The “Red Death” disease was leaving family and friends in torment. The deadly disease was a curse of punishment among everyone that got it. Half of the people in the midst of us were dying of the Red Death. Thankfully my dear friend Prince Prospero invited many of his lively friends. They brought us to a castle surrounded by massive walls and gates of steel. Once everyone was in it was impossible for you to leave or enter. Thanks to the protection of Prince Prospero. We had everything required to live life locked up forever. We were safe. Safe from the outside world. When many months had passed Prince Prospero held a masked ball for his guest inside the castle. Everyone in the castle dressed up in the most luxurious costumes. Everybody dressed unbelievably fancy. The party was magnificent! …show more content…
When we strolled through the castle my friends and I noticed that Prince Prospero decorated every room in a singular color. All the rooms were in magnificent colors except for the seventh room. The room had black velvet drapes and a black carpet and the window was different from the others. The sheet of glass in the window was painted red like blood. This color scared many of my friends and left them with a terrible feeling. Only a couple of them went into the room, but many of us refused. Also in the room was a wooden clock that. The pendulum swung back and forth and every hour it would make a very strange noise. So strange that every guest stood still. Every Time the clock struck every guest in the castle including myself would be
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. One response to the plague was to help stop and cure the plague. As the traveler Heinrich von Staden observes, “....
Ultimately, the insanity of Prospero is anticipated onto the “phantasms” that occupy his thinking; the “dream” visitors are alluded to as “mad revellers”, demonstrating that they might be expectations of the prince Prospero’s own distraught personality. In addition to that, the veiled visage of death which shows up in the party even takes on the feature of insanity, as his “mad assumptions” have the impact of bringing “awe” in alternate visitors. The insanity of Prospero himself once more rises responding to the bravery of the Red Death, as the Prince Prospero “maddening with rage”, seeks after it to the seventh apartment. In an analytical perusing, the battle between the Red Death and Prospero could be explained as the interior psychical
No one can defeat 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.
The room is described by the narrator as “a filthy cocoon” that “took you in and hold you close” (190). The image of a cocoon implies a sense of comfort, a covering that is both snug and protective. Yet, it is also isolating, disconnecting one from the outside world, and is difficult to break free from. Furthermore, this cocoon is “filthy”, filled with “rubbish” and where one loses track of time since there are “no clocks and [watches are] lost and buried” (190). It seems as if this cocoon clutches onto everything not even garbage and time can escape.
The reactions from the Christians and the Muslims to the greatly feared disease, known as the Black Death or the Great Plague were different in several ways. The first Plague was documented from 541 to 544 CE. Known as the Plague of Justinian. The Plague came in three different ways: bubonic, pneumonic, and septicemic. With bubonic being the most common.
The entire reason for this party was to defend the king and all those close to him from it, but there is no escaping the disease. The text states, “His vesture-was dabbed in blood-and his brow, with all the features with all the feature of a face, was besprinkled with the scarlet horror” Poe, 425). The Red Death was a “walking corpse” looking figure that appeared out of nowhere during the course of the party; and how instantly makes his way toward the block room. All those who attended the shindig secretly feared the moving figure as it made its way to the room. The king did not stand for this so he planned to kill the figure, but yet the figure killed him.
Throughout history, many influential writers have used literature to teach people about human nature; these writers used their works improve the morals of humanity. In the 18th century, Romantic and Gothic writers used many literary elements to make their works more meaningful. These included figurative language, symbolism, imagery, allusions, mood and tone to enhance the theme in their stories. Two men who did this were the Gothic writer Edgar Allan Poe, and the Gothic romance writer Nathaniel Hawthorne. The works “The Masque of the Red Death” by Poe, and “The Minister’s Black Veil” by Hawthorne, are examples of using literary elements to enhance theme.
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.
Same Technique, Different Purpose Descriptive scenery or imagery is used throughout literature for a variety of purposes. It can be used to paint a mental picture of the setting, to portray symbols, or even to relay themes. The authors Ambrose Bierce and Edgar Allan Poe exemplify the use of the same technique, descriptive scenery, to deliver different purposes. In An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge by Ambrose Bierce and The Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allan Poe both use imagery in order to characterize characters and foreshadow events.
The Masque of the Red Death: Essay 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.
It was the Spring of 1348, and the citizens of Europe were malnourished due to limited food supplies for such a large population. This made them more susceptible to the outbreak of the Black Death. The Black Death originated in Asia, then moved westward into Sicily. From Sicily, the plague crept its way up through Europe infecting millions of people, in total killing more than one third of Europe’s population. In fact, over fifty percent of the population of Siena died, along with fifty percent of Paris, eighty percent of Florence, and over two thirds of Venice.
As Prince Prospero and the masked guest go from room to room, they are symbolizing the progression of life from birth to death. This is an important symbol in the story because it emphasizes the theme of inescapable death. The next example is the Black Clock in the black room. This symbolizes the span of life. In the story, the clock struck midnight and the Prince’s time was up, symbolizing his life being over.
In “The Masque of Red Death”, the author includes 7 rooms, one being black, which is where the Prince locks himself in: “There were seven-an imperial suite… The seventh apartment was closely shrouded in black velvet tapestries that hung all over the ceiling and down the walls…” (pg. 58). The seventh rooms shows how death is always there and always will be. The Prince fears that he’s going to be contaminated, so he does everything in his power to avoid death. The Prince creates an obsession over escaping death, what he doesn’t know is that death has always been there and always
“So, you really want to know?” The thought of the era made the old man shiver. “Please Gramps! I wouldn’t have come here if I didn’t want to, please, I need this!” Vince begged desperately.
It was many cold, blistering nights and humid, scorching days before, just as the handsome knight Miguel was on the verge of giving up, he located one small castle. The outside was a brilliant spectacle of giant windows and sparkling white walls so Miguel approached the castle with much optimism. Miguel knocked on the door waiting for his future lover to appear before him. As she approached, even as a high ranked knight, young Miguel was awestruck. However, he noticed the walls were painted all black and everything inside was either dull or faded.