The Fall of the House of Usher

The passage, that I am going to analyze, is an extract taken from “The Fall of the House of Usher”; one of the most popular works of Edgar Allan Poe. This passage brings us to the end of the story, as well as the Usher Bloodline. In this passage, things begin to get stranger than before. The deceased comes back to motion, and the so- called prophecies made by Roderick Usher, seem to come true. The writer has written awesomely spooky climax, followed by a sudden end. The ending is well, predictable yet surprising, serene yet disturbed, and dead yet existing. There is no evidence as to when or where these events take place, probably because Allan Poe did not want to limit his readers’ imaginations. The only time something is said about the physical setting, is just before everything collapses. I quote “the storm was still abroad in all its wrath as I found myself crossing the old causeway. Suddenly there shot along the path a wild light, and I turned to see whence a gleam so unusual could we have issued; for the vast house and its shadows were alone behind me.” The setting of the passage relies more on the mood and atmosphere created by Poe. He uses traditional gothic elements such as barren landscape, and inclement climate to intensify the theme of terror. As a matter of fact I am sure you all remember, the readers are told about the fierce climate outside the house, the heavy lightning and a stormy night. It is also implied that there is no light inside the house, as Usher is told to be carrying a lamp. The fact that Usher hasn’t left the house in ages lends the tale a sense of claustrophobia. In fact, the narrator himself doesn’t leave until the story’s end – which makes us, the reader, feel just as trapped as Usher. Features like dreary landscape, a haunted house, mysterious sickness and doubled personality are very common in the Gothic Genre. The Superhuman powers are attributed to the physical setting as well.
The passage is written in a 1st person narrative...