Two Stories by Edgar Allan Poe This paper will compare and contrast the use of

This paper will compare and contrast the use of conventions in two stories by Edgar Allan Poe, "The Fall of the House of Usher" and "The Purloined Letter." "The Fall of the House of Usher" is an example of the horror or Gothic genre, whereas "The Purloined Letter" belongs to the detective genre.

Many of the conventions of the horror genre can be seen in "The Fall of the House of Usher." For example, from the very start of the tale Poe uses words and images which create an eerie tone. A sense of terror and dread arises from the narrator reporting "an iciness, a sinking, a sickening of heart" upon first glimpsing "the melancholy House of Usher" (540). An otherwordly atmosphere is created by the claim that the narrator's experience can be compared "to no earthly sensation more properly than to the after-dream of the reveller upon opium" (540). Inside the house, the sense of the supernatural continues within "an air of stern, deep, and irredeemable gloom" (543). Usher himself is described as having "a cadaverous complexion" (543) and a "ghastly pallor of the skin" (544). It soon becomes obvious that he is suffering under a severe burden of madness and guilt.

The conventions of the haunted house, the family curse, and premature burial are also contained in Poe's short story. Usher believes that supernatural forces exist within the house. A poem written by Usher, "The Haunted Palace," yields insights into how he feels about the house and its effect on him. The poe

Related Essays

The Gothic stories of Edgar Allen .... The .... men carry the coffin to a lightless, subterranean chamber .... Furthermore, these stories typically address the possibility of returning to .... ...., Edgar Allan. .... (2576 10 )

Gothic Imagery & Settings in 2 Short Stories .... and settings in .... short stories, Edgar Allan Poe's "The Fall .... feature also at the heart of the two stories. The great difference between the stories in their .... (2128 9 )

nts that occur simultaneously within the House of Usher. When Ethelred kills the dragon and throws the brazen shield down upon the floor, these actions are reflected by terrifying sounds in the house. Usher claims that these sounds are connected to the rising of his sister, who has been put "living in the tomb" (554). The narrator is understandably aghast when the sister arrives at the room where they are reading and falls upon her brother. The narrator flees from the house just as it collapses into fragments. On this horrifying and supernatural note, the story reaches its conclusion. As a specimen of the detective genre, "The Purloined Letter" contains an entirely different set of conventions than those which are found in "The Fall of the House of Usher." The main character in this story, Monsieur Dupin, also appears in Poe's "The Murders of the Rue Morgue" and "The Mystery of Marie Roget." As in "The Fall of the House of Usher," "The Purloined Letter" makes use of an unnamed narrator; however, Dupin's friend is less directly involved in the action than Usher's friend is. In Poe's writing, the purpose of the detective story is not to reveal the identity of the criminal. In fact, the thief of the letter is already know

Category: Literature - T