Gothicism in The Fall of the House of Usher
ABSTRACT
Edgar Allan Poe is one of the most unique writers in America. He stands alone with his aesthetic taste and writing principle, engaged in the morbid theme of nightmare, death, crime and evil. Consequently, he adopts Gothic technique in a composition, taking a full advantage of Gothic subject matter, plot and elements and lingering on violence, murder, insanity and collapse. The Fall of the House of Usher is Poe’s classical piece of this type. It presents terrifying atmosphere, the dark plot, and man’s psychological terror to reveal the process of disintegration and annihilation of human mind, thus offering readers specific aesthetic perception through psychological shocks. This paper borrowing a critical perspective of Gothic tradition and theory of the sublime, tries to analyze the Gothicism in this novel to detect its aesthetic feature.
Edgar Allan Poe is one of the most unique writers in America. He stands alone with his aesthetic taste and writing principle, engaged in the morbid theme of nightmare, death, crime and evil. Consequently, he adopts Gothic technique in a composition, taking a full advantage of Gothic subject matter, plot and elements and lingering on violence, murder, insanity and collapse. The Fall of the House of Usher is Poe’s classical piece of this type. It presents terrifying atmosphere, the dark plot, and man’s psychological terror to reveal the process of disintegration and annihilation of human mind, thus offering readers specific aesthetic perception through psychological shocks. This paper borrowing a critical perspective of Gothic tradition and theory of the sublime, tries to analyze the Gothicism in this novel to detect its aesthetic feature.
Cite this paper
Pang, W. , Wang, D. and Hu, S. (2015) Gothicism in The Fall of the House of Usher. Advances in Literary Study, 3, 15-20. doi: 10.4236/als.2015.31003.
Pang, W. , Wang, D. and Hu, S. (2015) Gothicism in The Fall of the House of Usher. Advances in Literary Study, 3, 15-20. doi: 10.4236/als.2015.31003.
References
[1] Cavallaro (2002). The Gothic Vision Three Centuries of Horror Terror and Fear. London: MPG Books Ltd. [2] Chang, Y. X. (2002). Selected Readings in American Literature. Tianjin: Nankai University Press. [3] Hayes, K. J. (2004). The Cambridge Companion to Edgar Allan Poe. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press. [4] Mao, X. D. (2006). A History of American Fiction. Hangzhou: Zhejiang University Press. [5] Poe, E. A. (1982). The Tell Tale Heart and Other Writings by Edgar Allen Poe. New York: Bantam Books. [6] Xiao, M. H. (2005). Selected Gothic Stories by Edgar Allan Poe. Chengdu: Sichuan People Press. [7] Yang, S. G. (2006). Sigmund FREUD. Translated by Psychology Philosophy. Beijing: Jiuzhou Press.
[1] Cavallaro (2002). The Gothic Vision Three Centuries of Horror Terror and Fear. London: MPG Books Ltd. [2] Chang, Y. X. (2002). Selected Readings in American Literature. Tianjin: Nankai University Press. [3] Hayes, K. J. (2004). The Cambridge Companion to Edgar Allan Poe. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press. [4] Mao, X. D. (2006). A History of American Fiction. Hangzhou: Zhejiang University Press. [5] Poe, E. A. (1982). The Tell Tale Heart and Other Writings by Edgar Allen Poe. New York: Bantam Books. [6] Xiao, M. H. (2005). Selected Gothic Stories by Edgar Allan Poe. Chengdu: Sichuan People Press. [7] Yang, S. G. (2006). Sigmund FREUD. Translated by Psychology Philosophy. Beijing: Jiuzhou Press.