http://webpages.csus.edu/~nsweet/page14/page14.html
Poe may be one of the most well known authors of the Romantic time period. He used superstition in his story, giving other Romantic authors another perspective to write from. He was known for his horrific story that had mystery, supernatural elements, and gruesome details. Other Romantic authors wrote mainly about nature and their thoughts on it. Poe did this as well, he was just able to express it in a new way. On the other hand, Romanticism was just what Poe needed. It shaped his writing by giving him the freedom to write his feelings, show his superstitions, and give a new meaning to situations.
"The Fall of the House of Usher" is a clear representation of Romanticism and how Poe used it to the full extent. " It was possible, I reflected, that a mere different arrangement of the particulars of the scene, of the details o f the picture, would be sufficient to modify, or perhaps to annihilate its capacity for sorrowful impression...," when Poe writes this it expresses Romanticism by saying that the way things appear can always be changed, you just have to look at them with a different perspective. He also shows Romanticism when Madeline, after being in a coffin for seven or eight days and being practically dead, breaks out of her coffin. The details he uses to describe her body put an image in your head that express the basic idea of using imagination in stories. The picture hanging on the wall in the House of Usher has a deeper meaning than just a decoration; the picture represents Roderick's insanity. In Romantic stories, everything represents a bigger part of the story. "...a far more than ordinary wanness had overspread the emaciated fingers through which trickled many passionate tears," uses emotion and gets the readers involved with the story and characters feelings. Like the picture, Poe also puts a song in the story to represent the state of Roderick's mind.
Edgar Allan Poe's style of writing is exactly what Romanticism is all about. He uses supernatural elements, puts emotion into his stories, and uses nature as a theme setter.
This picture represents the mind of Roderick and Madeline Usher. They are insane, and their thoughts are a jumbled mess in their head.
http://fineartamerica.com/featured/confusion-keenya-woods.html
