Allusions In The Masque Of The Red Death

The Masque of the Red Death has a lot of symbolism that has to do with the circle of life- such as the different colors of the seven rooms each meaning one stage of life. The stages of life obviously have relations to death, possibly even being centered around it. The thought is just so artistically

Edgar Allan Poe’s frightening gothic style poetry and short novels about fear, love, death and horror are prominent to Gothic Literature and explore madness through a nerve-recking angle. The incredible, malformed author, poet, editor and novelist is recognized for his famous classical pieces such as “The Raven”, “Berenice” and “The Tell-Tale Heart”, pieces of work that mystically yet magnificently awakens readers with a gloomy spirit. Awakening the subject of madness through written work was viewed as insane during Poe’s times. Yet Poe published some of the worlds most magnificently frightening pieces of literature throughout history. In the following essay I will examine and cautiously analyze Edgar Allan Poe’s most prominent works of madness, as well as his personal life to a certain extent. “The Tell Tale Heart” and “The Raven” will be examined as they reveal his inner dementedness. Exclusive, powerful insight will be shared from the Edgar Allan Poe Museum

For instance, Poe gave the name Prospero to a wealth prince. “But the Prince Prospero was happy and dauntless and sagacious” (83). Giving the prince this name symbolizes the wealth of the prince, how he thrived, and how successful he was. Another example of symbolism is when the Red Death appears after the palace doors are bolted lock. “When the eyes of Prince Prospero fell upon this spectral image solemn movement….” (87). This part of the story shows that no matter how hard you try or how much money you have, you cannot escape or cheat dead. One last example of symbolism being used in this story is Prince Prospero rushing through the rooms chasing the Red Death. “It was then, however, that Prince Prospero, maddening with rage and the shame of his own momentary cowardice, rushed hurriedly through the six chambers….” (87). This example of symbolism was the one that stands out the most. The 7 chambers of Edgar Allen Poe are similar to the 7 stages of life of William Shakespeare. While Prince Prospero is rushing through the

“The Masque of the Red Death” is an allegory, symbolizing the journey from life to death, proving that death is inescapable for everyone. This is shown through the symbolism used by Poe, not only in characters,

Fear is a natural instinct that could potentially save your life, but that doesn't mean it’s always a good thing. Fear can lead to paranoia or obsession, and then it can engulf your sanity. If you become so fearful in the face of danger it could possibly cause paralysis, cloud your rational thought, or cause you to faint. However, it could potentially save your life by holding you back from irrational acts, making your more alert, or offering restraining from making hazardous decisions. In the stories “The Tell Tale Heart,” “The Pit and the Pendulum,” and “The Masque of Red Death,” the author, Edgar Allen Poe, uses figurative language, irony and symbolism to teach us that fean can distort the mind, and cause paranoia and obsession,

There once was a young woman, who strived to be immortal, this caused her to bind herself away from the world for years. She decided one day that she had conquered death by changing her fate and goes to venture the town where she met a strange man, who insults her, filled with anger she decides to go after him where she faces death. A very similar situation is portrayed in “The Masque of the Red Death” with the character Prince Prospero, who believes that he has changed his fate by locking himself in his palace for years but this doesn’t end well for him as he faces death in his own home. In “The Masque of the Red Death”, written by Edgar Allen Poe, irony and symbolism to is used prove that death is inevitable.

Many people go through horrors in their life. However, most don’t record them in the way Poe did. From a young age Poe experienced death in his family. As Poe lived his life, he started using his feelings and life experiences in his work. He based his feelings in his poems such as Annabel Lee and Alone. He used his life experiences in his works such as The Masque of the Red Death and The Black Cat. Though Poe had a few other works such as The Tell-Tale Heart and The Raven; they did not portray much of his life experiences and feelings like these ones did. Poe’s themes of death, insanity, and emotion through eyes in his works reflect the actual themes in his life.

The Prince and his friends were then in the presence of the phantom representing the “Red Death”. The prince followed the phantom and it led the prince threw the six chambers without a thought. Then all of a sudden in the last room the phantom killed the prince. “There was a sharp cry- and the dagger dropped gleaming upon the sable carpet, upon which, instantly afterwards, fell prostrate in death the Prince Prospero” (Poe 461). In this part of the story Poe clearly states and expresses his hidden message saying no one can escape from the own destiny. This message is shown when the phantom kills the prince in the red room.

The simile Poe uses is by comparing the red death to a thief. The figurative language of personification and simile of the red death contribute to the tone of the story. The red death is described as, “ He had come like a thief in the night” (Poe 3). This contributes to the tone because Poe gives the story a more ominous sense by giving the red death human characteristics of a thief as well as comparing the red death to a thief that steals. What makes the red death like a thief is by how the red death disguises as a gust and goes to the ball and even though the people think he is creepy they still think they are safe. The tone is highlighted in the story because of how Poe emphasizes the red death by giving it characteristics of a thief and comparing the red death to a thief stealing at night like the red death steals the people’s

In stories both fiction and nonfiction, the author’s choice in the structure of the said story can greatly affect the meaning given to it, as well as the reader’s response to the story. In Edgar Allan Poe’s The Masque of the Red Death, Poe uses chronological order as well as metaphors and allegory to create a particular feel. Similarly, in A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner, the author uses different structure - beginning with the end, then going more chronologically - to create a different feeling. Both stories would be completely different if it were not for the methods the authors chose to use for their stories’ structure.

“The death of a beautiful woman is, unquestionably, the most poetical topic in the world” was a statement by Edgar Allan Poe. It is a very strong statement, for death, in the non-literary world, is not typically associated with anything poetical. In fact, many would argue that death is the opposite of poetical. If poetical means, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, “having an imaginative or sensitive emotional style of expression”, then it can be said that death is unpoetical. Death is the end of one’s emotions, and in non-literal terms, death can be the lack of emotions.

Death is nothing, but to live defeated and inglorious is to die daily. In the two narratives of “Ligeia” and the “The Masque of the Red Death”, there is a dramatization of the desire of human beings to try and conquer death through the power of will. In “Ligeia”, death is conquered by means of the determination of the will. The narrator feels that there is a connection between part of the character of his beloved Ligeia, who possessed a stern passion, and the beliefs in the supernatural of Joseph Glanvill, an English moralist who contended “Man doth not yield himself to the angels,

Edgar Allan Poe was an American author and editor, who was best known for his works in Gothic literature. Most of Poe’s stories deal with the theme of horror, as was reflected in Poe’s life as it was full of tragedy involving the loss of many of his beloved wives and mothers. The following stories are amongst Poe’s most celebrated stories; The Tell Tale Heart - a short story told by an unreliable narrator who persuades the readers of his sanity, while telling of a murder he committed. The Masque of the Red Death - a story that illustrates Prince Prospero’s efforts to eschew the dangerous plague by hiding in his castle, where he throws a party. In the midst of the party, a guest in disguise enters the castle, and kills everyone including

In “The Masque of the Red Death” Poe creates strong images of various decorative rooms which have been designed to go from east to west. This is no coincidence, as the rooms seem to imitate the course of the sun from daytime to nighttime, or even the course of human life- birth to death. The first room, coated in the colour blue, represents the freedom and tranquility felt by the guests in the castle. In contrast, the final room, coated in the colour black symbolises the fear and despair felt by the guests in relation to death and its inevitability. This idea is emphasised strongly by the author, as is written, “and produced so wild a look upon the countenances of those who entered, that there were few of the company bold enough to set foot within its precincts at all.” (The Masque of the Red Death).