The Fall of the House of Usher
Plot
The tale opens with the unnamed narrator arriving at the house of his
boyhood friend, Roderick Usher, having received a letter from him in a
distant part of the country complaining of an illness and asking for his
help. Although Poe wrote this short story before the invention of modern
psychological science, Roderick's symptoms can be described according to
its terminology. They include a form of sensory overload known as
hyperesthesia (hypersensitivity to light, sounds, smells, and tastes),
hypochondria (an excessive preoccupation or worry about having a serious
illness), and acute
anxiety. It is revealed that Roderick's twin sister,
Madeline, is also ill and falls into cataleptic, death-like trances. The
narrator is impressed with Roderick's paintings, and attempts to cheer
双语学院期末考查课论文
2012 -2013 学年第一学期
院、系：双语学院 班级：英德xxxx
姓名：谢茹辉 学号：xxxxxxxxx
科目：美国文学史概述及作品选读
论文中外文题目：
Analysis of the Fall of the House of Usher
小说《厄舍古屋的倒塌》之小析
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Analysis of the Fall of the House of Usher
小说《厄舍古屋的倒塌》之小析
Abstract：
The Fall of the House of Usher is one of the famous work from Edgar Allan Poe,
which is regarded as an horror novel. In the novel he created horror atmospheres
through Gothic style. Besides, he mainly described three characters: the narrator,
Usher and Madeline. To make this horror novel be successful—the gothic style and
horror atmospheres, he also kept his eyes so much on the appearance and weird
actions of the twins—Usher and Madeline, the atmosphere around the house and
1. Describe the setting.
In Haunted Mansion, Several Dark and Stormy Nights.
The story begins at dusk on an autumn day in an earlier time, probably the 19th
Century. The place is a forbidding mansion in a forlorn countryside. The mansion,
covered by a fungus, is encircled by a small lake, called a tarn, which resembles a
moat. A bridge across the tarn provides access to the mansion.
2. Underline all the expressions about “the vacant eye-like windows”,
“the fissure”, “the tarn and the walls”, “the fungi”. Count how many
times they respectively appear. And point out the artistic effect.
“The vacant eye-like windows”"空置的眼睛象窗口"
(1) Hollow, cadaverous eyes of Roderick Usher;
(2) Madeline Usher’s cataleptic gaze;
(3) The vacuity of life in the Usher mansion.
“The fissure”"裂缝"
“The tarn and the walls”"塔恩和墙壁", "
Part I The Literature of Colonial America（殖民地时期的文学）
Chapter 1
John Smith 约翰.史密斯
1. A True Relation of Such Occurrences and Accidents of Note as Hath Happened in Virginia Since
the First Planting of That Colony 《自殖民地第一次在弗吉尼亚垦荒以来发生的各种事件的真实介绍》（1608）
2. A Map of Virginia with a Description of the Country 《弗吉尼亚地图，附：一个乡村的描述》（1612）
3. The General History of Virginia, New England, and the Summer Isles 《弗吉尼亚通史》（1624）
Chapter 2
William Bradford （威廉.布拉德福德）
Of Plymouth Plantation 《普利茅斯开发史》（1826）
John Winthrop （约翰.温思罗普）
The History of New England from 1630 to 1649 《新英格兰史》（1856）
Chapter 3
John Cotton （约翰.科登）
Roger Williams （罗杰.威廉姆斯）
A Key into the Language of America 《开启美国语言的钥匙》/《美国新英格兰地区土著居民语言指南》
Chapter 4
Anne Bradstreet（安妮.布雷兹特里特）（女性作家）
The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America 《在美洲诞生的第十位缪斯》
