How Does Poe Present Death In The Masque Of The Red Death
Death is unavoidable and life’s path can be tricky to navigate. This is shown by Edgar Allen Poe’s short story “Masque of the Red Death”. Prince Prospero is wealthy enough to hide inside his mansion while the Red Death is killing millions right outside his door. The prince hosts a masquerade ball for his wealthy guests and they navigate through the 7 rooms of the mansion. Each one represents a different stage of life. An uninvited guest arrives and finally, death claims the life of Prince Prospero. To enhance his allegory of life and death in “The Masque of the Red Death,” Poe expresses that death is inevitable through his portrayal of Prince Prospero, the corridor, and the stranger.
Prince Prospero represents wealth and prosperity. The Red
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The stranger can not be killed because he is death. “But from a certain nameless awe with which the mad assumptions of the mummer had inspired the whole party, there were found none who put forth hand to seize him; so that, unimpeded, he passed within a yard of the prince's person; and, while the vast assembly, as if with one impulse, shrank from the centres of the rooms to the walls, he made his way uninterruptedly, but with the same solemn and measured step which had distinguished him from the first, through the blue chamber to the purple—through the purple to the green—through the green to the orange—through this again to the white—and even thence to the violet, where a decided movement had been made to arrest him” (Poe 4). The stranger is untouchable because he is death and so goes through life with no harm. Death is inevitable because the prince eventually makes his way to the black room. He represents death because no matter how wealthy anyone is they can not avoid death. The stranger finally decides to kill 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 5). It was swift and unexpected because that is what death is. The prince’s final breath is the last of his life because he then drops dead. Death is inevitable, someone can run from it but the prince realized it too late and is killed by the stranger. The stranger represents death and how it eventually comes for
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