Question

Read the passage. During the whole of a dull, dark, and soundless day in the autumn of the year, when the clouds hung oppressively low in the heavens, I had been passing alone, on horseback, through a singularly dreary tract of country, and at length found myself, as the shades of evening drew on, within view of the melancholy House of Usher. I know not how it was—but, with the first glimpse of the building, a sense of insufferable gloom pervaded my spirit . . .

In this excerpt from Edgar Allan Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher," what mood do these lines evoke in the reader?

one of hostility
one of bleakness
one of serenity
one of terror

Answer 1

The word melancholy evokes a mood of bleakness, as the setting is one of a dark and dreary house, as the narrator approaches.  The reader gets a sense of foreboding, and it foreshadows the events to come.  He is alone, on horseback, the house is gloomy, and the use of the word oppressively indicates that the situation is dark and depressing. 

Answer 2

One of Bleakness (Novanet)