爱伦·坡短篇小说的艺术特色分析-以《阿芒提拉多的酒桶》和《厄舍古屋的倒塌》为例_英语论文

Artistic Characteristics of Allan Poe’ s Short Stories --The Cask of Amontillado and The Fall of the House of Usher

摘要

作为19世纪美国文坛上的重要作家，埃德加·爱伦·坡产生过相当大的国际影响。其小说、诗歌和文学批评理论都已成为世界文学宝库中不可缺少的珍宝。他因第一个发展了短篇小说这种独特的艺术形式，提出了小说创作的理论，阐述了评判短篇小说的标准，而被称为美国现代短篇小说之父。其小说所展现的恐怖魅力是他文学成就的重要体现。

本文着重探讨坡短篇小说中所运用的艺术手法在《阿芒提拉多的酒桶》和《厄舍古屋的倒塌》中的体现，其中“效果论”是爱伦·坡创作的核心，它强调小说的故事情节服务于预先设计好的效果，以达到对读者心灵的震撼。同时，在他短篇小说中呈现出的写作特色包括象征，环境描写，第一人称叙事角度等。深入分析神秘、隐晦的象征手法，理解其具体意义，使读者在想象中体验恐惧的魅力。对环境的描写使故事具有阴暗、恐怖的画面感。第一人称的叙事角度，使故事变得更加逼真，贴近读者，让读者直面血腥的场景。

除此之外，本文还将深入分析爱伦·坡及其短篇小说对当代文化和文学创作的深远影响和重大意义。其短篇小说中运用的艺术特征不仅赋予了作品无限的生命力,也为现代短篇小说的创作提供了广阔的发展空间。这也是坡蜚声文坛,对世界文学影响深远的主要原因。

关键词：爱伦·坡；短篇小说；艺术特色；效果论；哥特；象征

Abstract

As an important writer in the 19th century American literature, Edgar Allan Poe exerted considerable international influence. His novels, poems and literature criticism theories have become indispensable treasures of world literature. Poe, known as “the father of modern American short stories”, first developed the unique art form of the short story, posed its theories and expounded its criterion. The charm of horror in his short stories is an important embodiment of his literary achievements.

This thesis intends to discuss Edgar Allan Poe’ s artistic characteristics in The Cask of Amontillado and The Fall of the House of Usher. Among them, “unity of effect” is the core of Poe’ s creation. It emphasizes that the plot of the novel is supposed to serve for the pre-designed effect, so as to achieve a shock to the reader’s mind. At the same time, his writing characteristics including symbolism, description of environment and the first person perspective are presented in most of his short stories. Analyzing in depth the mysterious and obscure symbolism to understand its specific meaning which makes readers experience the charm of fear. Description of environment makes these stories with dark, terror sense of pictures. First person narrative perspective makes the story become more realistic and close to the readers, allowing them to face the bloody scenes. 

In addition, this paper will deeply analyze the far-reaching influence and significance of Edgar Allan Poe and his short stories on contemporary culture and literary creation. These artistic characteristics used in his short stories not only endow the works with infinite vitality, but also provide a broad development space for the creation of modern short stories. This is the main reason why Poe became renowned in the literary circles, and exerted a profound impact on world literature.

Key words: Edgar Allan Poe; short stories; artistic characteristics; unity of effect; Gothicism; symbolism

Contents

Introduction  1

1. The Research Background at Home and Abroad 2

1.1 Overseas Research on Poe and His Short Stories  2

1.2 Domestic Research on Poe and His Short Stories 3

2. Artistic Techniques of Allan Poe’ s Short Stories  4

2.1 ‘‘Unity of Effect’’ in Poe’ s Short Stories 5

2.1.1 Definition of “Unity of Effect”  5

2.1.2 ‘‘Unity of Effect’’ in The Cask of Amontillado  5

2.1.3 ‘‘Unity of Effect’’ in The Fall of the House of Usher  6

2.2 Gothicism in Poe’ s Short Stories  6

2.2.1 Definition of Gothicism  7

2.2.2 Gothicism in The Fall of the House of Usher  7

2.2.3 The Theme of Death  8

2.3 Symbolism in Poe’ s Short Stories  8

2.3.1 Symbolism in The Cask of Amontillado  9

2.3.2 Symbolism in The Fall of the House of Usher  9

3. Narrative Features of Allan Poe’ s Short Stories  10

3.1 The First Person Narration 10

3.2 Ironic Narration 11

3.3 Description Techniques in Poe’ s Short Stories 12

3.3.1 Environmental Description 12

3.3.2 Psychological Description  13

3.3.3 Use of Images 14

Conclusion 15

References 16