This concept emphasizes unity of mood, time, space, and action working together to achieve the "certain unique or single effect". ... He describes the atmosphere as "an atmosphere which had no affinity with the air of heaven, but which had reeked up from the decayed trees, and the gray wall, and the silent tarn "a pestilent and mystic vapour, dull, sluggish, faintly discernible, and leaden-hued-. ... This is a symbol for the "tempest" brewing in Roderick Usher's mind after the death of his sister and the gloom that has been created from it. ... The emotions that Poe creates in the re...

• Word Count: 1744
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

In place of a moral, Poe creates a mood "terror, in this case " through his use of language. ... The narrator writes that the house seems to have collected an evil and diseased atmosphere from the decaying trees and murky ponds around it. ... Just as the atmosphere and landscape seem translated into the characters, the house, as another aspect of setting, functions as a symbol for the Usher family. ...

• Word Count: 1485
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School