LITR 4232 American Renaissance 2008
Text-Objective Presentation

Thursday, 30 October: Poe's fiction 1543-1565: “Ligeia”; “The Fall of the House of Usher”

Text-Objective Discussion: Natalie Walker

Edgar Allan Poe, 1809-1839

Course Objective #2- To study the movement of “Romanticism,” the narrative genre of “romance,” and the related styles of the “gothic” and “the sublime.” ( The American Renaissance is the major period of American Romantic Literature.)

“Ligeia” and “The Fall of the House of Usher”

Poe uses the elements of “the sublime” and “the gothic” throughout these two stories.

In “Ligeia,” the sublime element comes in when he is describing his wife. Examples-

“ In beauty of face no maiden ever equaled her. It was the radiance of an opium dream- an airy and spirit-lifting vision more wildly divine than the phantasies which hovered about the slumbering souls of the daughters of Delos.”

“ I examined the contour of the lofty and pale forehead- it was faultless- how cold indeed that word when applied to a majesty so divine!”

“ What inexpressible madness seized me with that thought?”

Examples of “the gothic”-

 “She died- and I, crushed into the very dust with sorrow, could no longer endure the lonely desolation of my dwelling in the dim and decaying city by the Rhine.”

“…leaving a wanness even more than that of marble; the lips became doubly shriveled and pinched up in the ghastly expression of death.”

Question: Throughout this story how does Poe create a mood? What patterns did you find while reading this?

Does Poe incorporate poetic elements within his narratives?

In the story “The Fall of the House of Usher” Poe uses sublime elements when describing his friend Roderick Usher and his sister.

Examples-

 “ A cadaverousness of complexion; an eye large and liquid, and luminous beyond comparison.”

“ I regarded her with an utter astonishment not unmingled with dread.”

Examples of “the gothic”-

“ …but, with the first glimpse of the building, a sense of insufferable gloom pervaded my spirit.”

“ I felt that I breathed an atmosphere of sorrow. An air of stern, deep, and irredeemable gloom hung over and pervaded all.” 

Question:  In this story what was the relationship between Poe’s character and Roderick Usher? Did it change over the course of the story?

Did you find similar patterns in this story that you may have found in “Ligeia”?

Did other characters move into a more prominent light in the course of the story?