Analysis Of The Masque Of The Red Death

In "The Masque Of The Red Death", Edgar Allan Poe uses words and phrases to create an effect. He uses bold and dark words to help his readers be able to picture a very good image of the story and the mood that he wants to set. When he claiming that, "no pestilence had ever been so fatal ", that let the readers know that is was probably a very strong and gruesome disease that killed many of the town people. When Poe starts the story he starts by describing "The Red Death" and its symptoms. He described it as, "sharp pains, sudden dizziness, profuse bleeding at the pores with dissolution", "seizure process and termination of the disease were the incident of half and hour", he lists the symptoms as if it were a recipe, he is very straightforward and uses words that give an image to every symptom, he completely lets the reads know that "the red death" was a very nasty painful disease and you could imagine how much it made the characters suffer all in half

The author, Edgar Allan Poe, using illusion or misdirection keeps the reader is suspense throughout this story called "The Masque of the Red Death". Symbolism such as the colored rooms, the impressive clock, the feeling of celebration being at a party all makes this story feel like a fairytale. Poe used this fairytale style and converts it into a nightmare in disguise.

The most successful aspect of the performance for me were the scene changes. I found that the rotation of the blackboard, center stage, where the actors were able to stoop beneath it in order to enter and exit the stage, was an effective touch to this

Conflicts affect the mood of the main characters in a story, by expressing the insecurities, Death,” a couple of conflicts are exposed throughout the piece. In the story “The Masque of the Red,” a couple of conflicts are expressed throughout this piece. The conflicts man versus fate and man versus himself are the conflicts that are displayed several times within this story. From major conflicts to minor conflicts, this story clarifies the problems that Prince Prospero faces within himself. In addition to Prince Prospero’s problems with himself, this story also explains the conflict of how death is uncontrollable.

The nameless narrator in “The Masque of the Red Death” is no different. The story is told mostly from the point of view of a narrator who seems to have observed firsthand the happenings of the story and is recounting the tale. This is important because the story concludes with the death of Prospero and all one thousand of his guests. Effectively, there could be no survivors; any eyewitnesses to the events of the ball would be dead as well. However, the narrator gives the reader several clues to his identity, by using first person language on three occasions. First is in his description of the scene of the masquerade: “But first let me tell of the rooms in which it was held” (Poe, 386). Second is his description of the pause at midnight: “And then the music ceased, as I have told; and the evolutions of the waltzers were quieted; and there was an uneasy cessation of all things as before” (Poe, 388). The third time comes with his description of the arrival of the Red Death: “In an assembly of phantasms such as I have painted, it may well be supposed that no ordinary appearance could have excited such sensation” (Poe, 389). The narrator therefore must have been present at the ball, and obviously he survived. This leaves the reader with an interesting dilemma, “How could the narrator be present at the ball and then be able to tell about it afterwards?”

The standard perception concerning human limitations has it that the potential of humankind knows no bounds. Yet, the cycle of life disproves this recurrent opinion of human potential. Based upon the realistic scope of their own abilities, the phrase, “the sky’s the limit”, are well within the bounds of the timeless concepts of life and death. These ideas are common points amongst works of literature from the American Romantic Period. Moreover, one of the most prominent Romantics is Edgar Allan Poe, who utilizes seemingly natural attributes of human interactions, and expands them out of proportion in order to reveal the gloominess of those said attributes. Poe’s literary works encompass many aspects that are reflective of the Romantic Period; his works include the acknowledgement of nature or setting, emphasis on individuals and groups of people, and elements of the supernatural; such use of Romantic attributes also leads to a plausible interpretation of an indirect rejection of the establishment of religion. The utilization of these qualities appears frequently in Poe’s short story, “The Masque of the Red Death”, which is a fictional account of a burgeoned plague and its multitude of effects on the wealthy survivors. Furthermore, a key point in the short story is the particular choice of setting: a gothic quarantine, which intertwines many Romantic elements. In particular, the quarantine of “The Masque of the Red Death”, is a symbol of human limitations and the

Edgar Allen Poe, completely transformed the horror genre with his tales reflecting the psychological depth and insight of the the human conditon not previously seen (Poe Museum, no date). Despite his alignment with the horror genre, he was initially taken in by the romantic ideals of consumption. This is portrayed in one of his early short stories, ‘Metzengerstein’, from 1832, where despite the majority of the story following many gothic conventions, the protaganist’s mother dies of consumption. The narrrator of the story asserts that ‘…it is a path I have prayed to follow…I would wish all I love to perish of that gentle disease’ when referring to the mother’s impending death. The narrator’s desperation to die from consumption is implied through the use of the verb ‘prayed’. This verb has connotations of wishing or hoping strongly for a particular outcome (Oxford Dictionaries, 2017): despite the horrific and drawn out process of the disease that we now understand in the 21st Century, this character still desires it thus reflecting the general insensitivty towards the disease. Although influenced early in his career by the romanticized stance on consumption, he changed his portrayal of the disease completely in his short story ‘The Masque of the Red Death’, published in 1842. Very little had advanced in the medical understanding of consumption, but between Poe writing the aforementioned text and ‘The Masque of the Red Death’, his own wife had contracted the disease

