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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. For what had the vault beneath the narrator's apartments once been used in feudal times?

2. For what does Usher think his sister will upbraid him?

3. What does Usher say about the similarity between he and his sister's appearance?

4. How does the narrator describe the clouds?

5. What does Usher try to overcome in the presence of the narrator according to the narrator?

Short Essay Questions

1. What had Roderick's sister, up to the narrator's arrive, resisted, but how does that change after the narrator arrives at the house of Usher?

2. For what purpose and when was the vault used in previous times?

3. How does the narrator describe the vault where Madeline's coffin is temporarily laid to rest?

4. What does the narrator say about Madeline's appearance when he looked upon her before they sealed the coffin lid?

5. What announcement does Roderick abruptly make one evening?

6. How does the narrator attempt to calm Roderick?

7. One is one topic of discussion between the narrator and Roderick that arises from the singing of Roderick's song, "The Haunted Palace"?

8. What is Roderick's response to Madeline falling upon him?

9. What does the narrator say about his friendship with Roderick Usher?

10. What does the narrator do in response to his feelings of unease and who joins him?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Poe was a literary critic as well as a writer. He claims a story must concentrate on a single effect.

What is the single effect in The Fall of the House of Usher and how is this effect evident in the characters, the setting and the symbolism?

Essay Topic 2

Poe includes a poem, The Haunted Palace, in the story which he later publishes separately.

Discuss the meaning the poem has to the story. Use examples from The Fall of the House of Usher to support your reasoning.

Essay Topic 3

Thoroughly analyze how the setting informs the plot in The Fall of the House of Usher. Trace and analyze one major theme of The Fall of the House of Usher. How is the theme represented by symbolism? By the characters' behaviors? By the action?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 665 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample