Conflict in The Masque of the Red Death

Throughout the gothic horror short story, “The Masque of the Red Death”, Edgar Allan Poe illustrates the struggle of an egotistical prince who refuses to face the inevitable reality of death. Through the downfall of the protagonist, Poe establishes the idea that the inability to face reality often leads to the destruction of the mind. The downfall of the Prince is emphasized by Poe’s use of characterization, setting, and symbolism.

As the human race is always persistent in coming up with new innovations, they have yet to solve one problem: death. The following tale about to unfold before you is an emblem that death is inevitable. Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Masque of the Red Death” may seem like a grotesque story, but in reality it shows the symbolism that no one can escape their fate. This story shows that the amount of wealth you have is no match for your ultimate demise.

In “The Masque of the Red Death” by Edgar Allan Poe the allegory of this story is death, symbolically and literally. The literal portion is about the Red Death and how no one can escape it.

“Masque of the Red Death” by Edgar Allen Poe is about when a plague strikes a kingdom somewhere in Europe. The Prince decides that he can protect himself from this plague by securing himself in his castle. He believes that the plague won’t harm him and that he can defeat death. But he is not so fortunate at the end of the story.The three literary devices that will be discussed are the symbol, tone, and theme.

“The Masque of the Red Death,” a short story by Edgar Allan Poe, tells the story of Prince Prospero and his futile attempts to prevent death. During his masquerade party, the prince notices an unusual figure, dressed as the Red Death, and, enraged at the sight of it, Prospero tries to kill it. Poe uses the seventh room, the ebony clock, and the Red Death itself as symbols of death throughout his story.

Edgar Allen Poe's “The Masque of the Red Death” is an extravagant allegory of the futility of trying to escape death. In the story, a prince named Prospero tries to avoid the Red Death through isolation and seclusion. He hides behind the impenetrable walls of his castle and turns his back on the rest of the world. But no walls can stop death because it is unavoidable and inevitable. Through the use of character, setting, point of view, and symbol, Poe reveals the theme that no one, regardless of status, wealth or power can stay the passing of time and the inevitable conclusion of life itself, death.

“The boundaries which divide Life from Death are best shadowly and vague. Who shall say where the one ends, and where the other begins?” (Poe). There is no such thing as having the ability to predict or tame the wrath of death, for all we can do is learn to accept it. In the story, “The Masque of the Red Death”, the main character, Prospero, shows through his arrogant actions that death will forever overpower the human instinct to stay alive. Poe uses symbolism to convey the battle between man and nature through the idea of the masquerade that serves as a fortress against the wrath of the disease, an excuse to disguise the true colors of man, and the honest truth that man will never become immortal.

Edgar Allen Poe is one of the most well-known authors from the dark romantic age. His story “The Masque of the Red Death” is a short fable about Prince Prospero and the Red Death, better known today as the bubonic plague. The prince is a very rapacious man so when he sees that his kingdom is dying, he chooses to save himself and his companions by bringing them to one of his many castles and simply closing the door on the plague. They continued to live their lavish lives, acting as if nothing was wrong behind the sturdy door of the castle. Then, when Prospero throws a big masquerade, he discovers that an intruder has crashed his party. Out of rage, he goes to stab the man, but, upon reaching the doorway of the room, he drops dead. After a mob of very upset partygoers tears apart the grotesque mask of the intruder, they discover that the “man” underneath is a personified version of the Red Death. Through a psychological lens, one would be able to see the different emotions portrayed through the characters. From beginning to end, “The Masque of the Red Death” brings forth a range of emotions through the characters and their uncontrollable and many times thoughtless actions.

Michael Ruiz once said, “Everyone dies. There’s no point in fighting it.” In Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allan Poe, there is a disease that kills almost everyone in a country so the king brings all survivors into a castle to prevent it from killing anyone else, although it still ends up getting in from a ghost, and wipes everyone else out. In Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allan Poe, Poe uses gothic elements such as a gloom setting, supernatural beings, curses, and air of mystery and suspense.

Edgar Allan Poe is a famous american author who wrote many poems and short stories. His stories almost always have a deeper meaning behind them. In the short story “The Masque of the Red Death” Edgar Allan Poe uses a mixture of stylistic elements such as symbolism, diction, figurative language, and imagery to scare the audience, show how being selfish is problematic, and point out the inevitability of death.

“The Masque of the Red Death” has a symbolic expression to the story. It featured a set of familiar symbols whose meanings combined to send a message. This allegory operated on two levels of meaning: 1) the literal elements of the plot; for example the color of the room and 2) their symbolic counterparts that involved philosophical concepts for example life and death. The story could have been read by the reader as an allegory

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.

Death is an important theme in Edgar Allan Poe’s short stories, “The Pit and the Pendulum” and “The Masque of the Red Death”.

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.