Abstract

Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) is an outstanding writer, poet and literary critic with a great influence on American literature. He is famous for his poetry and short fiction, in which the Gothic horror stories take a crucial position. This article is based on the Fall of the House of Usher and Ligeia to analyse Gothic characters of horror fiction written by Allan Poe in terms of Gothic scenes, character features, narrative methods and structures and artistic effects etc. This paper is of significance in deeply understanding how Allan Poe writes Gothic novels that attract countless readers and are widely circulated.

Key words：the Fall of the House of Usher, Ligeia, Goth, horror, Allan Poe 

CONTENTS

Abstract

摘要

Ⅰ. Introduction-1

1.1 The introduction of Goth and gothic literature-1

1.2 The introduction of author---Edgar Allan Poe-2

1.3 The themes and plots of Ligeia and the Fall of the House of Usher-2

Ⅱ. Analysis of scary contents in novels-3

2.1 Gothic horror scenes-3

2.2 Horror depictions of characters-4

Ⅲ. Analysis of writing methods to create horrible atmosphere-5

3.1 Unique narrative method-5

3.2 Nested narrative structure-7

3.3 Using sound, light and color-8

3.4 Using the artistic effects of metaphor and symbol-9

Ⅴ. Conclusion-9

References-11