Edgar Allan Poe's Short Stories

Different writers have different styles, but it’s the way they convey their style that sets them apart. Edgar Allan Poe, a gothic literature writer, wrote many short stories, such as “The Tell Tale Heart” and “The Fall of the House of Usher”, and a few poems, like “The Raven” and “Annabel Lee”. Born on January 9th of 1809, Poe was adopted by the Allans when he was about three years old. His stepfather didn’t take good care of him and they fought a lot. Poe moved around a lot (from England to Virginia, the army to West Point), and he was usually struggling for money. He died on October 7th of 1849, in Maryland. His stories are mostly about a mentally unstable person, and usually, have some form of death. These stories may be considered a reflection

In “The Raven”, the narrator’s nervousness/anxiety/fear is depicted through the parallelism. “While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping, As of someone gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door. '’Tis some visitor,' I muttered, 'tapping at my chamber door---- Only this and nothing more.'” (stanza 1) The narrator repeatedly uses “ing” verbs building suspense to the point where he meets the raven. Another part of the story that shows more of the narrator’s madness is the repeated word said by the Raven, “Nevermore.” The bird says this word in response to the narrator after meeting him. This word drives the narrator insane as he questions the bird's purpose, and in the end, he

Metaphors are used in Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher” to convey the grim, mad mood of the story. “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.” (paragraph 1) This is in the beginning of the story, where the narrator has arrived at the house and his describing its depressing appearance. The house reflects upon the character of Usher, as a metaphor. The description of the house is not only sad and as if it could crumble, but a bit creepy, which could also be used to describe Usher. Usher’s character is basically insane and his mind is falling apart just like his