The Masque Of The Red Death Analysis Essay

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

People have always tried to avoid death, but they cannot. In Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Masque of the Red Death” the characters are trying to avoid the Red Death, but they fail. Every hour an ebony clock chimes indicating that life is passing and death is close. People begin to die every minute once the Red Death enters. This story of death works out, because Edgar Allen Poe gives good use to author’s craft. Edgar Allen Poe uses imagery, symbolism, and setting to create an effective story.

“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,

Revenge, a thought that has crept into the minds of almost everyone yet, most would not kill to attain it. Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado” depicts the murder of a man named Fortunato at the hands of Montresor. “Revenge” being the justification for this cruel act makes the morals of Montresor questionable and gradually builds to form a terrifying story. The dialogue between the two characters and the imagery used to create the catacombs and the twisted carnival atmosphere ultimately makes up this dark story.

Some people think that running away from problems in life is an amazing way to get out of them. “The Masque of the Red Death” by Edgar Allan Poe, expresses how the effort of running away from a disease is not possible. The people believed that now that the prince, their loyal friend, had let them into the castle they were all safe from the terrible disease called “Red Death”. Everyone was having a good time at a ball that the prince had made for his friends. Then suddenly the “Red Death” appeared at the party and killed everyone. The hidden message in Poe’s “The Masque of the Red Death” is that no one can escape from their own destiny.

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 The Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allan Poe, the author uses allegory, metaphorical speech, and chronological order to create the desired feeling in the text. For instance, the seven rooms in the story represented a certain time in a person’s life. The first blue room represented the beginning, while “the seventh apartment was closely shrouded in black velvet tapestries that hung all over the ceiling and down the walls… upon a carpet of the same material and hue. But in this chamber only, the color of the windows… were scarlet --a deep blood color,” and represented the end, or death (paragraph 4, Poe). In this room, to further the aforementioned representation, “...there stood against the western wall, a gigantic clock of ebony. Its pendulum swung to and fro with a dull, heavy, monotonous clang; and when the minute-hand made the circuit of the

    In “The Tell-Tale Heart” and “The Masque of Red Death”, the main characters try to isolate themselves from evil, but Poe uses irony to show that death is inevitable.

The Masque of the Red Death is a story of symbolism and allegory. Everything from the arrangement of the seven chambers, the ebony clock, and the color red.

Eventually, the Red Death, which Prospero had tried so desperately to evade, approached and killed him, so “now was acknowledged the presence of the Red Death. He had come like a thief in the night. And one by one dropped the revelers in the blood-bedewed halls of their revel, and died each is the despairing posture of his fall” (88). Because the castellated abbeys can be considered a part of Prospero’s mind, then this clearly shows that denying the existence of a problem will not magically resolve it, and could instead cause bigger and even more pressing issues. Poe is proving that even if a problem does not directly affect someone, it should still be acknowledged, confronted, and dealt with in one way or another. It is clear that all of the symbols included in the story contribute to the allegory “The Masque of the Red Death”, which contains a lesson that applies to all people and teaches the reader to recognize other people’s problems, even if they do not affect the reader

In mid-fourteenth century Europe a plague (also known as the Black Death) appeared in which the first wave killed millions of people. But the plague didn’t stop there, it persisted, spreading around the whole known world and exerting its power on people up until the eighteenth century. In Europe there were many responses to the plague which included helping to stop and cure the plague, profiting off it, and trying to protect and care for their loved ones.

“He had come like a thief in the night. And one by one dropped the revellers in the blood-bedewed halls of their revel, and died each in the despairing posture of his fall” (Poe). Edgar Allan Poe was an American author and poet during the 1800’s (anb). He is known for his gothic style of writing, and tragic tales. Poe has written famous pieces such as The Raven (1845), The Black Cat (1843), and The Tell Tale Heart(1843). But one of Poe’s stories, The Masque of the Red Death (1842), relies heavily on themes of death, pestilence, human nature, and religion. Through these themes and symbolism, Poe explores the darker side of humanity and the meaning behind life.

The Masque of the Red Death is a short gothic horror story. Overall is about a prince who thinks he is invincible, while having a party one night a mysterious guest appears and all the party-goers are very frightened of him. In the end this red death man kills the prince along with many other people at the party. This story became more horrific because the setting was in a castle, there was supernatural elements, and there was revenge. The Masque of the Red Death depicts the not so good aspects of human nature; that being selfishness, fear, and power. These are all things many witness almost daily, either by watching television or being outside. Although there are many good aspects of human nature, like being kind courageous and doing the right thing, this story written by famous author Edgar Allan Poe in 1842 uses anger, fear, and greed to illustrate how some humans that don’t do the right thing get led down a dark path.

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