What is the purpose of this passage from “The Haunted Palace,” the poem that appears within the story “The Fall of the House of Usher”? But evil things, in robes of sorrow,
Assailed the monarch’s high estate;
(Ah, let us mourn!—for never morrow
Shall dawn upon him, desolate!)
And round about his home the glory
That blushed and bloomed
Is but a dim-remembered story
Of the old time entombed.

a It illustrates the elements of Gothic literature to the reader.

b It attempts to alleviate the gloomy mood of the story.

c It provides an example of the writing skill of Edgar Allan Poe.