1. Topic: Horror in The Fall Of House of Usher
Paper: 10
Paper Name: The American Literature
Prepared by: Drashti Mehta
Roll No;7
PG Enrollment No:PG13101021
Sem:3
Email id:drashti.mehta.111993@gmail.com
Submitted to: Smt. S.B. Gardi, Department of English, Maharaja
Krishnakumarsinghji Bhavnagar University
Bhavnagar University
Bhavnagar(Gujarat-India)

2. About the Author: Edgar Allan Poe
An
American
Writer
• Poet
• Critic
Master of
the Short
story
• Mysterious
and
Macabre
story
• Horror
• Terror
• Grotesque
• Allegory

3. About Author’s Works:
First book:
• Tamerlane’ and other poems
(1827‘)
Second Volume of Verse:
• ‘Al Aaraaf’(1829)
Third book:
• ‘Poems’(1831)

5. Style and Characterization:
Poe’s tales are distinguished by the author’s unique Grotesque inventiveness
in addition to his superb plot construction.
He is noted for the blend of factual and fantastic material.
“The Fall Of The House Of Usher” 1839 deals with penetrating gloominess of
the atmosphere with superb plot and characterization.
The story reminds us of two novels:
1)Frankenstein
2)Dracula

10. Gothicism and Horror:
Poe’s greatest literary achievement was his
renovation of terror tale to entertain by means of
curdling the blood.
He realized at the outset of his career that Horror was
eminently compatible with psychological plausibility
in literature.
In the story the beginning with darkness creates
Horror.

11. The House is full of Mysteries.
The House created the image of coolness, where
nobody can live.
The description of the house, Madeline thumping
desperately in the coffin, the storm, wall with hanging
shield, clamor of falling shield, slow opening of the door
etc.

12. Snow symbolizes death.
The real essence of the short story is in the ‘Effect’-the effect
of Terror, Horror…hair raising experience.
Entombing of Madeline is full of Terror

13. The Narrator’s
Dream cause Hair
raising effect.
It is a Dream of the
narrator, who is leaving
the temporal and
material world.
Journey inward toward
his inner spiritual self
which emerges in the
form of Roderick Usher.

14. Symbols:
• Candle
• The woods
• Web of spiders
• Usher’s Painting

15. Psychological
Dimension:
• The story depicts the
struggle within the
soul.
• Roderick Usher, his
sister Madeline, and
the house all shared
one common soul.

16. Critic’s view:
• 1)Critics are prompted to analyze the story as a description of the human
psyche.
• 2)For ex. House to the unconscious,
• Sister Madeline to the subconscious,
• Usher to the conscious self.
• 3)Maurice Beebe: “The House of Usher is like the Universe not only in that
everything is related but also in that it is limited.”
• 4)The splitting of house symbolizes the personality split, which can be called
Dissociative Identity Disorder.
• 5)Themes of Melancholy, possibility of incest and Vampirism shows
mental disorder.
• 6)The falling of House creates Terror.
• 7)Poe would write at length about the process of Repeated Collapse
and Rebirth, and apply it to the workings of universe.

17. Conclusion:
The Book will be opened again, the narrator will go back over the cause
way and the reader will follow him through that Maze of prepositional
phrases; Poe suggests as much by ending the story with and Echo of the
title,
“The Fragments of The House of Usher.”

18. Video