Edgar Allan Poe's “the Masque of the Red Death”

The imagery of the masquerade inside the abbey broadens the audience's perceptions of the characters and prepares for the crisis to come. Although the author does not give specific information about the prince and his guests, the scenery and costumes reveal their personality traits. Prospero has chosen an imperial suite of bold colors and peculiar atmosphere, while his friends wear horrific and grotesque dress. Poe even directly states that some believe the company is mad, and that the revellers have created this bizarre dream existence for themselves in order to escape from the reality of their circumstances. Writhing back and forth, the guests unconsciously flow to the rhythm of the orchestra amid swirling rooms of many hues. A truly surrealistic scene, Poe increases the suspense using the maze quality of the seven rooms and their haunted house eeriness. The masquerade is also used to foreshadow the eventual triumph of the pestilence. A chaotic and delirious setting, in addition to Poe's comparison of the party to a feverishly beating heart, reflects the original description of the disease, and leads the audience to anticipate the frenzied entrance of the Red Death.

This essay is about Edgar Allan Poe and how is often disturbing stories and poems were a direct reflection of the chaotic and sad filled life. Poe had many people in his life die around him and this was the reason for his fascination and some say obsession with “death.” Of course, Poe is most famous for writing many stories and mysteries that centered on murder, suicide, and overall macabre themes. Many people throughout time have been astonished by his many writings calling them “stories written by a genuine mad man.” When you do an Internet search of his name you often find the word lunatic attached to his name. However, this disturbing stories and death-obsessed poems are nothing when compared to his actual life, and the various experiences throughout it. Poe has ten people in his life that were close to him, very important figures that either died or exited his life without an explanation. These “losses” left Poe unable to manage his emotions, ultimately destroying them altogether, which resulted in him writing so many mysteries.

Among Poe’s short stories, “The Masque of the Red Death” paints a picture that does not appear to be as abstract as other stories. It is set in the time period when the plague, or the “Red Death”, claimed the lives of thousands and thousands of people. In an attempt to relieve the people of their grieving and worries, and to escape from the plague, Prince Prospero invites “a thousand hale and light hearted friends from among the knights and dames of his court” (Poe, Masque 438) to his castle where no one can come, and no one can leave. In order to allow the guests to forget about the disease, Prince Prospero decorates seven rooms in a color scheme, that progress from blue all the way to black. In the seventh room, a “gigantic clock of ebony” (Poe, Masque 439) that strikes at every hour can be found. All of the company pauses and listens each time the clock strikes, except for the strike at

Edgar Allan Poe’s use of symbolism in “The Masque of the Red Death” creates a

the Red Death shows the futile attempts by a prince and his guests of a party,

Symbolism is used to set the tone for the story as well. The so-called “Red Death” (Poe 516) is a clear reference to the black plague that killed so many people. Poe changes the color of the plague and some of the details but the symmetry is undeniable. The way Poe describes the blood that symbolizes the plague as coming from the pores on the face, but not flowing grotesquely, produces a powerful image. Inside the abbey, there are seven rooms. Each of the areas is themed in a different color. The rooms lead one into another and have stained glass windows that match the color of the rooms. Oddly, though, the windows are set in the corridor and not facing outside which creates more of a dramatic effect. The rooms start at blue, then purple, green, orange, white, violet, and lastly, black. The different spaces can symbolize the different stages of life with the beginning starting with blue; purple is the color of royalty, green symbolizing spring or youth, and finishing with black symbolizing the end or death. To make his point clearer and more dramatic, Poe had the stained glass windows in the last room be scarlet instead of black. All the

Edgar Allan Poe was an American gothic literature writer, best known for his stories of mystery and horror. In his rough forty years, which included marrying his cousin, arguments with other known writers, Poe introduced original British Horror and the Gothic genre to American literature. 'The Masque of the Red Death' introduced a creepy and bloody version of gothic storytelling during the industrial revolution. While gothic literature is largely known for establishing horror, death and at times romance is a dark setting, Poe's work was particularly focused on dreamlike settings and stories, inevitably becoming a bloody nightmare.

