Symbolism and Atmosphere in "The Fall of the House of Usher" by Edgar Allan Poe

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The Fall of the House of Usher
Edgar Allen Poe offers an edge of the seat narration of his fictional story the fall of the house of usher. Poe story relies so much on suspense and symbolism to develop a haunting atmosphere, which leaves the audience mesmerized by the events of each character in his story. His style is unique he gives the accounts of love turns sour of the lustful brother and sister in a rich way and describes very well the settings and characters in a traditional way. It is observed that Poe relies heavily on the psychoanalysis theories of Freud and Jung. By creating a story that incorporates the somber and dark house of Usher, which is intertwined with its inhabitants that climax at the end by the housing collapsing together with the remains of the family members that once lived in it. This paper is going to carefully analyze Poe's work in the Fall of the House of Usher looking at some of the aspects for example diction, setting, tone, symbolism and atmosphere.
Poe's use of diction is extensive and it perfectly creates suspense. The use of symbolism and diction contributes to bringing out the mood of despair. Poe manages to archive both horror and suspense through his cunning tactics. An eerie mood is archived through use of dark descriptive words. The story is rich with foreshadowing vocabulary which is significant to develop the Gothic aspect of the story.
Poe story setting and mood can be observed to feature in an ominous mood, which is established by its monotonous setting. The opening of the story has a gloomy punch with it for example "during the whole dull, dark, and soundless day in the autumn of the year when the clouds hand oppressively low in the heavens ….." (pg. 3) the house melancholy surroundings are equated with the mansion's interior, Closter phobic rooms, tomb in the basement and labyrinthine hallways. The paintings on the walls as well as the books on the shelf deliver the mansion Gothic feel. All the three characters do suffer from gloom and madness and this is brought about by the gloominess of the setting.
Poe does establish the frame of mind with precise word choice for example in the following passage:
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