Allegory in Poe's, "the Fall of the House of Usher"

Allegory in Poe's, "The Fall of the House of Usher"

In Edgar Allan Poe's 1840 short story," The Fall of the House of Usher," Roderick Usher sends a letter to his friend, the narrator, asking him to visit because he is ill and needs his friends help. Usher suffers from "acuteness of the senses" and "a mental disorder which oppresses him." Usher hopes his friend will relieve his illnesses. The narrator spends a lot of time reading, painting and playing music with Usher, in an attempt to "alleviate the melancholy." One particular musical experience stands out to the narrator.

"The Haunted Palace," a poem Usher recites while playing the guitar, serves as an allegory for Roderick Usher. Stanzas I - IV personify the palace. The palace is the head, once "fair and stately." The "luminous windows" are the eyes. The "banners yellow, glorious, golden on its roof," are the hair. The teeth, lips, and mouth are the door; "with pearl and ruby glowing was the fair palace door." This is how Usher once saw himself; a dignified man with stunning features. Stanza V introduces the evil that changed all. The poem is not specific about what the "evil things" are, just as Usher is unclear about what has changed him. Usher described the evil as, "a constitutional and a family evil." Stanza VI reveals that when people look at the palace, after the evil has changed it, they see "forms that move fantastically to a discordant melody." Usher, after the evil has changed him, no longer has organized thoughts; but thinks, moves, and speaks erratically. The narrator describes Usher as incoherent, inconsistent and fearful, with speech that varies from tremulous indecision to energetic concision. The progression of changes regarding the palace, caused by "evil things", are symbolic of the progression of changes, also caused by "evil things", depicted in Roderick Usher.

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