Fall of the House of Usher Term Paper

Open, View, and/or
Download this Document

Total Length: 580 words ( 2 double-spaced pages)

Total Sources: 2

Page 1 of 2

Fall of the House of Usher

Although Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher" is a work of gothic horror, it is worth noting that the story's meaning is constructed in part by the use of puns. I do not use the word "pun" to refer to a joking play on words, but rather on the conscious use of a word that plays upon two potential meanings: the effect is rhetorical rather than humorous. The first of these puns is obvious and is contained in the title: E. Arthur Robinson notes the double meaning whereby "the House of the title refers both to Usher's lineage and to his ancestral home" (Robinson 69). In other words, Roderick Usher's death is the end of the "House of Usher" -- his family bloodline -- but it is also marked, terrifyingly, by the literal collapse of an edifice.

Stuck Writing Your "Fall of the House of Usher" Term Paper?

View All Our Example Fall of the House of Usher Term Paper

Have A Custom Example Essay Written

But I would like to examine more closely a passage from the story in which another seeming pun rather crucially encapsulates the deeper themes of Poe's tale -- this is the lead-up to the story's climax, where Poe's narrator tries to calm Roderick by reading to him from a book, with the uncanny effect that the events being described in the book also seem to be happening in the House of Usher.

The narrator admits that the choice of reading material is not really ideal for Roderick, who was more interested in "lofty and spiritual ideality" (Poe 11) and would presumably have preferred something more intellectual, like the bizarre catalogue of works by Swedenborg and Campanella that is described earlier, all having the "character of phantasm" (8). It is, to judge from the portions quoted, a rather banal adventure story: the hero Ethelred breaks.....

Show More ⇣

     Open the full completed essay and source list


OR

     Order a one-of-a-kind custom essay on this topic


sample essay writing service

Cite This Resource:

Latest APA Format (6th edition)

Copy Reference
"Fall Of The House Of Usher" (2014, February 17) Retrieved June 5, 2026, from
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/fall-house-usher-182981

Latest MLA Format (8th edition)

Copy Reference
"Fall Of The House Of Usher" 17 February 2014. Web.5 June. 2026. <
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/fall-house-usher-182981>

Latest Chicago Format (16th edition)

Copy Reference
"Fall Of The House Of Usher", 17 February 2014, Accessed.5 June. 2026,
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/fall-house-usher-182981
   

Open, View, and/or
Download this Document
order custom essay example