In the short story, “The Masque of the Red Death” by Edgar Allen Poe, the author uses the rhetorical device of symbolism. In this allegorical piece Edgar uses symbolism to explore his central idea more thoroughly. The central idea is that no matter what the characters did or where they went, they couldn't escape death as death is inevitable. Throughout the story the masqueraders were living life to the fullest, but then they were quickly reminded that morality cannot be avoided. Poe uses symbolism with the seventh chamber, the ebony clock, and the masked figure to expand on the theme of death.
Writers of allegory employ a variety of literary techniques in order to convey an underlying message or theme called an allegorical message. In Edgar Allen Poe’s short story “The Masque of the Red Death,” he employs uncomforting diction to create an objective yet ominous tone; his grotesque visual imagery helps to create a mood of impending doom. Also, by including archetypal symbolism related to the seven stages of life, by personifying death as masked stranger, and by including a universal symbol for human mortality--his clock, Poe conveys the allegorical message that wealth and social status give people the false sense of security from death, even though we already know that death cannot be prevented; sometimes we might be egotistical and forget to help those people that are in need. To start, Poe’s use of unpleasant and bizarre diction in a matter-of-fact tone helps to establish an ominous mood that is appropriate for the story’s tragic ending. Describing the embellishments of the prince’s Masquerade helps to
What symbolizes death? Symbolism is a way in which people can hide their true thoughts with another image or words as a distraction. The story "The Masque of the Red Death" by Edgar Allen Poe contains an immense amount of symbolism throughout the entire story, including the clock, the masquerade party, and the masked figure. This story in its entirety can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning or lesson. Poe's story speaks of party guests hiding from a disease thought to be the plague, and the whole time, they are partying and trying to cheat death.
Demi Pyle February 20, 2018 English 1302 Looking Closer at “The Masque of The Red Death” 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.
Poe essay Fear is a natural instinct that could potentially save your life, but that doesn't mean it’s always a good thing. Fear can lead to paranoia or obsession, and then it can engulf your sanity. If you become so fearful in the face of danger it could possibly cause paralysis, cloud your rational thought, or cause you to faint. However, it could potentially save your life by holding you back from irrational acts, making your more alert, or offering restraining from making hazardous decisions.
Poe uses irony in his stories to demonstrate how fear can distort the mind and what the result of that fear looks like. In Poe’s story, “The Masque of the Red Death,” Prince Prospero locks himself and other wealthy people up in his castle, leaving only the castle to live in: “They resolved to leave any means of ingress or egress…” (57). This is ironic because by locking himself and other wealthy people up in his castle, he secured his death and the death of everyone else he lives with. Prince Prospero’s fear of Death leads him to make these decisions. In the same way, “The Tell-Tale Heart” is ironic in that the old man bars his windows and makes his bedroom dark because of his fear of death, however, death is already inside.
If you were watching an advertisement encouraging people to quit using nuclear weapons, but there was nothing about nukes in the video, would it change your opinion? How about if you were watching a video promoting a pill that could make you live forever? However, instead of talking about this pill the video starts talking about a funeral home. Would you still want to buy this pill? The setting of a story is very important to the plot and theme.
Poe’s Life Influences in The Masque of the Red Death As Poe put it, “the boundaries which divide Life from Death are at best shadowy and vague. Who shall say where the one ends, and where the other begins?” He is very correct indeed (“The Premature Burial”, n.d, para. 3). Just like his books which are chilling and mysterious so was his life.
A wise man named Albert Einstein once said, “We all try to escape pain and death, while we seek what is pleasant.” Death has always and will always come to those who are mortal. Death is not a simple thing that can easily be escaped, it will root out any hidden individual, wherever they are obscured and will carry out its duty. Just like in the story, “The Masque of the Red Death,” death will stop at nothing to destroy life. A man name Prince Prospero and his followers learned this lesson the hard way.
Fear can be very advantageous when it comes to surviving. Fear inhibits you from doing risky actions that can put you and others in danger; it keeps you cautious and careful. Even though fear helps you when surviving, fear can harm you in life. Fear can cause paranoia that keeps you from enjoying life. You start to obsess over minimal things leading to hallucination.
When life becomes rough, how do people cope with it? Some people channel their struggles through a creative outlet. Others deal with it in more negative and harmful ways. Edgar Allen Poe dealt with his hardships in both ways. Many people in his life, including his parents, had died when he was young, thus starting the chain that was his depressing life.
Richard Wilbur has said that Edgar Allen Poe’s stories are “an allegory of dream experience: it occurs within the mind of a poet; the characters are not distinct personalities, but principles or faculties of the poet’s divided nature; the steps of the action correspond to the successive states of a mind moving into sleep; and the end of the action is the end of a dream.” Three of Poe’s stories, Fall of the House of Usher, Masque of the Red Death, and The Raven prove that Wilbur’s statement is true. These three stories relate because they all share an aspect of death, which is what the states of mind moving into sleep and the end of the action being the end of a dream that Richard Wilbur describes is. Fall of the House of Usher relates to death
“Masque of the Red Death” by Edgar Allan Poe is full of literary elements such as antagonist, climax, imagery, personification, and symbolism. Throughout the plenary story these elements are present. The antagonist, or ‘villain’, of “Masque of the Red Death” is the Red Death. It is the antagonist because it causes all of the tribulation in the story.