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The Fall of

the House of Usher

Introduction Biography Story Plot Synopsis Main Characters Major Themes Symbols Historical background Transcendentalism Industrial Revolution Romantic Movement : Romanticism in The Fall of the House of Usher Conclusions

The fall of the House of Usher shows all of the

elements of Romanticism

Nature Individualism Exotic setting Supernatural Imagination Exploring psyche

Relevant information Author Socio historical framework

Born: January 19, 1809 Boston,

Massachusetts United States

Died: October 7, 1849 (aged 40)

Baltimore, Maryland United States


writer, editor, literary critic fiction, Detective fiction

Occupation: Poet, short story

Genres: Horror fiction, Crime

Orphan at early age

Strange marriage
Journals and periodicals and literary

criticism Unknown cause of his death Vast influence in different fields His homes are dedicated museums today

The Narrator Unnamed Childhood friends Intention of helping Usher Was he sane from the start ? Roderick Usher: Last living descendant Man of culture and erudition Severe mental illness

Madeline: Roderick Usher's sister Suffers a mysterious illness: Catalepsy Possibility of an incestuous relationship

Mortality: Premature burial: Two interpretations Madness: Malady: no scientific explanation Sanity and insanity -> Narrator into madness Fear: Fear of fear itself Acute anxiety Friendship: Never fully explained Narrator seems terrified

Burial: Three images of "tombs" or "crypts:


cavernous rooms Usher's painting House into a New grave -> Poes story-within-a-story

Incest: No spouses "the entire family lay in the direct line of descent the strange qualities of the Usher family Twins share strange illnesses The Arts: Usher is skilled at music and painting Comparison between Roderick to Fuseli

Reality and Art: Connection between fiction and reality


Rodericks artistic creations: prophecies Sound of the medieval story = sound from the vault

Doubling: Dichotomy: twins, but male/female; mental/physical: alive/dead The Small Fissure
Symbolic connections between family and building Disruption in the Unity of the family

The House of Usher Several levels of interpretation: The setting Literally falls Organic Entity Romantic Agony: Romantic Excess Esoteric works of Arts and Literature

SOCIO-HISTORICAL

BACKGROUND

Transcendentalism Unity of the world and God American writes: lonely explorers Industrial Revolution Intellectual and artistic hostility
importance of "nature" in contrast to 'monstrous' machines and factories

Socio-Historical Background
Romantic Movement All Art forms Development of the SELF Emphasis on feeling: emotions, passions Sublime -> high psychological states Individuality Nature Questioning conventional Codes Myths and Legends from the past Altered states : express vividly

Poes characters Strangeness -> essential ingredient to beauty Aristocratic Gothic settings -> reflect INTERIOR -> DISTURBED PSYCHES Tragedy Poes Insecurity
Europeans Americans Disgust with DEMOCRACY: Undersides of the American dream Materialism/Competition: Families Art Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque (1840)

Style Lack of traditional style -> Chaos in USA Immigration Urbanization

A clear representation of its time period


Symbolism Vivid description Connects the element of Romanticism to the plot of the story and themes

Unique way of writing Horror in the story Setting is brought to life in full color Reader feels like he is actually in the story

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