Suspense Related to the DeathWord下载.docx

Suspense Related to the DeathWord下载.docx

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EdgarAllanPoe（1809-1849）,thefamousAmericanpoet,shortstorywriter,andacritic,isoneofthegreatestfiguresin19thcenturyAmericanliterature.Beinginpovertyinhiswholelife,hewrotemanysentimentalpoemsinbeautifulmelody,expressinghismelancholyinTheRaven,AnnabelLee,ToHelenorUlalume.Hewasacreativeshortstorywriter.Peopleconsiderhimas“thefatherofthedetectivestory”.Meanwhile,hishorrorandcrimeshortstoriesarefamous.Ligeiashowsusthepowerofthesupernatural;

inTheFalloftheHouseofUsher,everythingisgoingtobemad;

TheBlackCatrevealsthedarksideofhumanmind;

TheMurdersintheRueMorgueistherepresentationsofDupin’swisdom,etc.NomatterwhatthemePoewroteoninhisshortstories,GothicRomanticismistheirgreatfeaturebecausePoelivedintheageofAmericanRomanticism;

andPoecombinedthetraditionalGothicwithhisdescriptionsofhumanpsyche.Poeisanexpertinwritingshortstorieswithsuspense,andformulatedhisownprincipleofwriting,whichisappliedtomostofhisshortstories.Wecanseethatheconveys“theunityofeffect”inTheMasqueoftheRedDeath,WilliamWilsonandsoon.Inhisphilosophyofcomposition,“thedeathofabeautifulwomanis,unquestionably,themostpoeticaltopicintheworld”（EdgarAllanPoe,2004:

135）.Withthiseccentricandmorbidtheme,hewrotetwointerrelatedfamousshortstories—LigeiaandTheFalloftheHouseofUsher—inwhichdeathofbeautyisdepictedwithtechniquesofexpression.Oneofthemissuspense.Forthisreason,thisthesiswillfocusonsuspenseinthesetwoshortstories,showinghowsuspenseisreflectedbyfollowingfactors:

thestories,GothicRomanticism,narrator’spointofview,environmentaldescriptionsandquotations.

2.SuspenseinLiterature

Referringtosuspense,thedictionaryhassuchexplanationsbelow:

“1.Astateorconditionofmentaluncertaintyorexcitement,asinawaitingadecisionoroutcome,usuallyaccompaniedbyadegreeofapprehensionoranxiety.

2.Astateofmentalindecision.

3.Undecidedordoubtfulcondition.

4.Thestateorconditionofbeingsuspended.”（Net.3.）

However,whenitisputinliterature,themeaningisslightdifferent,asitisexplainedinAGlossaryofLiteraryTerms:

“Asaplotevolvesitarousesexpectationsintheaudienceorreaderaboutthefuturecourseofeventsandactionsandhowcharacterswillrespondtothem.Alackofcertainty,onthepartofaconcernedreader,aboutwhatisgoingtohappen,especiallytocharacterswithwhomthereaderhasestablishedabondofsympathy,isknownassuspense”（M.H.Abrams,2004:

225）.

Thisdefinitiontellsusclearlythatsuspenseisalwaysrelatedtoaplotinastory.It’suncertaintyinreaders’minds.Inthisway,authorsachievetheirpurposefor“keepingthereaderwantingtoreadmore.”

Thus,whetherastoryisgoodorbaddependsonitssuspense,nomatterit’sastoryofhorror,orastoryoftenderaffection.Evenit’salovestory,theremustbesuspenseabouttheend;

otherwisethestoryisinsipidtoreadersbecausetheyhaveknowntheconclusionintheprogressofreading.

Beingapennilesswriter,Poecertainlyhopedthathisshortstorieswouldbringhimanyfinancialsupport,especiallywhen“heforesawthathecouldnotgainsufficientfinancialrecompensefromthatgenre（poem）tomaintainhimself”（KevinJ.Hayes,2004:

78）.Asaresult,hisstoriesmustbeveryattractivesothatreaderscan’tstopreadinguntiltheycametotheend.

That’samainreasonforPoe’susingsuspenserepeatedly.

Poeisanexpertinsuspense,whotakesgreatadvantagesofsomefactorstoformsuspense.Let’staketheexamplesofLigeiaandTheFalloftheHouseofUsher.

2.1.TheStoriesofLigeiaandTheFalloftheHouseofUsher

Thesetwoshortstoriesneverescapedpeople’sattentionandtheyarementionedinanyintroductionofPoe’sworks.Peoplereadthemagainandagainforleisure,ortheirstudyofPoe.Thesetwostorieswerefilmed.Asastoryofsuspense,theweirdandhorrorthemeisessential.

InthestoryofLigeia,theheroineisabeautiful,perfectwomanwithprofoundknowledgeandextensivelearning.Shediedlater,butsucceededinstealingherhusband’ssecondwife’sbodytoreturnfromthegrave.InthestoryofTheFalloftheHouseofUsher,theplotissimilar.ApersonwasinvitedtohisoldgoodfriendUsherRoderick’shouseinordertoreliefhisfriend’sillness.HemetLadyMadeline,whowasUsher’ssisterandbehavedlikeaghost.ShegotthesameillnessasthatofUsher.Soon,shedied,andUsherfellintodeepdepression.Onenight,hissistercameoutfromhercoffin,andfelluponherbrothertomakehimdie.Then,thehouseofUsherfelldownunder“theblood-redmoon”（Usher,211）.

