Symbolism In 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

Everyone is different, but we all have one thing in common. Death. “The Masque of the Red Death” was a short story written by Edgar Allen Poe. The main characters are Prince Prospero and the Red Death figure. In “The Masque of the Red Death,” there is a disease that is killing many people. Prince Prospero is hiding from the disease in his sheltered home with a thousand of his friends. The disease’s causes people to sweat blood and die within 30 minutes. Prince Prospero and his friends think they are safe in his home and they keep partying until it is midnight. Suddenly, Prospero notices a mysterious figure that looked like someone who died from the Red Death. Prospero chases him through the 7 rooms until they are both in the last room, which is black and red. The Red Death figure turns around and then Prospero dies. Then all of Prospero’s friends run towards the Red Death figure and they all drop dead. Edgar Allen Poe uses symbolism to enhance the story’s allegory that death is inevitable

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.

Although we may try to fight death tooth and nail, battling it with medicine, hiding from it with youthful and jovial interaction, or even tempting it through awe-inspiring feats of courage, we are all susceptible to death and eventually will succumb to its cold embrace. Death, for as long as man has lived, has terrified more people than any other concept. We cannot see death, yet it looms above us as a constant cloud of doubt and fear. Edgar Allen Poe, in his short story “The Masque of The Red Death” treats this very concept. Inlaid upon the rich setting, ignorance and death are constantly intertwined throughout this story.

For example the blue represented birth, the green room youth, the orange room adulthood, the white room elderly , the violet room the time before death, and the black room was death. Poe made the prince run through all the stages until death for a specific reason. That is because he wanted to give a greater meaning which is everyone goes through all the 7 stages of life and the cycle repeats for every newborn, none can avoid or run away from them they are unpreventable.

Everyone fears their own death, thus why some people will do anything to escape it. In Edgar Allan Poe's short story, “The Masque of the Red Death”, this fear is experienced by all. In the story, a prince named Prospero and his people try to elude the Red Death through seclusion and isolation in the prince's abbey. However, no walls can stop death since it is unavoidable and inescapable. Throughout the story, Poe uses symbols such as the rooms, the masked figure, and the clock to convey the theme that no one can escape death.

Starting off for the first symbol is “The Red Death” is symbolizing the plague and disease that is taking place in the Kingdom. In the story “ The Red Death” shows up the masquerade ball grabbing everybody’s attention. Poe tells us “ and now was acknowledged the presence of the Red Death. He had come like a thief in the night.”(394). No one would expect the Red Death to come in especially the prince. Who thought that he would be safe in his big castle. The prince sends his guards to run after the stranger, but the stranger gets away. The Prince gets away and the stranger leads him to the seventh room which is the next symbol. The prince follows the stranger into this room and the reason it symbolizes death because this is where he dies. Poe describes this room as “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 only, the color of the windows failed to correspond with the decorations. The panes here were scarlet --a deep blood color.” (393). So even though the prince was all-powerful he still couldn’t keep himself safe from the

the end of a day and darkness. Poe uses the element of darkness as a visual representation of

To those homeless on the streets, a five dollar bill drifting in the wind, which so happens to land at their feet, may symbolize anything from hope to just a meal at McDonald’s. However, to others who are luckily more fortunate, it symbolizes something completely different. It is also ironic how if an everyday citizen loses a five dollar bill, it’s not a big deal to them; but if a povert lost a five dollar bill, it would bring them great despair. In the stories, The Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allan Poe and The Lottery by Shirley Jackson, the literary elements, symbolism and irony, are applied heavily. The Masque of the Red Death is about a fatal plague which spread ferociously around a country, killing innocents within half an hour. There is a wealthy prince on the other hand who cheats death by locking him and a thousand of his friends in a castle full of food, drinks, and entertainment while thousands more die a tragic death on the streets everyday. This method doesn’t last for long, though. All the ‘fortunate’ people perish in the end by ‘the red death’. Having said that, The Lottery revolves around a society where each year, out of tradition, there’s a drawing and whoever is picked croaks. The themes conveyed in both short stories are that you can’t delay the inevitable because it will eventually bite back.

Fate is a mysterious force. There are the non-believers, saying that you are responsible for your actions and not controlled by this so called ‘destiny,’ able to change your life at any point you wish to. Demonstrated in stories such as Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol and Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax, these tales showcase how a crabby old miser and a mysterious man change the course of their futures. Meanwhile, there are many stories, myths, and even religions that emphasize how fate controls your life; that you are on a predestined path. Edgar Allen Poe seems to share this view on the subject. His short story, The Masque of the Red Death, exemplifies how no matter what you do to protect yourself, fate will find you and do its bidding. Despite his

Also, it is amazing how he coordinates each room from east to west because it means that the sun rises from east to west. This is a form of allegory because those are symbols that conveys a message. Even though, the room weren’t aligned correctly, it was more of sharp turns in certain distances. The color sequences of the room started of as blue, purple, green, orange, white, violet, and black. For me, it reminds of life and death because those colors represents different meanings. For example, blue symbolizes the beginning of something new and trust or loyalty to others. Black symbolizes death, evil, mystery, and so much more which can bring harmful effects to someone. The seventh room was painted all black with dark stained glass window which is ultimately known to be scary, horrible, frightening, and terrified. Nobody didn’t enter that room because they thought that the devil was inside in that room.

Death is something everyone frets on a daily basis. Edgar Allan Poe stresses how death is an unavoidable reality in his short story “The Masque of the Red Death”. Prince Prospero, a lying, cowardly, untrustworthy leader pretends to be helping his town as people are suddenly dying off from the Red Death, when he is actually just protecting himself and leaving his town helpless. This story is shown through the use of many symbols and events. Ultimately Poe utilizes symbolism in order to convey the certainty of death.

Death has interested humans since the origins of humanity. It has spawned copious different coping mechanisms to help us come to terms with our own mortality. Anthropologists claim this contributed to the creation of religion and by extension, the use of specific, strict burial rituals across different cultures around the world. These rituals are comforting in the face of the darkest philosophical questions ever posed. On a more individual scale, coping mechanisms vary drastically between people. Edgar Allan Poe is known for the questionable coping mechanisms he used throughout his life. He suffered many tragedies and expressed his pain through alcohol abuse, gambling, and most importantly, his disturbing writings. Poe is particularly known

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 is a short story first published in Graham’s Magazine, 1842 by Edgar Allen Poe. It is sometimes understood as a story about the fact that death is ultimately unstoppable. It is a fine example of gothic fiction because of its dark and mysterious themes.