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How Does Poe Create Suspense In The Masque Of The Red Death

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In Edgar Allen Poe’s, “The Masque of the Red Death”, the terror spreading throughout the guests of the party helps it seem as if the Red Death was slowly forcing itself into the masquerade. The masked figure within the story is described as “…unutterable horror” (Poe, 452). The vivid descriptions within the story produce anxiety and cause unease for the guests, adding to the underlying fear of the current red death pandemic. A quote that builds a lot of suspense is “…turned suddenly and confronted his pursuer” (Poe, 452). This chase forces the guests to freeze because a confrontation is about to happen. Poe also decides to leave the guests with wonder after the climax by adding “…untenanted by any tangible form” (Poe, 452). The quote proceeds to induce fear within the guests because they are now trapped with an invisible killer. The fear of death is strongly exhibited within the quote “…mask which concealed the visage was made so nearly to resemble the countenance of a stiffened corpse that the closest scrutiny must have had difficulty in detecting the cheat” (Poe, 451). Death is the ultimate fear for the characters of this party and seeing a close resemblance …show more content…

The main metaphor expressed in this essay Is the bug and the door. King states that not knowing what is behind the door is terrifying but the reality is nothing behind the door will be scarier than the unknown. This metaphor is important because it helps build the suspense in the reader’s mind, the intended effect by King. When the thing behind the door is revealed, the readers will feel relieved but will still remember the suspense filled moments before the reveal. King’s metaphor discloses that the readers can be built up for as long as the author wants but must eventually be shown what is behind the

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