Prince Prospero decides to throw a masquerade ball and has lots of guest after locking himself in his castle for months, because of the horrible disease Red Death. The ball is set in a suite of seven rooms, which run from east to west. Each room being different colors, representing the stages of life. The first room and the farthest to the East is blue (birth), then purple (youth), green (teenager), orange (adulthood), white (senior), and black (death). The black room is different from the others because the windows are red, symbolizing blood and death. The reasoning for the rooms being from east to west is because the sun rises on the east and sets on the west, with night being death. The last room had a black clock that chimed hourly representing

When a writer masterfully orchestrates their piece of literature to capture and intrigue an audience, the author utilizes a certain depth in the piece, where their vernacular elicits emotions. The short stories written by Edgar Allan Poe and Shirley Jackson, “The Masque of the Red Death” and “The Summer People”, produce an unexpected ending. The key to creating feelings of tension and suspense lies within their command of literary elements. Each of these aspects contribute toward the bigger picture – engaging the reader, through emotions, into the short story. Although the use of these elements vary in each short story, each component is essential toward the development of the overlying focus within both tales to find the unexpected. In the employment of such literary elements like mood, imagery, and foreshadowing each writer weaves a web of emotions that drive toward the unexpected.

Edgar Allen Poe is famous for his distinct style of writing. Authors use stylistic elements to create an effect on their writing that develops a voice. Factors such as Edgar's past has influenced his writing and has contributed to his style. In his literary works, Poe uses figures of speech such as irony, similar point of views, and allegory to establish his voice as an author.

Poe makes it a point to arrange the rooms running from east to west. This progression is symbolically significant because it represents the life cycle of a day: the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, with night symbolizing death. What transforms this set of symbols into an allegory, however, is the further symbolic treatment of the twenty-four hour life cycle: it translates to the realm of human beings. This progression from east to west, performed by both Prospero and the mysterious guest, symbolizes the human journey from birth to death. Poe crafts the last, black room as the ominous endpoint, the room the guests fear just as they fear death. The "Black Room" is described vividly. “The seventh apartment was closely shrouded in black velvet tapestries that hung all over the ceiling and down the walls, falling in heavy folds upon a carpet of the same material and hue. But in this chamber the windows failed to correspond with the decorations. The panes were scarlet-a deep blood color" (73). This room is a symbol of the end. There were seven rooms, and this was the last one. However not apparent at the beginning it is to be the scene of the grand finally; where "Prince Prospero" meets his demise by the hand of "The Red Death". In conclusion I believe this symbolism in this story is a hidden attempt to show man that he/she cannot turn its back to the woes of the world. One man or group cannot turn his/her back on society because sooner or later the problems

The Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allan Poe inspired my creative project because I am a visual learner and I found quite a bit of interest in this specific writing. The way this story caught my attention was the dark the dark tone that Poe had used, which is different than the other works that I have read thus far. In the short story there is a plague and kills many in this kingdom and because of this Prince Prospero had locked him and a couple of others in his kingdom to hide from the Red Death. He then throws a party since they “safe” from the plague and that is when the Red Death appears at his party. He felt threaten by this and tried to kill the red figure, but his reaction was caused him the ultimate price, “There was a sharp cry—and the dagger dropped

The masked figure first starts to hunt Prince Prospero in the Blue Room, representing birth; and then the figure chases the Prince Prospero through the different colored rooms, signifying the different stages of life. The masked figure finally traps Prince Prospero (and eventually all of the other guests) in the black room that represented the final stage of life (death). Passing through each colored room meant passing through each stage of life; getting closer and closer to the final Black Room meant getting closer and closer to death. Another key symbol was the clock in the black room. “…when the minute-hand made the circuit of the face, and the hour was to be stricken, there came from the brazen lungs of the clock a sound which was clear and loud and deep and exceedingly musical” (Poe 15). This quote shows how death is getting closer and closer, and the guests’ time was wasting away. The third key symbol in “The Masque of The Red Death” is the masked figure, which represented the Red Death itself. The figure “spread itself whisperingly around” (Poe 16) and brought death even to the people who knew to attempt to escape it, just like the plague did during its time.

Imagine receiving an invitation to a prestigious and luxurious party tucked away inside a secret abbey. The gathering is a mysterious masquerade in which every guest’s face is concealed. The amenities include entertainment in the form of music and dance, and decorum exquisitely and meticulously crafted and placed. The whole atmosphere exudes a dream-like quality, which calls into question if the events are simply a product of one’s imagination. This situation is comparable to that of “The Masque of the Red Death” by Edgar Allan Poe. Originally published in 1842, this narrative tells the story of a wealthy noble, Prince Prospero. An extremely deadly plague, the Red Death, has devastated the land, and Prince Prospero invited a group of a

I'm sure everyone wants to escape the cruel world we live in. Edgar Allan Poe wrote The Masque of the Red Death and many other writings for this reason. Edgar Allan Poe wrote to emphasize escaping mortality and relate to those who want to escape life itself. Everyone has their own worlds when they look deep inside themselves. Poe had a dark past which encouraged the darkness he wrote about that gave insight to the world he had created. Each writing had its own parallel universe of Poe's.