looming out of the dead. He is not sure what to think and comments of the properties of the old house: "What was it, I paused to think, what was it that so unnerved me in the contemplation of the house of Usher?
Poe’s use of personification, the act of giving human characteristics to nonhuman things, assigns the house of Usher a powerful and evil presence. In the first paragraph of the story, the narrator describes the house as having “vacant eye-like windows”. He uses this description twice: first to show that the house has seen everything that has led to the fall of Usher, and again to emphasize the unidentified deception of the house. The narrator also describes his negative reaction to the house as a “hideous dropping off of the veil”. This statement describes what the house has revealed to the narrator, a disgusting and disappointing appearance.
Literature has played a large role in the way we perceive the world and it can affect the way in which we think about things. Edgar Allan Poe along with Mark Twain are two of the most influential authors that our world has ever seen. Their descriptiveness and diction has had a huge impact on their readers for centuries. Poe’s gothic style of writing was very enthralling and suspenseful; it left you wanting to know what was going to happen next. Whereas, Mark Twain was a very humorous author that intended to amuse all that read. The descriptiveness that was incorporated by these world-renown authors is tremendous.
In “The Fall of the House of Usher”, Poe’s use of dark, descriptive words allow him to establish an eerie mood. Poe’s unique style of writing along with his foreshadowing vocabulary is significant in creating a suspenseful gothic story. At the beginning of the short story, Poe describes the House of Usher to be “dull”, “oppressive”, and “dreary” (1265). His choice of words strongly emphasizes a mood of darkness and suspense as he builds on the horrific aspects of this daunting tale. At first glimpse, the house itself is surrounded by the feeling of “insufferable gloom”, (1265) “[t]here was an iciness, a sinking, a sickening of the heart, an unredeemed dreariness of thought [...]” (1265). The atmosphere that Poe describes in the statement above establishes a spine-chilling mood. Poe uses words such as “insufferable gloom”
In the 1800’s the period of the Dark Romantics was focused on the dark side of the human mind. This started because of the Transcendentalist. These Transcendentalists were people who believed that religious and political parties corrupt people’s purity. They also believed that people were better of being independent and this would form the best community. In American women started to notice the unfair treatment of men and women when people lived in cities and worked in the factories and this started the Suffrage movement. There was also another movement during the nineteenth century and this was the Lyceum movement. This movement was about how important American education is. Both of these movements caused America some problems but also slavery was another issue that was going on because pilgrims were coming to America for freedom. They wanted freedom of religion and freedom of land and they were called Puritans. Religion became first to them in all aspects and came before the law. Two popular writers in this time period were Edgar Allan Poe and Herman Melville and the greatly influenced this era. Many of their pieces reflected nature such as the ocean overpowering man. In many of their journeys the sea was powerful and destructive which was something that man could not defeat.
Edgar Allan Poe is undoubtedly one of American Literature's legendary and prolific writers, and it is normal to say that his works touched on many aspects of the human psyche and personality. While he was no psychologist, he wrote about things that could evoke the reasons behind every person's character, whether flawed or not. Some would say his works are of the horror genre, succeeding in frightening his audience into trying to finish reading the book in one sitting, but making them think beyond the story and analyze it through imagery. The "Fall of the House of Usher" is one such tale that uses such frightening imagery that one can only sigh in relief that it is just a work of fiction. However, based on the biography of Poe, events that surrounded his life while he was working on his tales were enough to show the emotions he undoubtedly was experiencing during that time.
The American Romantic period was essentially a Renaissance of American literature. “It was a Renaissance in the sense of a flowering, excitement over human possibilities, and a high regard for individual ego” (English). American romantics were influenced by the literary eras that came before them, and their writings were a distinct reaction against the ideology of these previous eras. In this sense, American Romanticism grew from “. . . the rhetoric of salvation, guilt, and providential visions of Puritanism, the wilderness reaches of this continent, and the fiery rhetoric of freedom and equality . . .” as they eagerly developed their own unique style of writing (English). American romantic authors had a strong sense of national identity and
The literary period of Romanticism has been ranked among the most influential in America. Filled with intense feelings and emotional reactions, Romanticism embodied independence from the strictness of Puritans. Some authors manifested the optimistic components of Romanticism. Other authors created a subgroup that focused on the mysterious side of Romanticism. It was because of these people that Romanticism was born.
Literature has had a major impact on society, and, also our history. Literature has reformed and shaped civilizations, changed political systems, and has exposed injustices (3). Our literature has changed and developed as we have, keeping up with our society. “...literature is crucial for the advancement of society (3).” With literary works, we can convince others to view things a certain way, share our opinions, and more. Literature is greatly intertwined with our society and everyday lives, and they would not be the same without it. Literature plays an irreplaceable role in our
Poe sets the setting as dark and gloomy, most likely to give the reader the death is in the air vibe in the beginning of “The Fall of the House of Usher”. “There was an iciness, a sinking, a sickening of the heart - an unredeemed dreariness of thought which no goading of the imagination could torture into aught of the sublime. What was it - I paused to think - what was it that so unnerved me in the contemplation of the House of Usher?” The narrator, who is nameless throughout the whole story, receives a letter from an old childhood friend. According to the letter Roderick, the narrator’s childhood friend, has invited the narrator
The misshapen, the ominous, and the gruesome; these are all words from the fascinating movement of Dark Romanticism which took place from 1828-1865. This movement embraced all of these irrational elements and shaped them into the most popular sub-genre of American literature. Life to the Dark Romantics was colorful, impulsive, and paradoxical. Unlike the Romantics, the Dark Romantics set their stories based on the wickedness of man and the repulsion of evil. The dark romantics believed that humans were equally capable of good or evil. While the Romantic’s tried to ignore the wickedness and immorality actions of man, the dark Romantics decided to remind people of the evil doings of man. Like the Romantics and Transcendentalists; however, the Dark Romantics valued instinct and feelings over judgment and rationale and saw symbols and signs in nature and everyday events. They also paid attention to the mysteries of life that were impossible to explain by reasoning. Although they did focus on the morbid and the dreadful, they were not cynical. Edgar Allen Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne were both associated with this movement and were both key figures in it.
The Fall Of The House of Usher is a terrifying tale of the demise of the Usher family, whose inevitable doom is mirrored in the diseased and evil aura of the house and grounds. Poe uses elements of the gothic tale to create an atmosphere of terror. The decaying house is a metaphor for Roderick Usher’s mind, as well as his family line. The dreary landscape also reflects his personality. Poe also uses play on words to engage the reader to make predictions, or provide information. Poe has also set the story up to be intentionally ambiguous so that the reader is continually suspended between the real and the fantastic.
Literature also gives us glimpses of much earlier ages. These glimpses take our imaginations back to the roots of our culture, in some instances. The study of Literature, through our history, enhances our understanding of our modern world.