This document discusses common elements found in three of Edgar Allan Poe's works - The Raven, Annabel Lee, and The Fall of the House of Usher. All three works feature a tortured narrator dealing with the loss of a loved one, and elements of the supernatural. The Raven features a narrator driven mad with grief over the loss of Lenore, represented by a talking raven. Annabel Lee depicts a narrator who loses his love to envious forces, symbolized by a killing wind. The Fall of the House of Usher contains a narrator in love with Madeline Usher, who witnesses her burial alive and the madness of the Usher household, featuring supernatural elements like a family curse

1. COMMON ELEMENTS FOUND IN THREE OF EDGAR ALLAN POE’S WORKS. Malorie Wheeler Professor Owens English 1102 February 27, 2011

2. Edgar Allan Poe Born on January 19, 1809 His parents were the famous actors, David and Elizabeth Poe. From the earliest times in his life Poe was surrounded with disappointment, hurt, and death. Poe’s biological father disserted his family. Shortly after, at the age of twenty four, his mom passed away from Tuberculosis. The Poe children were then split up into different families. John Allan brought Edgar into his home as one of his own. When John Allan passed away, he left Poe out of his will.

3. Virginia Poe Poe then sought refuge in the home of his aunt, Maria Poe Clem, and her daughter Virginia, who later became Poe’s wife at the age of thirteen. Six years later, while singing to her husband, Virginia started coughing up blood. After five years Poe lost yet another loved one to Tuberculosis, his beloved Virginia. After her death, Poe became a heavy alcoholic. He then died on October 7, 1849.

4. Three Common Elements The Raven, Annabel Lee, and The Fall of the House of Usher, although not all the same, these works contain three common elements. A Tortured Narrator The Loss of a Loved One Elements of the supernatural

5. The Raven The constant crying of “Nevermore” from the raven drives the narrator crazy. The raven itself is a symbol of the torture the narrator is placing upon himself when trying to get over the loss of his loved one. He is constantly distraught over the loss of his beloved Lenore. An element of supernatural would be the raven itself talking to the narrator.

6. Annabel Lee The narrator is the male who has found the love of his life. He speaks of how everyone and everything envied the love that they had. The narrator becomes tortured when his love is taken by him. He says that they had become so envious of the young ones that they sent a cold wind to kill his lover. It is as if the narrator is losing his mind. He even states that nothing can separate them. An element of the supernatural would be the wind actually killing his love. The wind was more a symbol of a disease (like Tuberculosis), which came and made her sick.

7. The Fall of the House of Usher Phillip is the narrator who is desperately in love with the beautiful Madeline Usher. On Phillips visit to the Usher home, he will forever be changed. One night during his trip, Phillip learns that Madeline has passed away. Through the night Phillip suffers from the hurt of losing his Madeline, when he believes to hear something coming from her grave. Roderick informs Phillip that she had suffered from catalepsy, which means Roderick had buried her alive.

8. The Fall of the House of Usher Cont’d This is where the tortured narrator comes in to play. Phillip now tries to get away from the madness which dwells in the Usher household. There are several elements of the supernatural found throughout this short story. One would be that the Usher’s believe that their family line is cursed. Another would be the fog which looms around the house, which they believe is a curse within itself.

9. Work Cited Ackroyd, Peter. Poe a Life Cut Short. 1st. New York, NY: Random House Inc., 2008. Print. Allan, Edgar. Poetry and Tales. Library of America, 1984. Print. Allan, Edgar. The Collected Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe. Random House, Inc., 1972.Print B., David. Critics on Poe. University of Miami Pr, 1973. Print Baym, Nina. The Norton Anthology of American Literature. 6thed. B.W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1507-1607. Print. Poe, Edgar Allan. The World's Greatest Classics. Danbury,CT: Grolier Enterprises Corp., 279-280. Print.