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1、Lecture13 Edgar Allan Poe,His Short Stories,I. His theory of short story 1. The short story must be of such length as to be read at one sitting (brevity), so as to ensure the totality of impression. 2. The very first sentence ought to help bring out the “single effect” of the story. (immediacy) 3. N
2、o word should be used which does not contribute to the “pre-established” design of the work (compression). 4.A tale should reveal some logical truth with “the fullest satisfaction,” and should end with the last sentence, leaving a sense of finality with the reader. (profoundness and finality),II.His
3、 famous short stories,The Murders in the Rue Morgue (detective and ratiocinative story) The Fall of the House of Usher (horrible story) Ligeia The Black Cat (Psychological story),III. Features of His short Stories,1.Gothic element (Gothic fiction: a genre of literature that combines elements of both
4、 horror and romance.) 2.deep analysis of human psychology ( He noticed the subconsciousness of human mind nearly one hundred years before Freud), (He was also the first American author who took neurotic characters as protagonists in his stories.) 3. detective elements,VI. Elements of the Short Story
5、,Setting: the setting of a story includes the time, location and circumstances in which it takes place. Broadly speaking, the setting provides the main backdrop for the story. Atmosphere: it begins with setting and is part of setting. Besides, it is rather the emotional aura which prepares the reade
6、rs and which permeates the work. Plot: it can be defined as the authors dramatic manipulation of the vents of his tale for the maximum artistic effect. Character: The participant in the plot. Character and plot are seen as two different sides of the same coin.,V. Appreciation of The Fall of the Ushe
7、r House,Poe composed this short story in accordance with his own theory. Questions: 1.What is the function of the first sentence of the short story? The first sentence, a long periodic, helps to bring out “the single effect”, namely, leads the readers into the story of the melancholy House of Usher.
8、” It is obvious that “melancholy” is to be the tone of the story. 2. How does the writer establish the atmosphere in the story? The writer carefully chooses words like “ insufferable gloom,” “desolate or terrible,” “ bleak wall,” “vacant eye-like windows,” “decayed trees,” “depression of soul,” icin
9、ess“ and “dreariness” to establish the gloomy and dreadful atmosphere.,3. How is the whole story narrated? The whole story is narrated in agonizing suspense: Roderick and his sister, the corruption of his mind and the disintegration of the his house, and the narrator apparently losing his own reason
10、. The whole process is pervaded by suspense. 4. How does the last sentence serve the whole story? The last sentence is a wonderfully loaded long sentence, which fits the “finality” as much as one can possibly imagine. 5. Whats the relation between Roderick Usher and the narrator? They had been boon
11、companions in boyhood, yet the narrator knew little of his friends. 6. What do you we know about the Usher Family? They had been noted for a peculiar sensibility of temperament. They were earnest in exalted arts and charity, but they were unobtrusive. They entire family lay in the direct line of des
12、cent.,7. How does the narrator describe Roderick when he meets him after many years? P.162( appearance and expression) 8. What was Roderick most troubled by? The illness of his sister.(P164) 9. What is the function of the poem in the story? The poem helps highlight the content of the whole story. Th
13、e fate of the palace is more or less the fate of the Usher House. 10. What is the symbolic meaning of the fall of Usher House? It is ambiguous. It may symbolizes the annihilation of a human mind.,VI. Evaluation,Poe is the first American author who formalized the technique of short story, in pursuit
14、of totality of effect through compression, immediacy, and finality. He invented the story of detection, and developed a new fiction of psychological analysis. His style: ordinary, traditional. His language: mannerism He is a controversial figure in American literary history. (Poe was criticized by s
15、everal famous American writers, such as Emerson, Henry James and Mark Twain. However, his works was welcomed in Europe, especially in France.,Poe is not only famous for his poetry and short stories, but also famous for his criticism on other writers , such as Review of Twice-Told Tales. He exerted great influence on modern literature: William Faulkner, Baudelaire. All in all, Poe held a unique position in American literary history .,Edgar Allan Poe is buried in Baltimore, Maryland. The circumstances and cause of his death remain uncertain.,
