![]() The use of “upon” further illustrates the gothic setting, while giving the windows human traits. He describes the setting stating “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,”(Poe 551). In “The Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar Allan Poe, the main character, Roderick Usher had a terrifying fear of something exterior that caused him harm. The repetition of imagery and symbolism shows the readers the narrator’s fear of death and how it leads to the insanity that drives him crazy enough to kill an old man.Įdgar Allan Poe wrote numerous amounts of Gothic Literature, all following a pattern of repetition to enhance the story and give a demonic message. The symbolism of the watches represent the time leading up to the man’s death and how it was running out. “It was a low, dull, quick sound- much such a sound a watch makes when enveloped in cotton,”(Poe 3). Later in the story, he uses nearly the same language to describe what he believes to still be the old man’s heart. He believes this sound is the man’s heart and refers to a watch as a representation of time. On the night he killed the man, the narrator states “there came to my ears a low, dull, quick sound, such as a watch makes when enveloped in cotton,” (Poe 2). Repetition of imagery is also brought upon through the narrator’s tellings. The repetitive depiction of the Old man’s heart provides a dramatic essence of the murder while building up the acute suspense. ![]() “The old man’s terror must have been extreme! It grew louder, I say, louder every moment!”(Poe 2). Poe utilizes the repetition of sound a numerous amount of times to describe the beating of the old man’s heartbeat. The narrator’s choice of repetition of words not only adds to the suspense, but keeps the reader pondering upon why the narrator is so nervous to begin with. The simple yet powerful choice in repetition allows the reader to feel and understand the fear and anxiety that is building up. Right of the bat in the beginning of the story, Poe has the narrator state “True!–nervous–very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am, but why will you say that I’m mad?” (Poe 1). The repetition of words and imagery in “The Tell Tale Heart,” by Edgar Allan Poe intensify the great suspense and evoke a terrifying mood. Throughout Edgar Allan Poe’s works of “The Tell-Tale Heart,” “The Fall of the House of Usher,” and “The Raven,” repetition is utilized to further enhance the storytelling and add to the insanity, along with suspense. Gothic Literature is characterized by the elements of insanity, death, and horror that are used in order to convey a point to the reader and add suspense. ![]() The idea of Gothic Literature arose from the Middle Ages, inspiring writers to be free of the demonic style of imagination. These are a few of the common characteristics when met with the word gothic. A decaying setting, Supernatural beings, and death.
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