The Masque of the Red Death was published in May of 1842 by Edgar Allen Poe. It’s clearly an allegorical story, one that can be more narrowly defined as a parable. A parable is defined by Encyclopedia Britannica as a fable-like story which uses humans instead of animals, and draws an analogy “between a particular instance of human behavior…and human behaviour at large”. It’s specifically designed to deliver a moral message or lesson, and the one in Masque is that no one can escape death, no matter what artifices are placed to obstruct it. This is interesting, but the real magnificence of the tale is in the literary genre in which Poe tells it, which is the Grotesque. The definition of this term in literature is a bit indistinct, but can be reduced to a couple of key characteristics: The Grotesque fits in between the real and the fantastic, while being simultaneously centered between funny and frightening (The Grotesque). Poe’s …show more content…
The goriness and irony of Prince Prospero’s revel tell only half the story of the danse macabre.” (Di Renzo, 193)
Harold Bloom argues that the novella isn’t grotesque at all, but Arabesque: “The Mask of the Red Death is one of Poe’s most memorable Arabesques” (Bloom, 13). While this is partially true because of the psychological aspects of the piece, it’s not entirely accurate as a representation of the entire work.
The creation of terror, the juxtaposition of the real and supernatural, the absurdity and almost comical aspects, all the poles of what we understand the grotesque to mean have been solidly touched upon in The Masque of the Red Death. Poe himself refined and encapsulated a coherent meaning for the grotesque, and the tale stands as a perfect example of what a good representation of it should strive to
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 Allan Poe was a brilliant poet who endured an incredibly harrowing life. It seemed as if everyone he became close to would decease before his eyes. His grim life served as inspiration for his work which take on eerie, nightmarish tones and themes, likely because those disturbing subjects are what he knew best. One of his poems greatly influenced by his life was “The Masque of the Red Death”. Some parts of the poem influenced by his life are Prince Prospero, the red death, and the theme of the inevitability of 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.
Edgar Allen Poe’s chilling short story Mask of the Red Death begins with people dropping like flies, as the king of the land decides to take his close friends with him to live in one of his palaces. leaving his subjects to survive on their own. A puzzling creature known as the Red Death has been terrorizing and killing off people one by one, and no one has a way to stop it. Through characterization of both Prospero and the Red Death, Poe foreshadows Prospero’s eventual death in the end of the story.
However, the Red Death is the greater force and finds its’ way in. Throughout the story characteristics of gothic literature are clearly evident. “The Masque of the Red Death” is representative of psychological forces including a sense of isolation, and powerlessness in the face of a greater force. When Prince Prospero realizes half of the
Edgar Poe’s “The Masque of the Red Death” was written in 1842, and it talks about
In the short story Masque of the Red Death Edgar Allen Poe establishes the effect of terror in many ways. A mixture of the setting, characters, and language make for a chilling tale. The short prologue Poe entices us with begins to set the scene. It explains the “red death” which is sweeping the land and illustrates how this foreboding disease ravishes its victims.
In the writing The Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allan Poe, we see how one disease, the Red Death, is fatal and ruining an entire kingdom. Prince Prospero doesn’t seem to care about the chaos happening to his subjects. He hosted a marvelous event with all his favourite kings and ladies and once the last guest arrived, he welded the door shut. After 6 months he hosts a masquerade ball. Poe shows us that imagery and theme can be used to prove that phantasm can be beautiful and ugly.
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
“The Masque of the Red Death” is a very disturbing story that delves into a concept of life that everyone knows but rather not think about. In the story, it depicts a setting where a plague known as the red death is ravaging a country, where the only safe place from it is in a castle owned by the wealthy Prospero. However, rather than helping the people in the chaotic country, Prospero instead throws a party in order to distract himself and his guests from the plague. So despite all the security in the castle, the plague itself entered and killed everyone presenting the fact that no matter how rich or how powerful you are death will come for you. The story uses characterization to help show the theme, setting to aid that too and imagery
Makayla Jackson Mrs.Davis English 9 09/28/2016 The Red Death and Related Diseases In the Victorian era Edgar Allen Poe wrote about death and his life. Putting them into his work the story "Masque Of The Red Death." This story had to do with his mothers death among other things.
In “The Masque of the Red Death,” author Edgar Allen Poe utilises the setting in order to portray the emotional states of the characters in his literary works. The setting remains constant throughout, however the details expressed through Poe’s use of literary devices, irony, theme and symbolism all contribute to the reader's understanding of the atmosphere created. So let's begin with a recap. The story takes place in the generic middle ages, it is tough to pin-point exactly when because the author only mentions knights and fine ladies, nothing more detailed than that, however we can speak generally.
Edgar Allen Poe's, "Masque of the Red Death" also has many gothic themes. A bloody disease called the Red Death has ravaged a country. Prince Prospero thinks he can hide from this plague and throws a ball to celebrate his victory over it. First, Poe uses several words in this play conveying horror such as fatal, bleeding, blood, redness, and chambers, which are all clue to death.
Edgar Allen Poe's The Masque of the Red Death is an elaborate allegory/microcosm that combines objects in the story with visual descriptions to give focus to the reader's imagination. In the story, a prince named Prospero tries to dodge the Red Death through isolation and seclusion. He hides behind seemingly impenetrable walls of his castellated abbey and lets the world take care of its own. However, no walls can stop death because it is inescapable and inevitable. Visual descriptions in the story are used to symbolize death. Poe's use of language and symbolism is shown in his description of the seventh room in the suite, the ebony clock, and the fire.
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