Edgar Allen Poe is considered a writer in the Gothic genre. His style is often intense horror, yet he also writes in the style of Romanticism. The Fall of the House of Usher brings together Poe’s talents in a story of mental illness and his common theme of being buried alive. Roderick Usher, one of the main characters is the epitome of the romantic poet. He is gaunt, talented and strange. He has a vague disease, which is physical but may be more mental, based on his conviction that it runs in his family and no one is immune to it. He suffered form a morbid acuteness of the senses.
Tone
The emotional tone of the story revolves around Roderick. Poe uses a narrator to tell the story and introduce the characters. He includes the house itself as one of the characters giving it human like characteristics. The windows are said to be eyes and it is implied that the house dies with the other characters. The crack in its side has been compared to a personality split. Gloom and doom permeate the pages of Poe’s story.
Corman's Version
Roger Corman made The Fall of the House of Usher into a full-length movie in 1960, starring Vincent Price. It was the first in a series of eight films based on Poe’s works. Readers of Poe’s stories will notice some obvious changes in The Fall of the House of Usher as a movie. Poe’s story is a horror story of sorts but does not include the classic horror story monster. Corman’s film implies that the house itself is the monster. Since a good portion of the written work is dedicated to the description of the house it was Corman’s challenge to present it visually with accuracy. The role of the narrator is eliminated in the film. In the original story Roderick summoned Winthrop, through a letter. Roderick was sick and wanted comfort and company. Poe’s story was captivating and creepy but under Corman’s direction, screenwriter Matheson changed the relationship of Winthrop and the dying sister to a romantic one. The story and the film both depict the siblings’ illness the same way. Roderick suffered from a morbid acuteness of the senses, which Winthrop exploits when trying to find out what really happened to Madeline. The film also implies that Roderick may view Winthrop as a romantic rival, which hints at an incestuous relationship between the siblings. The character of the sister is also expanded in the film from that of the original story.
