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“The Fall of the House of Usher”Edgar Allan Poe1839“The Fall of the House 1“The Fall of the House of Usher”The gothic context of the taleThe doubling motif of the taleThe function of setting in the taleThe structural unity of the tale“The Fall of the House of Ushe2The Gothic literary traditionBegun in eighteenth century EnglandNovelistsHorace WalpoleAnn RadcliffeMatthew“Monk”LewisPopular form in British literary journalsImported into American short story-19th centuryKey ingredient was sensationalismThe Gothic literary traditionB3 Gothic Architecture in AmericaStarted in US about 1840Steeply pitched roofsPointed arch windowsElaborate trim around roof edgesHigh dormersLancet windows Gothic Architecture in Americ4Poes“house of Usher”looks more like a medieval castle or English cathedral in Gothic stylePoes“house of Usher”looks m5The house might look something like this(from a photograph by Simon Marsden in his Visions of Poe)The house might look something6Elements of Gothic WritingEmphasis on settingExterior:landscapeInterior:housesCastle-like architectureCharacters are brooding,secretiveBuried family secretsLong history of family tied to placeElements of Gothic WritingEmph7The Doubling MotifIn literary criticism,this is called a“doppelganger,”from the German for“double-goer”Examples are:Dr.Jekyll and Mr.Hyde(Robert Louis Stevenson)The Secret Sharer(Joseph Conrad)The Doubling MotifIn literary 8What function does the doppelganger motif serve?Represents the dual nature of manIn Poe,one side of man is reason,or the mindThe other is emotion,or the bodyRoderick and Madeleine are genetically twins,but psychologically they are also doubles.What function does the doppelg9Who Represents What?RoderickAn artist figure(509)Nervous agitation(509)Lives in dark upstairs apartment(511)Cadaverous complexion(511)“want of moral energy”(511)“excessive nervous agitation”(511-12)Who Represents What?Roderick10Rodericks mental condition is affected by his environment“He was enchanted by certain superstitious impressions in regard to the dwelling which he tenanted.An effect which the physique of the gray walls and turrets,and of the dim tarn into which they all looked down,had,at length,brought about upon the morale of his existence.”(512)Rodericks mental condition is11Here,“physique”refers to something physicalAnd“morale”refers to something mental Roderick is all mind in a weak bodyHe represents in one way the life of the isolated artistPaintingsReadingGuitar playingHere,“physique”refers to som12MadeleineIllness has debilitated herAll descriptions focus on the body“gradual wasting away of the person”(513)Roderick and the narrator screw down the lid of her coffin(518)She returns from the tomb to reclaim her twin brother,her“double”“the huge antique panelsthrew back”(521)She“fell heavily inward uponher brother andbore him to the floor a corpse”Madeleine13What is Poes point?Poe addresses the dual and conflicted nature of the SelfMind and body are at war with each other in each of usWe try to repress one side and live without itBut we cannot achieve a harmonious existence in this wayWhat is Poes point?Poe addres14The Function of Setting-ExteriorThe“house of Usher”has two meanings1.The physical dwelling2.The family line,or lineage1.“the entire family lay in the direct line of descent”The Function of Setting-Exte15The house is also a type of character in the storyLike the family,it is of“an excessive antiquity”(510)The landscape is overgrown and raggedOn the front down the middle is“a barely perceptible fissure”going in“a zigzag direction”(510)The house is also a type of ch16Interior SettingGothic architecture(511)“windows were long,narrow and pointed”“feeble gleams of encrimsoned light”“dark draperies”“atmosphere of sorrow”Roderick lives upstairs(mind)Madeleine is entombed below ground(body)Interior SettingGothic archite17Structure and UnityPoe creates texts within texts1.“The Haunted Palace”(poem)reflects the Usher family life in the house(515)2.“The Mad Trist”(story)parallels Madeleines return from the grave3.The storm outside is analogous to the turmoil inside the characters in the house4.The book titles in Rodericks library are symbolic of the themes of the storyStructure and UnityPoe creates18Rodericks Library“the Chiromancy of Robert Flud,of Jean DIndagine”“the Directorium Inquisitorum”“old African Satyrs,over which Usher would sit dreaming for hours”(516-17)Rodericks Library“the Chiroma19Poes Theory of Literary UnityPoe earned his living as a“magazinist,”not a fiction writer.He was an editor and reviewer for many major magazines.Poe wrote a great deal of literary criticism,literary theory,and book reviews.His theory of literary unity was articulated in a review of Hawthornes collection of stories,Twice-Told Tales in 1842Poes Theory of Literary Unity20An author should“conceive,with deliberate care,a certain unique or single effect to be wrought out,and then invent such events as may best aid him in establishing this preconceived effect.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.An author should“conceive,wi21Unity in“Fall of the House of Usher”First and last paragraphs are mirror images of each other,creating symmetryThe texts-within-text reinforce the central themeThe house itself symbolizes the split in the familyThe construction of the house reflects a“perfect adaptation of parts”(510)Unity in“Fall of the House of22
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