Death is a terrifying prospect for most people , imagine being face to face with it. In Edgar Allan Poe’s “Masque of the Red Death”, the revelers were in this very situation. Prince Pospero’s country was devastated by the Red Death. A plaque that resulted in a painful, gruesome, death. Prince Pospero being the selfish uncaring man he is, locked himself and a thousand of his lighthearted friends in his abbey to hide from the Red Death. After 6 months of seclusion Prince Pospero throws a masquerade to celebrate that they were still free of the Red Death. It was at this masquerade a gruesome mummer appeared shortly before Prince Pospero and all the revelers to died of the Read Death. In this story Poe personifies death through the mummer who

The entertainers gave their characters genuine life through their gestures, attitude and charm. Even the way the voices led one to believe that the characters were actually presenting their own thoughts and ideas, not those of fictional characters. During the play, the voices of the performers were quite audible, excepting certain musical presentations when the lyrics of the songs were at points nearly indiscernible. Even with consideration given to this technical glitch, the sound quality was quite agreeable and the songs enjoyable. The voices of the performers were strong

“The Masque of the Red Death” and “The Cask of Amontillado” written by Edgar Allan Poe are somewhat different. The major themes of these stories differ significantly, as does the emphasis placed on each character which dealt more to The Cask of Amontillado” than to “The Masque of the Red Death” Regardless of this, the stories are similar in many ways. For instance, both belong to the literacy of the gothic genre, it shared a small theme, and the characters shared a lot of the same characteristics. Poe known as a great writer how was his overall literary style determined for these two short stories?

When it comes to reading literature the most challenging yet important task is to understand the purpose of the author's writing. In Romantic era literature understanding the emotions and thoughts that are created in the reader's mind are essential to gaining a clear message that the writer is trying to send. In Edgar Allen Poe’s short story “The Masque of the Red Death” the narrator immediately introduces the “Red Death”; a disease that has been spreading throughout Prince Prospero’s country; killing his people within half an hour of contracting the disease. Throughout the story the author continuously uses diction and syntax to create suspense and evoke a grim tone to the reader. In the “Masque of The Red Death” Poe produces fearful imagery in the reader's mind through creating a supernatural presence in the setting.

Before the discovery of Penicillin, Syphilis (as well as other STDs) was a major problem in the world. There was no prevention from the diseases, no way at all to care for the problem, and no medicine to help the patient. Edgar Allen Poe lived during a time where Syphilis was rampant, could this have lead him to write a story based around the disease? Most scholars have come to an agreement that “The Masque of the Red Death” is based around a plague (maybe the Bubonic Plague) and that the rooms inside Prospero’s castle represent the decades or ages of man that Shakespeare described in his “Seven Ages of Man.” While that is a sufficient analysis of the story for those not willing to look deeper, there may be an underlying meaning.

Have you ever read a story where fantasy is the reality and things do not quite make sense? This is true for “The Masque of the Red Death” by Edgar Allen Poe. In it is a version of the black plague, which is called the “Red Death”. Prince Prospero secludes a thousand friends and himself from the death around them, but finds that he cannot avoid the inevitable. The author uses many literary devices to create an interesting and meaningful story. One of the devices used is imagery, which evokes the events of the story clearly in the reader’s mind. Another is allegory, which is used by Poe to create another story within his, as it is filled with double meanings. Lastly, Poe utilizes symbolism to give the story meaning. Edgar Allan Poe uses

As a gothic writer, Edgar Allan Poe created horror using gloom as his weapon. Hidden within the suspenseful story of “The Masque of Red Death” is an allegorical tale of how individuals deal with the fear of death as time passes. Frantic activities and pleasures (as represented by Prince Prospero and his guests) seek to wall out the threat of death. However, the story reminds the reader that death comes “like a thief in the night”(Poe 3), and even those who seek peace and safety shall not escape. Poe uses symbolism to illustrate that man cannot hide from his own mortality.

Don’t attempt to change your fate, I’m warning you. “The Masque of the Red Death” and “The Monkey’s Paw” are examples of why not to mess with your fate. In both stories, the characters attempted changing their fate and ends in a very bad outcome. The characters, both learned that if you try changing your fate there is going be a horrific consequence.