Every author has a personal style of writing, which is generally carried out in every literary piece composed by that author. Edgar Allan Poe's writing style conveys one single effect to which every other detail is subordinate. This concept emphasizes unity of mood, time, space, and action working together to achieve the "certain unique or single effect". In "The Fall of the House of Usher-, Poe uses diction, imagery, and foreshadowing to convey his one single effect of gloom.
In "The Fall of the House of Usher- Edgar Allan Poe uses many different literary devices to convey his single effect of dullness and gloom. Above all of these devices centers Poe's use of diction throughout the short story. Even in the opening paragraph, where he uses such words and phrases as "dull-, "insufferable gloom-, "utter depression of the soul-, "desolate-, and "sickening of the heart-(738), Poe depicts a gloomy aurora and a ghostly atmosphere. This is continued throughout the rest of the short story with the use of many similar adjectives and descriptions. Not a single object, emotion, or feeling is left without being described thoroughly. Poe's use of diction and language especially in his description of the atmosphere surrounding the House of Usher is key in the conveying of his single effect of gloom. He describes the atmosphere as "an atmosphere which had no affinity with the air of heaven, but which had reeked up from the decayed trees, and the gray wall, and the silent tarn "a pestilent and mystic vapour, dull, sluggish, faintly discernible, and leaden-hued-(739). It is through the wording in this description, along with many others, that Poe is able to convey his single effect of gloom. The gloomy aurora and ghostly atmosphere depicted through Poe's use of diction is also continued through his use of imagery especially in his descriptions of the mansion, the setting, and of Roderick Usher himself.
