The Enigmatic Poetry of Edgar Allan Poe Unveiled in The Fall of the House of Usher

WARNING! This article contains SPOILERS for The Fall of the House of Usher.

Summary

Netflix's The Fall of the House of Usher captivates its audience through its clever plot twists and meticulous attention to detail, despite its incorporation of morally dubious characters. Drawing from various poems by Edgar Allan Poe, the series masterfully employs poignant lines and thought-provoking themes to evoke a sense of melancholy, raise existential questions, and delve into the enigma of mortality.

Netflix's The Fall of the House of Usher ingeniously incorporates Poe's works, adding layers of depth and symbolism to the show. Through the clever use of verses and references from various Edgar Allan Poe poems, creator Mike Flanagan explores the characters' guilt, regrets, and the inevitable grasp of their destinies. Despite its unlikable cast of elite individuals, the series captivates viewers with its masterfully executed plot twists, meticulous attention to detail, and chilling portrayal of character fatalities.

For Annie

The Fall of the House of Usher on Netflix sets the stage for its captivating drama in its opening scenes. We learn that Roderick Usher's children have tragically passed away. Roderick and his granddaughter, Lenore, sit in a church pew, attending the funeral for three of his children. During this solemn event, the preacher recites lines from various works by Edgar Allan Poe, including a few lines from the poem "For Annie." This particular poem was written by Poe as a tribute to his late wife, who succumbed to tuberculosis. As the preacher utters the lines from "For Annie" in the series, such as "The danger is past, and the lingering illness is over at last — and the fever called 'Living' is conquered at last," we witness the profound sorrow that engulfs Roderick after the loss of his beloved children.

A Dream Within A Dream

Roderick makes reference to this poem and ponders the true essence of reality while sharing with Lenore his visions of his deceased children. In the poem "A Dream Within A Dream" by Edgar Allan Poe, the transitory nature of time and the impermanence of human life are explored. Having experienced the gradual loss of every family member, Roderick, like the narrator in "A Dream Within A Dream," also begins to question the elusive nature of his own reality. He wonders if his existence is nothing more than a mere dream and if his daydreams of his departed children are in fact dreams within dreams.

Eureka

Edgar Allan Poe's Eureka: A Prose Poem provides insight into the author's perspective on various subjects, such as cosmology, metaphysics, philosophy, and the origins of the universe. Within this ambitiously speculative poem, Poe also alludes to the asteroid Juno, which may have influenced the naming of Ruth Codd's character in The Fall of the House of Usher. Although Eureka's themes do not directly align with those of the Mike Flanagan show, it is possible that this reference is one of many subtle connections to Poe's works found throughout the series.

The Raven

To My Mother

The Raven, written by Edgar Allan Poe, is not only one of the most recognized poems but also holds significant narrative importance in Mike Flanagan's The Fall of the House of Usher. The opening episode of the show, titled "A Midnight Dreary," begins with the same sentence as Poe's The Raven. Additionally, Carla Gugino's character, Verna, in The Fall of the House of Usher, is portrayed as a shape-shifting raven. Just like the Raven symbolizes grief towards a deceased loved one in Poe's poem, Verna (an anagram for "Raven") serves as a metaphor for Roderick's guilt for crossing moral boundaries to achieve material success in the series.

Similar to the characters Roderick and Madeline in The Fall of the House of Usher who lose their mother at a young age, Edgar Allan Poe also experienced the early loss of his mother, Eliza Poe, when he was just three years old. Despite this tragic event, the author proceeded to dedicate numerous poems and stories to her. For instance, his initial published story, Metzengerstein, is believed to allude to the fire that destroyed a theater where Eliza Poe worked as an actress. By drawing parallels between Eliza Poe and Roderick in the opening segment and highlighting the impact of her demise on him, The Fall of the House of Usher also pays homage to Poe's poem To My Mother, which serves as an ode to his memory of his mother.

Annabel Lee

The Fall of the House of Usher exemplifies Roderick's history of having children with multiple women. However, flashbacks from the 1979 timeline confirm that his initial wife was named Annabel Lee. This name is derived from another poem by Edgar Allan Poe that explores a man's unwavering love for his cherished Annabel Lee. While the original poem showcases the narrator's enduring devotion to Annabel Lee even after her passing, The Fall of the House of Usher references verses from the poem to depict Roderick's remorse for betraying and separating from his beloved wife, who was his true love.

This remorse haunts him, as he continues to sense her presence and even witnesses her apparition in the church, serving as a constant reminder of what his life could have been had his relentless pursuit of wealth not blinded him. In the Mike Flanagan Netflix series, Annabel Lee not only represents Roderick's enduring love for his first wife, but also symbolizes the tragic responsibility he places on himself for her demise. As The Fall of the House of Usher reaches its conclusion, and Roderick reminisces about Annabel Lee, he realizes that he sacrificed the warmth of love for fortune and fame.

The Bells

After sealing Griswold behind a solid wall of bricks on the eventful New Year's Eve of 1979, young Madeline and Roderick Usher find themselves plagued by the haunting sound of bells emanating from within those very walls. Later in The Fall of the House of Usher, as Roderick sits opposite the same wall and reflects upon the fateful night that sealed their destiny, he again hears the ominous toll of the bells from Griswold's jester costume. These bells serve as a subtle allusion to Edgar Allan Poe's poem, The Bells, wherein iron bells symbolize mourning and death. Through the depiction of Roderick's gradual perception of the iron bells within Griswold's attire, The Fall of the House of Usher effectively foreshadows his impending doom.

The City In The Sea

Verna recites Edgar Allan Poe's The City In The Sea to Madeline Usher, reminding her of the inescapable nature of death. The poem employs grim symbolism to anthropomorphize death, which looms like an imposing deity over a crumbling metropolis. In The Fall of the House of Usher, Madeline consistently harbors a deluded perception of perpetuity, clinging to the belief that as long as they wield influence and authority, they are immune from mortality, even in the face of demise. Through her recitation of the poem, Verna seeks to caution Madeline about the relentless progression of time and the undeniable reach of death.

Tamerlane

Samantha Sloyan in The Fall of the House of Usher. 

Samantha Sloyan's portrayal of Tamerlane Usher in The Fall of the House of Usher draws inspiration from Edgar Allan Poe's poem, Tamerlane. In this first-person narrative, the poem delves into the narrator's anguish upon reflecting on their relentless pursuit of power, disregarding meaningful relationships. It emphasizes how, in their final moments, the narrator comprehends that their single-minded ambitions and aspirations have left them with a sense of emptiness, as they exacted a heavy toll. The thematic exploration depicted in the poem extends beyond Tamerlane in the Netflix series and encompasses every member of The Fall of the House of Usher's central family.

Lenore

Lenore is a recurring name and theme in the works of Edgar Allan Poe, particularly in his poems Lenore and The Raven. In both poems, Lenore serves as a poignant symbol of the narrator's yearning, haunted by vivid visions of his beloved. Similarly, Roderick's granddaughter in The Fall of the House of Usher bears the name Lenore and, like her poetic counterparts, tragically passes away at a young age. She becomes an allegory of Roderick's guilt and suffering, as he confronts the realization that his pursuit of material success was tainted by the loss of his loved ones.