Symbolism In Edgar Allen Poe's The Fall Of The House Of Usher

981 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Short analysis of the story the fall of house of usher by edgar allan poe

Symbolism is a literary device authors use to give objects a deeper and hidden meaning in their stories or literary works. At first glance, one object may seem unimportant. Then you look deeper into this object and find that this object is very important and has a deep hidden meaning. Edgar Allen Poe is very well known for his use of symbolism in his stories. The Fall of the House of Usher is a great example of Poe’s use of symbolism. The very first sign of symbolism is in the title. The title alludes chaos that lurks in the mansion. This “broken” house is “falling” in every way. In the end of the story, the house does indeed fall; throughout the story, however, the narrator describes the different characteristics of the house. The Ushers’ …show more content…

The house, as well its residents, is described: with an utter depression of soul which I can compare to no earthly sensation more properly than to the after-dream of the reveler upon opium—the bitter lapse into everyday life--- the hideous dropping off of the veil (397).
All of this is symbolic of the mental, spiritual, and physical state of this rare family, which (as it is debated) could even represent a fragment of the narrator’s own state of mind. As “a house”, the “house of Usher” really encompasses the entire generation of Ushers. In the story, the narrator informs the readers that the Usher race laid in a direct line of descent. This means that the entire family are products of inbreeding. They are a dying family; they are dying off and the house is also breaking apart from its …show more content…

Many examples like when Roderick decides to paint an underground tomb then Madeline is entombed alive underground. He begins to play the guitar and sing about the decline of the Usher family. Then while this is happening, the actual house begins to fall apart. He mourns for his sister’s death. All of a sudden, his “dead” sister is standing in his doorway. This frightens Roderick and the narrator will cause the collapse of the family and the house. While the house and the family are collapsing, a storm draws closer. In literature, storms usually describe a climatic action. Such as the final scene, the house crumbles into a lake storm comes

Show More
Related

  • Comparing Poe's Fall Of The House Of Usher And Where Is Here?

    400 Words  | 1 Pages

    In “Fall of the House of Usher”, the setting takes place at the house of Usher, whose friend, the main character, comes to visit because Usher is dying. He travels through the house, visiting the family members and sees the house is in a serious state of disrepair. A theory on the story

    Read More

  • Empiricism In Poe's The Fall Of The House Usher

    1295 Words  | 3 Pages

    Romanticism was a movement in art and literature in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in revolt against the Neoclassicism of the previous centuries. The romanticism movement in literature consists of a few of the following characteristics: intuition over fact, imagination over fact, and the stretch and alteration of the truth. The death of a protagonist may be prolonged and/or exaggerated, but the main point was to signify the struggle of the individual trying to break free, which was shown in “The Fall of the House Usher” (Prentice Hall Literature 322).

    Read More

  • Poe's Fall of The House of Usher Essays: Suspense

    418 Words  | 1 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Symbolism In Aura By Carlos Fuentes

    1251 Words  | 3 Pages

    Symbolism “acts as webbing between theme and story. Themes alone can sound preachy, and stories alone can sound shallow. Symbolism weaves the two together” (Hall). Symbolism uses the story to convey the theme. Darkness is used in the novel to show the secrecy and lies that the story has. The whole story involves secrecy among two women and a man. Without symbolism the story would just have a very dark house and two very mysterious and disturbed women. Instead there is a feel of secrecy right from the beginning. Symbolism gives the story excitement, while also providing the reader with a good read. The author can read the first few pages and determine the story is not a happy

    Read More

  • Symbols In The Lottery By Shirley Jackson

    1077 Words  | 3 Pages

    In almost every story, one can find symbolism throughout the text to help the reader better understand what the writer wants the reader to takeout from his/her story. Symbolism is something that must be analyzed and explored to experience a deeper meaning to the story. Sometimes, symbolism throughout a story may not be noticeable when first read, but going back to analyze the text can add a deeper meaning to words and can also help to enhance the meaning behind the story line. In some instances, symbolism can leave a reader to ponder what the writer is trying to express with the symbolism used in the story; for symbolism can be interpreted differently and can have many layers of meaning to it. Some good examples of short stories that use symbolism to extend the meaning behind the story line are “The Lottery,” “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall,” and “The Jury of Her Peers”.

    Read More

  • Poe's Fall of The House of Usher - The House and its Inhabitants

    915 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the story “The Fall of the House of Usher”, Poe presents the history of the end of an illustrious family.  As with many of Poe’s stories, setting and mood contribute greatly to the overall tale.  Poe’s descriptions of the house itself as well as the inhabitants thereof invoke in the reader a feeling of gloom and terror.  This can best be seen first by considering Poe’s description of the house and then comparing it to his description of its inhabitants, Roderick and Madeline Usher.

    Read More

  • Symbolism and the Theme of Incest in "The Fall of the House of Usher"

    513 Words  | 2 Pages

    Symbolism and incest are both very apparent themes throughout the story of "The Fall of the House of Usher", by Edgar Allan Poe, and helps us to better understand the events that occur. Poe uses his symbolism to reveal character traits, foreshadow future events and helps his reader to understand the events that occur throughout the story. Throughout the story we realize that the relationship between brother and sister is not a normal sibling bond. We also see that the siblings themselves are not normal in all the aspects of a human being.

    Read More

  • The Depiction of Fear in The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe

    2174 Words  | 5 Pages

    The Depiction of Fear in The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe

    Read More

  • Anti-Transcendentalist Themes in Poe's The Fall of the House of Usher

    1664 Words  | 4 Pages

    Towards the middle of the nineteenth century, the Transcendentalism movement became a seminal force in literature. Originating in the New England region of America, transcendentalism emphasized the spiritual over the corporeal, and the power of individual intuition over organized doctrine as a means of attaining true spirituality. But one of the most notable writers of this period, Edgar Allan Poe, made no secret of his disdain for the tenets of transcendentalism. He mocked transcendentalist ideals by clearly expressing anti-transcendentalist themes in one of his most well known works, “The Fall of the House of Usher”. Although this work openly exhibits Poe's contempt for transcendentalism as a literary movement, it was nonetheless influenced by – and perhaps even based on – transcendentalist beliefs.

    Read More

  • The Fall of the House of Usher

    655 Words  | 2 Pages

    Poe also uses symbolism to represent the connection between the house and the Usher family. The description of the house itself has a shocking resemblance to that of Roderick and Madelyn Usher. Upon the main character’s arrival, Poe offers an interesting description of the building’s physical state. “The discoloration of age had been great. Minute fungi overspread the whole exterior, hanging in fine tangled web-work from the eves” (1266). Poe is able to establish an air of suspense by relating the state of the house to that of Roderick and Madelyn Usher.

    Read More

  • Analysis Paper

    830 Words  | 2 Pages

    Symbolism is the use of a person, place, or thing to represent an idea or quality. In the story The Yellow Wallpaper is filled with symbolism the pattern of the wallpaper, the moonlight, and the house. The pattern of the yellow wallpaper can be seen as a cage. This can be why the narrator feels like she is trapped inside the wallpaper. The moonlight can symbolize the narrator because during the day she remains motionless due to her husband watching her and at night she creeps through the room and remains alert and awake. “At night in any kind of light, in twilight, candlelight, lamplight, and worst of all by...

    Read More

  • Symbolism and analysis of "The Fall of the House of Usher"

    837 Words  | 2 Pages

    The narrator in "the House of Usher" was actually the friend of the main character of the story, Roderick Usher, who lived with his sister in the house and both had mental sicknesses that had ultimately led to their deaths. While the house was not actually haunted, as horror stories usually are made up of, there was a permeating sense of decay about the building that continued up to the two owners of the house, with their depression and gloom, and the sister's ability to withdraw in a catatonic state that would make anyone unaware of the condition conclude that the person had died. The house, which was the setting of the story, was not bathed in light or warmth; it was either always dark, or gloomy, "melancholy" was the word frequently used; and the reference to the crack in the wall was to show that it was on its way to destruction; all it needed wa...

    Read More

  • Double Meaning in The Fall Of The House Of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe

    1545 Words  | 4 Pages

    If there is one thing that is widely agreed upon in regards to Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher” it is surely the fact that the short story is one of the greatest ever written. The very words that Poe selects and the manner in which he pieced them was nothing short of phenomenal. This however, is pretty much all that people are able to agree upon. Indeed, to almost everyone who reads it sees the story as great, but for different reasons. In a way the tale can be compared to a psychiatrist’s inkblots. While everyone may be looking at the same picture, they all see different things. What mainly gives “The Fall of the House of Usher” this quality is the double meanings and symbols Poe seems to use throughout.

    Read More

  • Symbolism in Poe’s Works

    1174 Words  | 3 Pages

    Many authors often use symbolism to express a deeper meaning. They use the symbols to connect an unrelated thought or feeling into the literary work they are writing. Edgar Allan Poe frequently uses this literary device in his works. Symbols are often seen in his poems and in his short stories. Many symbols are evident in Poe’s works “The Raven,” “The Tell-Tale Heart,” and “The Black Cat.”

    Read More

  • The House Of Usher Response

    633 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

More about Symbolism In Edgar Allen Poe's The Fall Of The House Of Usher

Open Document