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Examples Of Allegory In The Masque Of The Red Death

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The world around you is suffering, but you decide to throw a party. A short story, “Masque of the Red Death” by Edgar Allan Poe delivers a horrific yet familiar story. The Red Death is plaguing the world and killing many. Prince Prospero believes that the plague could and will not reach him if he barricades the doors of his castle. The prince then throws a masquerade with thousands of wealthy people. At first the party is wonderful, then it takes a turn when a mysterious stranger appears. This unwanted stranger is the beginning of the end. To enhance his allegory of The Black Plague in “Masque of the Red Death,” Poe expresses the thought life can often be blinded by your lack of reality through his portrayal of Prince Prospero, Building Alignment/Layout of Rooms, and the Clock. …show more content…

Prince Prospero is the owner of the castle and the one that started the party. Prince Prospero is very blind with the outside world. He doesn’t believe that the “Red Death” could reach him. The author writes, “Prince Prospero entertained his thousand friends at a masked ball of the most unusual magnificence” (Poe 83). The story shows that Prince Prospero can’t face the reality that he can’t hide from the sickness. He is arrogant because he doesn’t try to keep people away to stay away from the sickness, instead he throws a party that is very inappropriate for the reality in the world. The author writes this to show how it was during the “Black Plague.” Poe writes Prince Prospero this way because some arrogant people didn’t take it seriously enough. Prince Prospero was arrogant and blinded by his lack of the real world which ended up being his

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