Establishing the Fall of the House of Usher Setting

“I looked upon the scene before me – upon the mere house, and the simple landscape features of the domain – upon the bleak walls – upon the vacant eye-like windows – upon a few rank sedges- and upon a few white trunks of decayed trees – with an utter depression of soul which I can compare to no earthly sensation more properly than to the after-dream if the reveler upon opium – the bitter lapse into every-day life – the hideous dropping off of the veil.” (The Fall of the House of Usher; Page 21)

This quote is a perfect example of the descriptive tools that Edgar Allan Poe used to set the scene for his gothic short stories. By using the adjectives, "mere", "simple", "bleak", "vacant", "rank", and "decayed" he paints a very detailed image of the eerie mansion and it's surrounding. He also uses expressions such as "utter depression of soul" that create a daunting, gloomy mood. As well, Poe makes us trust and believe that this narrator is reliable by using such keen descriptions of is surrounding environment. Overall, this quote sets the scene and mood brilliantly and establishes credibility in the narrator.