In the story “The Fall of the House Usher” by Edgar Allen Poe, the character Roderick Usher is the last male member of the Usher family. The Usher family has an almost flawless direct line of descent, as stated in paragraph 3 of the story. Roderick has only one living relative, his sister Madeline. This means that the Usher family is in danger of disappearing because neither Roderick nor his sister have children. There is therefore the possibility of incest between Roderick and Madeline. However, this could lead to many difficulties and problems for the potential children and perhaps even for the consciences of Roderick and Madeline. In the story Roderick sings a poem called "The Haunted Palace" to the story's narrator. Because Roderick Usher has doubts about the security of his family line, he uses poetry as a way to express these emotions without explicitly stating them. The organization of the stanzas in “The Haunted Palace” shows a lot about the overall meaning of the poem. The poem is literally about a palace in a beautiful valley. The palace is inhabited by spirits and a ruler of the valley. The valley is a happy place until it is attacked by evil spirits and their ruler dies. The attack of the spirits leaves the palace a dark and gloomy place. But this literal translation of the poem does not show its metaphorical meaning. A metaphor for the poem can be found through the organization of the poem as a whole. Stanza I describes the setting of the poem: “In the greenest of our valleys” (1.1). He also mentions the palace that is located in the valley. Stanza II describes the palace in more detail, labeling it a beautiful place. Room III provides information on the building's tenants; the spirits live within with "the ru...... in the center of the card ......oderick refers to the spirits as good and says that they sing: "The wit and wisdom of their king." (4.8). "The ruler of the kingdom" (3.8) of which the spirits sing may represent the house of Usher, but not the literal house of Usher, instead they are singing of the Usher family to the house than to the family: “…the 'House of Usher' – a name which seemed to include, in the minds of the peasants who used it, both the family and the palace family”. he is proud of his family and believes he is disappointing the “House of Usher” by not continuing the direct line of descent that his family has carried on for so many years. Therefore, when the king dies in the poem (5.3-4 ), Roderick may think that his family line is already dead.