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“The Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar Allan Poe
English 11
Supplementary Material
Check out my website for some pictures and music to go with the story.
During Reading
As you read, use the vocabulary support and exercises below to help you understand the story.
p. 122
insoluble: (adj.) having no solution; unsolvable
annihilate (v.) to destroy completely; wipe out
tarn: (n) a small mountain lake
had admitted of no other than: had required
MS.: an abbreviation of “manuscript”
alleviation: (n.) a decrease in severity; relief
p. 123
deficiency: (n) a lack
collateral issue: relatives not in the direct line of descent
equivocal appellation: ambiguous or unclear name.
After reading the first paragraph on p. 123, summarize what the narrator already
knows about Roderick Usher and his family estate.
affinity: (n) a kinship or likeness
specious totality: false appearance of soundness
p. 124
Gothic archway: a doorway topped by an arch with a pointed peak, characteristic of Gothic architecture
phantasmagoric armorial trophies: looming wall decorations bearing coats of arms
trepidation: tremulous fear, alarm, or agitation; perturbation
How does the description of the room contribute to the mystery of the story?
vivacious: (adj.) full of energy; lively
ennuye – bored
cadaverousness: (n) corpselike appearance.S
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p. 125
arabesque: intricately interwoven (like the design on an Oriental carpet).
concision: briefness of communication; terseness
malady: illness, sickness
insipid: (adj.) lacking in flavor; bland
but peculiar: only certain
In your own words, sum up Usher’s view of his situation.
p. 126
supposititious: supposed
wanness: paleness
emaciated: excessively thin; wasted away
cataleptical: involving paralysis and unconsciousness; trancelike
What is so startling about the narrator’s first glimpse of Madeline Usher?
futility: uselessness
p. 127
distempered ideality: diseased creativity
sulphurous luster: lurid glow; nightmarish quality
Von Weber: the German romantic composer Karl Maria von Weber
educe: to infer or deduce
Fuseli – the Swiss-born British painter Henry Fuseli, many of whose works feature fantastic or gruesome elements.
What does Usher’s painting suggest to you?
impromptus: musical pieces made up as they are played
p. 128
the tottering of his lofty reason upon her throne: the instability of his mental state
Never seraph… half so fair: no angel ever spread its wing over half as beautiful a structure
porphyrogene: a son born to a ruling king
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p. 129
How might the poem parallel Roderick Usher’s situation?
pertinacity: stubbornness
sentience of all vegetable things: consciousness of all growing things
collocation: arrangement
importunate: persistent, annoying
p. 130
“Ververt et Chartreuse” … Pomponius Mela: extravagantly imaginative works of fiction, theology, philosophy, and
geography
Vigiliae Mortuorum secundum Chorum Ecclesiae Maguntinae: Latin: Wakes for the Dead, in the Manner of the
Choir of the Church of Mainz
interment: burial
sinister countenance of the person whom I met upon the staircase: the evil face of the doctor he met the first day he
arrived (remember on p. 124 when he describes the doctor as having a “mingled expression of low cunning and
perplexity”? Of course you do!)
donjon-keep – dungeon
What is strange about Madeline’s face as she lies in the coffin? (also, see p. 131)
p. 131
What do you infer about the changes in Usher’s behavior?
couch: bed
fitfully: in an irregular way; unsteadily
incubus: burden
Which of the narrator’s experiences in the Usher mansion might have led to what
he “endeavored to believe”?
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p. 132
stay: wait
terrestrial: on the ground; earthly
What is the storm like and what is gathering around the house in the storm?
miasma: poisonous vapors
prolixity: tedious length; wordiness
p. 133
to hold parley with: to converse with
obstinate: stubborn
How would you describe the mood of the story after the narrator thinks he hears
“the very cracking and ripping sound which Sir Launcelot had so particularly
described”?
pesty: poisonous
p. 134
romancer: storyteller
What effect do the passages from the “Mad Trist” have on the events of the
story?
narrative: story
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What do you predict will happen after the narrator reads about the shield falling
to the floor “with a mighty great and terrible ringing sound”?
p. 135
On the basis of what Usher is saying in the first paragraph on this page, what do
you expect to happen next?
aghast: overcome with fear; terrified
What happens to Roderick and Madeline Usher?
What happens to the Usher house?
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After Reading: Character Analysis
Understanding the characters in this story is very important to understanding the story itself. Use
the following information to help you fill out the character analysis charts.
Four Main Methods of Characterization (examples taken from “Winter Dreams” by F. Scott
Fitzgerald)
A. Narrator’s direct comments about the character
1. Example: “Whatever Judy wanted, she went after with the full pressure of her
charm. … She simply made men conscious to the highest degree of her physical
loveliness”
2. This directly states that Judy used her beauty and charm to get what she wanted.
B. Character’s physical description
1. Example: “She wore a blue gingham dress, rimmed at throat and shoulders with a
white edging that accentuated her tan… She was arrestingly beautiful. The color
in her cheeks was centered like the color in a picture – it was not a “high” color,
but a sort of fluctuating and feverish warmth.”
2. The reader can infer that she is beautiful and that she dresses in a way that shows
off her best features. The “feverish” warmth in her cheeks suggests that she might
have an energetic and intense personality.
C. The characters own actions, words, thoughts, and feelings.
1. After Judy Jones (of “Winter Dreams”) tries to revive the romance between
herself and Dexter, she cries and says, “I’m more beautiful than anybody else,
…why can’t I be happy?”
2. Judy’s idea that being the most beautiful should mean she is happy implies that
Judy thinks beauty is the key to happiness.
3. When she cries, it suggests that she isn’t used to being rejected, again because her
beauty has always gotten her whatever she wants.
D. The actions, words, thoughts and feelings of other characters.
1. In the story, Mr. Sandwood says about Judy: “My God, she’s good-looking!” To
which Mr. Hedrick replies: “Good looking! She always looks as if she wanted to
be kissed! Turning those big cow-eyes on every calf in town!”
2. These words confirm that Judy is indeed beautiful. When Hedrick mentions Judy
“turning those … eyes” on people, the reader again sees how she uses her beauty
to manipulate others.
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Fill out the following charts on each character. Be sure to fill out at least four items on each
character.
Narrator
Method of
Example or Quote (with page
Characterization number)
What it shows about character
(should be a trait, like generous,
irrational, etc.)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Roderick Usher
Method of
Example or Quote (with page
Characterization number)
1.
2.
What it shows about character
(should be a trait, like generous,
irrational, etc.)
Name
Roderick Usher
Method of
Example or Quote (with page
Characterization number)
Date
Hour
What it shows about character
(should be a trait, like generous,
irrational, etc.)
3.
4.
5.
6.
Madeline Usher
Method of
Example or Quote (with page
Characterization number)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
What it shows about character
(should be a trait, like generous,
irrational, etc.)
Name
Madeline Usher
Method of
Example or Quote (with page
Characterization number)
Date
Hour
What it shows about character
(should be a trait, like generous,
irrational, etc.)
6.
The House of Usher
Method of
Example or Quote (with page
Characterization number)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
What it shows about character
(should be a trait, like generous,
irrational, etc.)
Name
Date
Romantic Story Analysis Chart
English 11
Story Title: “The Fall of the House of Usher” Author: Edgar Allan Poe
Romantic Element
Fantasy and Imagination
Love of Nature
Intense Emotion
Sympathetic interest in the past, medieval
Exotic Places
Legends and Myths
Death
Morbid melancholy; insanity
The Supernatural
Failed Love
Mysticism (spiritual intuition beyond ordinary
understanding)
Rural Life and the Common Man
Evidence in this Story
Hour