Bothofthemarestoriesonrevivingafterdeath,whichseldomorneverhappeninreality.Thisisapointthatshouldbenoticed,sinceunusualthingscaneasilyarousereaders’curiosityandeagernessforreading.Therefore,suspenseiscombinedwiththestorytoseizereaders’minds.

2.2.SuspenseandGothicRomanticism

PoebelongstothetimeofAmericanRomanticismwhenBritishRomanticisminfluencedAmerica（sincethe1820s）（XiaoMinghan,2001:

8）.Hence,whenreferringtosuspenseinPoe’sstories,GothicRomanticismcan’tbeoverlooked.

2.2.1.IntroductiontoTraditionalGothicRomanticism

Theword“Gothic”camefromatribeofGothswhichwerefromnorthernGermanicEuropeanddestroyedthemightyWestRomeEmpirein5A.D.Thetribedisappearedin7A.D,buttheword“Gothic”waslinkedwithhorror,savageness,mystery,darknessandsoon.TheItalianarchitectandpainterVasari（1511-1574）hadusedthewordtodescribethemedievalarchitecture.Betweenthe12thCenturyandthe16thCentury,theGothicstyleinarchitecturewasprevailinginEurope.NotreDamedeParis,WestminsterAbbeyinLondonandCologneCathedralaretheprimaryrepresentativesofGothicarchitecturewith“toweringspires”,“narrowwindows”,“stainedglass”andsoon（XiaoMinghan,2001:

2）.Gothicbuildingisalwayswithvaulted（pointed）archeswithinandhuge“flyingbuttresses”andisvast;

asenseofconsiderableshadowinessorobscurityisinescapablewhenoneentersGothicbuildingsortheircloisters（KevinJ.Hayes,2004:

73）.Inthelate18thcentury,theword“Gothic”wasrelatedtoanewgenreofstory.HoraceWalpolewasthefirstpersonwhowroteaGothicstoryTheCastleofOntrantoin1764.ThenGothicplotswerepopularwiththeBritishwriters:

MatthewLewis（TheMonk）,AnnRadcliff（TheMysteriesofUdolpho）,andEmilyBronte（WutheringHeights）.EveninCharlotteBronte’sJaneEyre,therearesomeGothicelementssuchastheepisodesrelatedtoRochester’swife.Fromthenon,GothicstoriesgraduallyoccupiedtheliteratureofBritainandthenAmericaandGermany（XiaoMinghan,2001:

2）.

2.2.2.PoeandTraditionalGothicRomanticism

Poewasn’tanEnglishman,buthehadlivedinLondonforsometimesincehewas6yearsold.ThattimewastheBritishRomanticismepoch.PoenaturallyhadachancetogetintouchwithBritishRomanticism,andwasdeeplyinfluenced.AsitispointedoutbyBenjaminF.FisherinPoeandtheGothicTradition:

Poehadmade“thepoemsofByron,Shelly,andColeridgeashisownpoeticmodels”（KevinJ.Hayes,2004:

78）.Notonlyinpoems,butalsoinstorieswhichsuggestPoe’smodificationoftraditionalGothicRomanticism.

InLigeia,PoehasmentionedtheceilingofanewroomwhereLigeia’shusbandmovedto,whichwas“withthewildestandmostgrotesquespecimensofasemi-Gothic,semi-druidicaldevice”（Ligeia,16）.InTheFalloftheHouseofUsher,theheroRoderickUsherwasparticularlyinterestedinabook:

“AnexceedinglyrareandcuriousbookinquartoGothic-themanualofaforgottenchurch-theVigilaeMortuorumsecundumChorumEcclesiaeMaguntinae”（Usher,196）.

Theword“Gothic”isoftenusedinPoe’sstoriesasIshowedabove.ItisthevisibleevidencethatPoewasinfluencedbytraditionalGothicRomanticisminhisstories.WeshouldespeciallypayattentiontothetitleofthebookwhichwasUsher’sfavourite.Itwasquitelongandodd,andthebookwas“themanualofaforgottenchurch”.IntraditionalGothicRomanticism,achurchoftenhadsomethingtodowiththeGothic.WecanseeanexampleofitinMatthewLewis’sfamousnovelTheMonk,inwhicheventshappenedinachurchoracloister.

InmanyGothicstories,thebackgroundisdecayingcastles,ruinsorbleakplaces（XiaoMinghan,2001:

2）.Forexample,thestoryofWutheringHeightshappenednearableakmoor.Weknowthatintheirchildhood,HeathcliffhadtosufferafloggingorthrashingandCatherinehadtosufferthemonotonousandstrictdisciplinefromthecurate.Thentheyoften“ranawaytothemoorsinthemorningandremainedthereallday”（EmilyBronte,50）.Attheendofthenovel,HeathcliffandCatherinereunitedagain,butintheappearanceofghosts.Thatplaceoftheirappearancewasmoorstoo（EmilyBronte,382）.

InLigeiaandTheFalloftheHouseofUsher,Gothicplacesarecommontoo.

Forinstance,whenLigeia’shusbandrecollectedwherehesawLigeia,hedescribedtheplaceas“somelarge,old,decayingcityneartheRhine”（Ligeia,2）.AfterLigeia’sdeath,hemovedto“anabbey”,whichhedidn’tnameandwas“inoneofthewildestandleastfrequentedportionsoffairEngland”（Ligeia,13-4）.Throughhisdescriptions,readerswillfindaninterestingandabnormalthing:

thenarratorseemstohavehismemorieslosttocoversomedetails.Usually,peoplewillnotforgettheexactplacewheretheym