Question
Rhetorical Analysis Prompt
Use the passage to complete the activity.
The Fall of the House of Usher
DURING the whole of a dull, dark, and soundless day in the autumn of the year, when the clouds hung oppressively low in the heavens, I had been passing alone, on horseback, through a singularly dreary tract of country, and at length found myself, as the shades of the evening drew on, within view of the melancholy House of Usher I know not how it was-but, with the first glimpse of the building, a sense of insufferable gloom pervaded my spirit. I say insufferable; for the feeling was unrelieved by any of that half-pleasurable, because poetic, sentiment, with which the mind usually receives even the sternest natural images of the desolate or terrible. I looked upon the scene before me upon the mere house, and the simple landscape features of the domain, upon the bleak walls, upon the vacant eye-like windows, upon a few rank sedges, and upon a few white trunks of decayed trees with an utter depression of soul which I can compare to no earthly sensation more properly than to the after-dream of the reveller upon opium, the bitter lapse into everyday life, the hideous dropping off of the veil. There was an iciness, a sinking, a sickening of the heart, an unredeemed dreariness of thought which no goading of the imagination could torture into aught of the sublime. What was it-i paused to think-what was it that so unnerved me in the contemplation of the House of Usher? It was a mystery all insoluble; nor could I grappie with the shadowy fancies that crowded upon me as I pondered. I was forced to fall back upon the unsatisfactory conclusion, that while, beyond doubt, there are combinations of very simple natura objects which have the power of thus affecting us, still the analysis of this power lies among considerations beyond our depth. It was possible, I reflected, that a mere different arrangement of the particulars of the scene, of the details of the picture, would be sufficient to modify, or perhaps to annihilate its capacity for sorrowful impression, and, acting upon this idea, I reined my horse to the precipitous brink of a black and lurid tarn that tay
in unruffled lustre by the dwelling, and gazed down but with a shudder even more thrilling than before-upon the remodelled and inverted images of the gray sedge, and the ghastly tree-stems, and the vacant and eye-like
windows.
York Doubleday & McClure Co., 1901), 3-5.
Edgar Allan Poe. "The Fall of the House of Usher," Little Masterpieces: Edgar Allan Poe, ed. Bliss Perry (New York: Doubleday & McClure Co., 1901), 3-5.
The following is the opening paragraph of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher." Read the text carefully. Then in a well-developed essay - analyze how Poe's description develops a particular attitude toward of Usher. the House
(20 points)
Use the passage to complete the activity.
The Fall of the House of Usher
DURING the whole of a dull, dark, and soundless day in the autumn of the year, when the clouds hung oppressively low in the heavens, I had been passing alone, on horseback, through a singularly dreary tract of country, and at length found myself, as the shades of the evening drew on, within view of the melancholy House of Usher I know not how it was-but, with the first glimpse of the building, a sense of insufferable gloom pervaded my spirit. I say insufferable; for the feeling was unrelieved by any of that half-pleasurable, because poetic, sentiment, with which the mind usually receives even the sternest natural images of the desolate or terrible. I looked upon the scene before me upon the mere house, and the simple landscape features of the domain, upon the bleak walls, upon the vacant eye-like windows, upon a few rank sedges, and upon a few white trunks of decayed trees with an utter depression of soul which I can compare to no earthly sensation more properly than to the after-dream of the reveller upon opium, the bitter lapse into everyday life, the hideous dropping off of the veil. There was an iciness, a sinking, a sickening of the heart, an unredeemed dreariness of thought which no goading of the imagination could torture into aught of the sublime. What was it-i paused to think-what was it that so unnerved me in the contemplation of the House of Usher? It was a mystery all insoluble; nor could I grappie with the shadowy fancies that crowded upon me as I pondered. I was forced to fall back upon the unsatisfactory conclusion, that while, beyond doubt, there are combinations of very simple natura objects which have the power of thus affecting us, still the analysis of this power lies among considerations beyond our depth. It was possible, I reflected, that a mere different arrangement of the particulars of the scene, of the details of the picture, would be sufficient to modify, or perhaps to annihilate its capacity for sorrowful impression, and, acting upon this idea, I reined my horse to the precipitous brink of a black and lurid tarn that tay
in unruffled lustre by the dwelling, and gazed down but with a shudder even more thrilling than before-upon the remodelled and inverted images of the gray sedge, and the ghastly tree-stems, and the vacant and eye-like
windows.
York Doubleday & McClure Co., 1901), 3-5.
Edgar Allan Poe. "The Fall of the House of Usher," Little Masterpieces: Edgar Allan Poe, ed. Bliss Perry (New York: Doubleday & McClure Co., 1901), 3-5.
The following is the opening paragraph of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher." Read the text carefully. Then in a well-developed essay - analyze how Poe's description develops a particular attitude toward of Usher. the House
(20 points)
Answers
GPT 3.5
In the opening paragraph of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher," the author masterfully crafts a sense of insufferable gloom and despair surrounding the House of Usher. Through the use of vivid and eerie descriptions, Poe creates an atmosphere that evokes a feeling of dread and unease in the reader.
Poe's description of the House of Usher as "melancholy," with "bleak walls" and "vacant eye-like windows," sets the tone for the rest of the story. The portrayal of the house as a desolate and foreboding structure immediately instills a sense of foreboding in the reader. The repetition of words like "gloom," "insufferable," "depression," and "dreary" further emphasizes the oppressive and dismal nature of the house.
Additionally, Poe's comparison of his feelings towards the house to the after-effects of opium suggests a sense of disorientation and disconnection from reality. This comparison adds an element of psychological depth to the description, hinting at the psychological impact of the house on the narrator.
In conclusion, Poe's masterful use of descriptive language and imagery in the opening paragraph of "The Fall of the House of Usher" effectively develops a particular attitude of haunting gloom and despair towards the House of Usher. Through his vivid portrayal of the house as a place of insufferable darkness and dread, Poe sets the stage for the eerie and unsettling events that are to come in the story.
Poe's description of the House of Usher as "melancholy," with "bleak walls" and "vacant eye-like windows," sets the tone for the rest of the story. The portrayal of the house as a desolate and foreboding structure immediately instills a sense of foreboding in the reader. The repetition of words like "gloom," "insufferable," "depression," and "dreary" further emphasizes the oppressive and dismal nature of the house.
Additionally, Poe's comparison of his feelings towards the house to the after-effects of opium suggests a sense of disorientation and disconnection from reality. This comparison adds an element of psychological depth to the description, hinting at the psychological impact of the house on the narrator.
In conclusion, Poe's masterful use of descriptive language and imagery in the opening paragraph of "The Fall of the House of Usher" effectively develops a particular attitude of haunting gloom and despair towards the House of Usher. Through his vivid portrayal of the house as a place of insufferable darkness and dread, Poe sets the stage for the eerie and unsettling events that are to come in the story.