Grade 10: Unit 1

I reflected, that a mere different arrangement of the particulars of the scene, of the details of the picture, would be sufficient to modify, or perhaps to annihilate its capacity for sorrowful impression...

Its principal feature seemed to be that of an excessive antiquity. The discoloration of ages had been great.

Perhaps the eye of a scrutinizing observer might have discovered a barely perceptible fissure, which, extending from the roof of the building in front, made its way down the wall in a zigzag direction, until it became lost in the sullen waters of the tarn.

He admitted, however, although with hesitation, that much of the peculiar gloom which thus afflicted him could be traced to a more natural and far more palpable origin—to the severe and long-continued illness—indeed to the evidently approaching dissolution—of a tenderly beloved sister—his sole companion for long years, his last and only relative on earth.

I heard them—many, many days ago—yet I dared not—I dared not speak! and now—tonight—Ethelred—ha! ha!—the breaking of the hermit's door, and the death cry of the dragon, and the clangor of the shield—say, rather, the rending of her coffin, and the grating of the iron hinges of her prison, and her struggles within the coppered archway of the vault!

While I gazed, this fissure rapidly widened—there came a fierce breath of the whirlwind—the entire orb of the satellite burst at once upon my sight—my brain reeled as I saw the mighty walls rushing asunder—there was a long tumultuous shouting sound like the voice of a thousand waters—and the deep and dank tarn at my feet closed sullenly and silently over the fragments of the "House of Usher."

We liked the house because, apart from its being old and spacious (in a day when old houses go down for a profitable auction of their construction materials), it kept the memories of great-grandparents, our paternal grandfather, our parents and the whole of childhood.

We were easing into our forties with the unvoiced concept that the quiet, simple marriage of sister and brother was the indispensable end to a line established in this house by our grandparents.

We would die here someday, obscure and distant cousins would inherit the place, have it torn down, sell the bricks and get rich on the building plot; or more justly and better yet, we would topple it ourselves before it was too late.

How not to remember the layout of that house. The dining room, a living room with tapestries, the library and three large bedrooms in the section most recessed, the one that faced toward Rodríguez Peña.

One entered the house through a vestibule with enameled tiles, and a wrought-iron grated door opened onto the living room.

The sound came through muted and indistinct, a chair being knocked over onto the carpet or the muffled buzzing of a conversation.

Has a reclusive and or/sinister owner

Has a reclusive and or/sinister owner

In their stories, the groans, clankings and/or strange ethereal music end up being caused by dastardly humans. Think Scooby Doo.

The father, reserved by nature, but genial and even gregarious when taken unaware, said amiably, "Of course we don't mind. But I'm afraid many things have changed since 1949."

The father, reserved by nature, but genial and even gregarious when taken unaware, said amiably, "Of course we don't mind. But I'm afraid many things have changed since 1949."

Now the visit truly was over; the stranger, at last, was leaving, having wiped away his tears and made a stoical effort to compose himself; but on the doorstep, to the father's astonishment, he made a final, preposterous appeal—he wanted to see the basement.

Composition: arrangement of the parts of a photograph; the foreground is closer to the viewer, whereas the background is farther away...

Perspective or Angle: vantage point from which a photograph is taken
• The camera may be looking down, looking up, or looking head-on at the subject.
• The subject may seem very far away, at a middle distance, or very close.

Subject: primary figure(s), object(s), or other content in a photograph
• The subject may be a person or group of people, often in the foreground.
• Alternatively, the subject may be an object, a set of objects, or an entire location.

Location: place or scene in which a photograph is taken
• The location may be indoors, in a particular type of building or context.
• Alternatively, the location may be outdoors, and it might be obvious or subtle in its details.

Through fear conditioning (connecting a neutral stimulus with a negative consequence), we can link pretty much anything to a fear response.

This speaks to the fact that things that violate the laws of nature are terrifying. And really anything that doesn't make sense or causes us some sort of dissonance, whether it is cognitive or aesthetic, is going to be scary (axe-wielding animals, masked faces, contorted bodies).

This speaks to the fact that things that violate the laws of nature are terrifying. And really anything that doesn't make sense or causes us some sort of dissonance, whether it is cognitive or aesthetic, is going to be scary (axe-wielding animals, masked faces, contorted bodies).

So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeating
"'Tis some visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door—
Some late visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door—
This it is, and nothing more."

"Sir," said I, "or Madam, truly your forgiveness I implore;
But the fact is I was napping, and so gently you came rapping,
And so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my chamber door,
That I scarce was sure I heard you"—here I opened wide the door—
Darkness there, and nothing more.

Then this ebony bird beguiling my sad fancy into smiling,
By the grave and stern decorum of the countenance it wore,
"Though thy crest be shorn and shaven, thou," I said, "art sure no craven,
Ghastly grim and ancient Raven wandering from the Nightly shore—
Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night's Plutonian shore!"
Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."