As Poe builds this emotional tension in the reader on through his construction of the sentences, he also does it on the level of the narrative itself. The sense of dramatic tension within the narrative is created by Poe's masterful use of foreshadowing and delay. A prime example of this occurs early in the story, when the narrator explains his presence at the Usher mansion. He reveals that the occupant has summoned him there in a letter of "wildly importunate nature," and that the occupant is an old friend who now suffers a "mental disorder" (298). The combination of the ghoulish scene which the narrator has described and the mysteriously disturbed person who resides there evokes in the reader a morbid sense of curiosity and anticipation, foreshadowing a dangerous future for the narrator, his friend, and even the landscape.

Instead of gratifying the reader's desire to know more about this...
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