The Masque Of The Red Death Allegory Analysis

In “The Masque of Red Death”, a story written by Edgar Allan Poe, there are a lot of literary features used in order to write the story effectively and to create deeper meaning which gives the opportunity for the readers to analyze the text hence making the story a literary text. Even though there are features such as irony used in the story, the main literary features used by the author are symbolism, imagery and descriptive writing.

In “The Raven,” poet Edgar Allen Poe employs a variety of literary devices such as imagery and symbolism. Poe uses these devices to portray the somber mood of the poem. This mood is shown when Poe says, “Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December; And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.” The narrator is fearful of life without his wife and knows he will never be able to get over her death. Throughout the poem the narrator agonizes over the pains he is having with the loss of his wife.

Poe uses this clock to signify the passing of time. By using this symbol, he is able to reinforce his theme as he connects time to fate. The clock “stood against the western wall” and even “the giddiest grew pale” at this “dull, heavy, monotonous clang” (Poe 84). These quotations are key to fully drawing Poe’s theme together. The first thing one can pick up from these quotes is the fact that the clock “stood against the western wall” (Poe 84). One knows this is important because the connection can be made that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. By examining this closer, the inference can be made that the clock marks the end of the day or life in general. The sun must travel from the east side to get to the end of the day and to the end of the castle. If one were to connect the rooms to this as well, than the assumption is made that room number seven is death and the clock is the time passing until death. Poe also uses phrases to describe people’s reactions to the clock, as this is one of the only pieces that is a reminder to true reality. When he says, “the giddiest grew pale”, he refers to the fact that even the happiest and carefree people knew that the clock meant something and was not just there for decoration (Poe 84). This clock was a constant reminder of Poe’s theme, and even the people in the castle can be reminded of it. The final piece of these quotes is the sound of the clock. This “dull, heavy, monotonous clang” is a sound that causes everyone to stop partying (Poe 84). The constant reminder of death, and what these people have done to escape it is an important piece of Poe’s allegory. Poe is able to show the reader how time connects to fate and his theme. The clock is not just a reminder of time, but also a constant denial of

Edger Allen Poe is an incredible author of horror. His story, The Masque of the Red Death, was an amazing chiller about a party that was ended by a disease. Throughout the kingdom a disease is spreading from citizen to citizen, killing each one who possesses it so the king invites those closes to him to a party where no one can leave and will be safe from the disease but yet in hindsight they were locking themselves in with the disease. Throughout the course of this hair-raising story, several symbols are represented to array Poe’s theme of death. Symbols such as the seven colored rooms, the clock, and lastly the Red Death are all symbols that are displayed to help get Poe’s notion across.

In the grim short story written by Edgar Allan Poe in 1842, “The Masque of the Red Death” tells the tale of a kingdom ravaged with disease and a prince’s journey to escape death. Poe hides underlying messages throughout the story, leaving the reader to interpret the true meaning of prosperity and death. Edgar Allan Poe uses symbolism and imagery in the form of an allegory to reveal to the reader that death is inescapable, no matter how wealthy you are.

Every person has their own way of having a symbol for something. For example, how someone‘s symbol for success would be money while another person’s symbol would be family. “The Mask of the Red Death” by Edgar Allen Poe is about how there is a disease called Red Death and it is killing everybody. In the story, all of the rich people blocked themselves in the castle to evade the Red Death, as in reality where all of the rich people have money to buy medicines to protect themselves from sickness and death. There is no cure for the Red Death, just like in life there is no cure for death, eventually death will find you. The symbols of the stages of life, time running out, and death apply to the theme of no man escapes death.

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.

Death can never be escaped no matter what. In “The Masque of the Red Death” Edgar Allan Poe shows the theme of death, a suspenseful mood, and an ominous tone. Through Poe’s use of literary devices, the reader can discover tone, theme, and mood. Throughout Poe’s life he experienced death with two of his mother’s and his young wife. Death is shown how inevitable it is with Poe’s writing and experiences combined together.

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.

“If life must not be taken too seriously, then so neither must death” -Samuel Butler. Perhaps some believe in this quote although on a deeper level it can be seen as foolish and ignorant. In the short story, “The Masque of the Red Death”, the author, Edgar Allan Poe, applies an abundance of literary devices to make evident the foolishness of ignoring death’s inevitability by comparing life and death.

“ The Fall of the House of Usher “ by Edgar Allan Poe is a short story about a man named Roderick

Everything in the seventh chamber is accented with a “deep blood color” and “blood-tinted panes.” The Masque of the Red Death is life vs. death. The seventh chamber is similar to death because it is black and red which represents death. Not to mention, the ‘Red Death’ causes you to bleed out of your pores, “Blood was its Avatar and its seal -- the redness and the horror of blood”, which summarizes how red symbolizes death and fear. Furthermore, guests wouldn’t enter the room because the windows were coded with red and that gave off the representation the disease was in that chamber and they would die “in the blood-bedewed halls.” However, there cannot be death without life. The masked ball is the life in the short story. The masked ball is composed of elements that represent life such as happiness and excitement. Guests avoid the seventh room at the party which symbolizes death, so you could interpret they are avoiding

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

“The Masque of the Red Death” shows an abundant amount of fear. When the country went into fear of the Red Death, “The prince had provided all the appliances of pleasure . . . All these and security were within. Without the Red Death” (Poe 430). The prince created a safe place for his people. It states, “Without the Red Death” (Poe 430). This specifically puts an emphasis on fear of the disease. He created an illusion of perfection, including food, housing, and much more to comfort his people. Similarly, to the abbey in the short story, the dark room also symbolizes fear. The last room, in the hallway, was a littlw different from the rest, “the seventh apartment was closely shrouded in black velvet tapestries that hung all over the ceiling

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).