Hop Frog

The Fall of the House of Usher

Edgar Allen Poe

Horror- Literary Analysis

The Theme

Poe uses diction to make the reader feel the emotions of the story. The emotion in the story are frightened and gloomy. The reader also feels an emotion of creepiness towards the narrator from his inappropriate calmness.

Edgar Allen Poe uses mood and tone in "The Fall of the House of Usher" to make the setting of the story come across and gloomy, empty, sad and unpleasant. The reader will find difficulty finding a happy and upbeat mood in the story, creating a frightening feeling for the reader.

Tone

Diction

The diction in the story itself is not happy and pleasant, using words such as antique and doughty. Antique tells us that things are older and don`t hold the same deeper meaning as before. When he uses the word doughty, it has the same meaning as fearless. Poe was making a connection that the House of Usher is old and frightening and the narrator is fearless for going in there.

In the "Fall of the House of Usher", the narrator keeps a calm and cool tone throughout the story despite the terrifying things hes experienced. " For a moment she remained trembling and reeling to and fro upon the threshold, then, with a low moaning cry, fell heavily inward upon the person of her brother". During this, the narrator is completely calm despite the moving of a corps, which is quite terrifying in itself.

Imagery

Poe starts off the story by saying that it was a dull, dark and soundless day. This gives the reader the picture that it was a gloomy day and there was not much happening outside. This creates a Gothic atmosphere. He described the House of Usher with bleak walls and vacant eye like windows and frank sledges.

Foreshadowing

Poe uses foreshadowing to create a sense of danger in Hop Frog when the protagonist, Hop Frog, has that guttural grinding of his teeth. This makes the reader think that he going to get revenge on the king.

Hop Frog

Edgar Allen Poe

Alliteration

Similes

In Masque of the Red Death, Edgar Allen Poe uses alliteration when he says " dominions were depopulated". This creates a sense of rhythm which builds the readers suspense, thus creating a feeling of horror.

Personification

Poe uses many similes to show emotion and expression from the characters. When Poe writes " The king was purple with rage" and " Trippetta, pale as a corps", this show tells the reader that the king was extremely mad which makes the reader scared of what he would do to Hop Frog and Trippetta.

Poe uses personification to give life to his story. In the passage " for the clock is counting down to the time when the Rd Death will strike". In this same passage, Poe effectively uses personification, a figure of speech in which an inanimate object becomes a person.

The Theme

Edgar Allen Poe uses suspense and surprise ending in Hop Frog to create a feel of horror. Suspense keeps the reader on their toes, knowing that something bad is going to happen. Surprise endings makes up a horror story as well. The reader thinks they know the outcome, but it could be completely different than what they expected, causing the sense in horror.

The Theme

As well as surprise endings and suspense, Edgar Allen Poe uses literary devices such as similes and foreshadowing. The similes gives the reader a better visual on the emotions and expressions the characters have. Its more than the average "happy" or "sad", it makes the reader react with the characters so that when there are unexpected surprises, the reader can react with the character. Foreshadowing gives the reader hints about whats to come later on in the story. In Hop Frog, it lets the reader know that something bad is going to happen, which causes suspense for the reader.

Masque of the Red Death

Edgar Allen Poe

Poe`s use of alliteration and personification makes the story come alive. It draws the reader in and gives it more life than an average short story. With the reader being drawn into every sentence, it gives room for Poe to give a twist and surprise the reader unexpectedly.

Descriptive Detail

Surprise Ending

Poe uses descriptive detail in almost every sentence to paint a vivid picture in the readers head. When Poe writes, "Its pendulum swung to and fro with a dull, heavy, monotonous clang" To describe that the pendulum swung is not enough for him.

In Hop Frog, Edgar Allen Poe uses a surprise ending when Hop Frog burns the king and his seven other friends. This creates a shock to the reader and a feeling of anticipation towards the ending of the story.

The Theme

Poe`s use of description paints a vivid picture into the readers head. It makes the reader feel like they are experiencing the horrible things that are in the story, which makes it all the more thrilling and chilling.