[摘 要]

作为美国文学史上极具影响力的作家之一，爱德加•爱伦•坡在诗歌、小说的创作领域内都有相当大的成就。在他众多的小说作品中，恐怖类小说不仅继承了传统哥特式小说的写作特色，更是进行了不断地创新与改革，因此给读者留下了深刻的印象，《厄舍古屋的倒塌》就是爱伦坡恐怖小说的经典之作。在《厄》中，坡不管是从小说的主题与情节构造、叙述人称还是环境描写、人物心理的刻画，甚至对其情节的悬念设置，语言风格等方面都进行了许多奇思妙想地勾画与再创造，特别是在人物心理刻画方面，更是展现出了作者在写作技巧上的独特才能。因此，可以说爱德加•爱伦•坡对哥特式小说的发展做出了卓越贡献， 同时，他独具特色的创新理念也为后来不少作家的文学创作提供了诸多灵感。

[关键词]爱德加•爱伦•坡；厄舍古屋的倒塌；哥特式写作风格

Abstract:

Edgar Allan Poe, one of the most influential writers in the history of American literature, who is so productive in both poetry and fictions within his only forty-year life. Among all his glorious works, our readers are deeply impressed by his horror fictions, which carrying forward the traditional Gothic characteristics as well as bringing in some innovations to the traditional Gothic fictions. The Fall of the House of Usher is the most prominent fiction of Edgar Allan Poe’s Gothic style works. From the perspectives of the creation of the theme and plot, the point of view, the description of settings, the portrait of protagonists, the establishment of the suspense as well as the language styles, Poe has make a breakthrough in the traditional Gothic novels, especially in the depiction of the psychological development of the protagonists. As a result, Edgar Allan Poe has made great contribution to the development of the Gothic novels. Taking The Fall of the House of Usher as an example, this thesis will mainly talk about Poe’s Gothic styles from the points of the above six aspects.

Keywords: Edgar Allan Poe; The Fall of the House of Usher; Gothic characteristic

1. Introduction
Gothic novel, known as “the Dark Romanticism”, is a kind of prevailing fiction emerging in the end of 18th century to the early phase of 19th century in Britain. It was regarded as the reflection of the ideological trend of Pre-Romanticism in prose. Edgar Allan Poe, universally acknowledged as the first American writer who has produced the truly exquisite Gothic fictions, as well as making the Gothic novels go deep into the inner heart of the people. Most of Poe’s works, such as The Fall of the House of Usher, The Black Cat, The Tell- Tale Heart and The Cast of Amontillado, have something to do with the Gothic styles. This thesis is determined to inquire into the inheritance and innovation of Poe’s work The Fall of the House of Usher in Gothic styles. Furthermore, the thesis will touch little upon the influence of Poe’s works on the latter writers.