Here is the answer and explanation to the question How does Poe use dual meaning to effectively set the tone of “The Fall of the House of Usher”?
How does Poe use dual meaning to effectively set the tone of “The Fall of the House of Usher”?
Bạn đang xem: How does Poe use dual meaning to effectively set the tone of “The Fall of the House of Usher”?
| Certified Educator
Poe uses double meaning to se the tone of “The Fall of the House of Usher,” which is dark, mysterious, suspenseful, and even fearful. Let’s look at this in more detail.
We can start with the title itself. There are actually two double meanings in it that draw readers into the story’s suspense right from the beginning. The word “fall” can be used literally and figuratively. Something can fall in the literal, physical sense by collapsing to the ground. But something can also fall in a figurative sense as in losing power or moral standing or prestige or honor or even health and life.
The phrase “house of Usher” also carries a double meaning. The house can, of course, refer to the physical structure, the actual dwelling in which the last surviving members of the Usher family live. But it can also refer to the family itself. “House” is sometimes used to express a dynasty or a family line.
So as we readers begin this story, then, we enter directly into its suspense, wondering whether the physical house or the family will fall literally or figuratively. We know in the end, of course, that the answer is “all of the above.”
See eNotes Ad-Free
Start your subscription to get access to more than 30,000 additional guides and more than 350,000 Homework Help questions answered by our experts.
Start your Subscription
Do you find that the article How does Poe use dual meaning to effectively set the tone of “The Fall of the House of Usher”?
If not, please leave a comment below the article so that our editorial team can improve the content better
Post by: THCS LeQuyDon
Category: question
#Poe #dual #meaning #effectively #set #tone #Fall #House #Usher #eNotescom
