Poe's Short Stories Lesson Plan

In “The Fall of the House of Usher,” what is the function of Poe’s description of the house? Pay close attention to his word choice.

Students will likely point out particular words that stand out to them as the narrator describes the house in the first paragraph. Some of these words include melancholy, gloom, bleak, and depression. “…with the first glimpse of the building, a sense of insufferable gloom pervaded my spirit….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 rang sedges—and upon a few white trunks of decayed trees—with an utter depression of...