Handout for the presentation of the technical lecture with the topic:
The perspective on mental health in Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher”
1 Introduction of the story “The Fall of the House of Usher”
1.1 What is the story about?
In the tale, the narrator visits a childhood friend who is sick and in need of
company. The house is old and decrepit, and it seems to cause the madness of the
last surviving Usher siblings, Madeline and Roderick. When Madeline succumbs to
an illness, she is buried in the house vault, only to return after a premature burial.
Roderick has gone completely mad by this time, claiming that he heard Madeline’s
scratches on the coffin the nights before, feeling the guilt of having Madeline
buried alive. Madeline emerges from the vault the night of an intense storm and
collapses on her brother in dead. The narrator flees the house and looks back to see
it sink into a swamp.
Name of the character 1.2 Who are the main 1.3 How are the characters portrayed in the story?
characters?
The Narrator Roderick’s childhood tells the story from his perspective
friend says a little about himself
comes to visit and notices strange things, Roderick’s growing madness
cheer him up and his own feeling of fear
only surviving witness dismisses his fear as a product of his imagination
of the story attempts to explain strange events with rationality
Roderick Usher Hypochondriac Changed drastically
plagued by the guilt of pale and wispy-haired
burying his twin sister goes from sullenness and nervous agitation to
Madeline alive liveliness
mysterious and incurable illness plagues him
he is going insane from fear and isolation
spends his time reading, writing music and painting
Madeline Usher Roderick’s twin sister only appears in three scenes
dies from a mysterious described as young and beautiful
illness suffers from an unknown disease [… a settled apathy,
a gradual wasting away of the person…]1
escapes from her burial and kills the last two Ushers
Picture1
1.4 What is the main topic of the story?
The main topic of story is the perspective on the mental health of the characters and how it
can lead to murder and death
“Madness, Fear and Imagination” are big keywords in Poe’s short story
2 linguistic Peculiarities
2.1 analysis of the narrative structure
Follows the traditional story arc with…
The perspective on mental health in Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher”
1 Introduction of the story “The Fall of the House of Usher”
1.1 What is the story about?
In the tale, the narrator visits a childhood friend who is sick and in need of
company. The house is old and decrepit, and it seems to cause the madness of the
last surviving Usher siblings, Madeline and Roderick. When Madeline succumbs to
an illness, she is buried in the house vault, only to return after a premature burial.
Roderick has gone completely mad by this time, claiming that he heard Madeline’s
scratches on the coffin the nights before, feeling the guilt of having Madeline
buried alive. Madeline emerges from the vault the night of an intense storm and
collapses on her brother in dead. The narrator flees the house and looks back to see
it sink into a swamp.
Name of the character 1.2 Who are the main 1.3 How are the characters portrayed in the story?
characters?
The Narrator Roderick’s childhood tells the story from his perspective
friend says a little about himself
comes to visit and notices strange things, Roderick’s growing madness
cheer him up and his own feeling of fear
only surviving witness dismisses his fear as a product of his imagination
of the story attempts to explain strange events with rationality
Roderick Usher Hypochondriac Changed drastically
plagued by the guilt of pale and wispy-haired
burying his twin sister goes from sullenness and nervous agitation to
Madeline alive liveliness
mysterious and incurable illness plagues him
he is going insane from fear and isolation
spends his time reading, writing music and painting
Madeline Usher Roderick’s twin sister only appears in three scenes
dies from a mysterious described as young and beautiful
illness suffers from an unknown disease [… a settled apathy,
a gradual wasting away of the person…]1
escapes from her burial and kills the last two Ushers
Picture1
1.4 What is the main topic of the story?
The main topic of story is the perspective on the mental health of the characters and how it
can lead to murder and death
“Madness, Fear and Imagination” are big keywords in Poe’s short story
2 linguistic Peculiarities
2.1 analysis of the narrative structure
Follows the traditional story arc with…
