Figures of speech in The Fall of the House of Usher -- Essays Papers

Figures of speech in The Fall of the House of Usher Edgar Allen Poe’s short story, â€Å"The Fall of the House of Usher†, sets a tone that is dark, gloomy, and threatening. His inclusion of highly descriptive words and various forms of figurative language enhance the story’s evil nature, giving the house and its inhabitants eerie and â€Å"supernatural† qualities. Poe’s effective use of personification, symbolism, foreshadowing, and doubling create a morbid tale leading to, and ultimately causing, the fall of (the house of) Usher. Poe’s use of personification, the act of giving human characteristics to nonhuman things, assigns the house of Usher a powerful and evil presence. In the first paragraph of the story, the narrator describes the house as having â€Å"vacant eye-like windows†. He uses this description twice: first to show that the house has seen everything that has led to the fall of Usher, and again to emphasize the unidentified deception of the house. The narrator also describes his negative reaction to the house as a â€Å"hideous dropping off of the veil†. This statement describes what the house has revealed to the narrator, a disgusting and disappointing appearance. Poe also uses symbolism to compare the deterioration of the house to the fall of the Usher dynasty. In Roderick’s poem, â€Å"The Haunted Palace†, he describes the history of the house as it began as a strong and â€Å"radiant palace†, which over time became a decrepit, disease-ridden cage. The radiant palace repres...