Edgar Allan Poe

Question 1

Key themes of the fall of the house of usher

Answer 1

evil 
isolation
madness
mystery/the supernatural
family
identity

Question 2

Key themes of the raven

Answer 2

madness
love
the supernatural 
human imagination
loneliness/ isolation

Question 3

What is without a doubt poe’s most famous poem

Answer 3

the raven

Question 4

when was the fall of the house of usher first published

Answer 4

september 1839 in magazine

short story

Question 5

Who are the main characters in fall of the house of usher

Answer 5

3 human characters ( the narrator, Rodrick, Madeline)

but also an inhuman force that shapes events just as much if not more than the humans involved: the house of usher

Question 6

in the fall of the house of usher what does the narrator continually insist about attempts to portray the weird events at usher

Answer 6

ultimately all attempts are futile
“I should fail in any attempt to convey..”
“I lack words to express the full extent”

Question 7

What is surprising about the tone of the house of usher

Answer 7

one would expect the abnormal and horrfic details to be relayed in some form of frantic mania. However, telling the tale in retrospect Poe’s story unfolds in a calm and controlled manner which in itself is horrifying

Question 8

Poe makes frequent use of what device in the fall of the house of usher

Answer 8

anaphora

“upon the” when describing the house especially its ‘eye like’ windows

Question 9

According to Edward H Davidson how can the fall of the house of usher be interpreted

Answer 9

as a detailed account of the derangement and dissipation of an individuals personality

Question 10

How is the Raven structured

Answer 10

carefully organised poem -uses internal rhyme, end rhyme and alliteration to create melancholic musical effect
18 stanzas

Question 11

What has the raven been criticised for

Answer 11

some reviewers in Poe’s day including walt whitman critcised the poem for its sing song, highly emotional quality. the poem is still criticized and parodied for the same reason today

Question 12

What is the tone of the raven

Answer 12

intense, almost frantic

this intensisty is what makes the speaker so captivating

Question 13

Which English Romantics did Poe admire from his youth

Answer 13

Byron and Keats

Question 14

in what ways can the Gothic be seen as exerting a tremedous influence on Poe’s work

Answer 14

through use of setting,gendered relationships and the internal workings of the human mind

Question 15

What is seen by many as an inspirational model for the fall of the house of usher

Answer 15

Horace Warpole- the castle of Ontranto
Poe had read this and warpole supernaturaism seen as definite inspirational model for the collapse of the mansion in the fall of the house of usher

Question 16

What is Poe credited for introducing to American literature

Answer 16

The gothic
detective story
science fiction

Question 17

What was Poe’s literary reputation overshadowed by for a long time

Answer 17

his biography -married his cousin ,had regular drinking binges and died under mysterious circumstances

Question 18

how did Poe put his own take on the gothic

Answer 18

when it crossed the Atlantic into the hands of Poe it took on a psychological, cerebal slant

Question 19

summary of Raven

Answer 19

speaker sits in his room mourning the loss of the beautiful lenore , hears knocking but no one is there. Raven enters through open window. Every time the narrator speaks the raven replies with nevermore

Question 20

some gothic features of his story

Answer 20

settings that feature dark medieval castles or decaying ancient estates

charecters that are insane- male
female - beautiful and dead

plots that include
murder
live burials
physical and mental torture