Similarities Between Edgar Allan Poe And The Fall Of The House Of Usher

Literature is a way for writers to express their views to the world, to reflect society and help people realize their faults, and to change how society views the world. Writers use their voice to express their ideas to people using their own creative and personal style. Writers reflect the darkness and sin in society through their influential writings. Writers change how people see the world and open their eyes to a new way of life. Dark Romanticism brought a way for writers to write about mystical, dark, and to explore the inner workings of the mind of the people. Edgar Allan Poe and Herman Melville are the two most famous writers that came out of this movement. Poe wrote an influential piece called “The Fall of the House of Usher”, while
To begin with, writers during this movement would place their stories in dark, creepy settings. (Farley) This setting would create an ominous feeling in the reader making them more vulnerable to frightful plot twists in the story. During the 19th Century, America was going through the Industrial Revolution, this led to many new factories being built and expansion that would create large gothic mansions and waste areas across the country. Secondly, authors would often use horrid symbolism in their stories. (Farley) The use of dreadful symbolism allows the author to establish a scary theme. Towards the end of the Dark Romanticism Era, the Civil War was just starting, therefore people would see dark themes throughout their day. Finally, writers create the mood of despair in their writings to reflect the thoughts of society during this time period. (Farley) The mood of hopelessness puts the reader in the story and makes their mind think that they are losing hope and allows the theme of the story be prominent. Throughout the Industrial Era and Civil War, people worried that any day could be their last, with the spread of diseases or through battle, and lost hope in their lives. The Dark Romanticism Era is marked by a loss in hope, gothic structures, and horrid themes, which is directly mirrored through the literature of this
The symbolism in the title of Edgar Allan Poe’s short story, “The Fall of the House of Usher” is blood curdling. The title relates to the fact that the House of Usher crumbles to the ground behind the narrator, but also means that the Usher bloodline has fallen with the death of Madeline and Roderick. This symbolism is not obvious to the reader at first, but after reading the story, the title becomes a new dreadful topic. Herman Melville uses horrid symbolism in “Swamp Angel” when he describes death by stating, “It comes like the thief in the gloaming; It comes, and none may foretell The place of the coming—the glaring; They live in a sleepless spell” (Melville 17-20). The use of symbolism here tells how death comes secretly, quietly and, once dead, people fall into a sleepy state and do not wake up. Melville uses morbid symbolism to stress the point that this “angel” comes when it pleases and makes the reader scared that they too may die at any time. Poe uses symbolism when the narrator describes the features of the outside of the house to be, “No portion of the masonry had fallen; and there appeared to be a wild inconsistency between its still perfect adaptation of parts, and the crumbling condition of the individual stones” (Poe 3). The deterioration of the house is a symbol for Roderick and Madeline physical deterioration from the disease. This cold