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The Masque Of The Red Death And The Tell-Tale Heart

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Mystery, horror, the grotesque, violence, and the supernatural are all characteristics of Gothic literature. Edgar Allan Poe’s life was filled with personal tragedy and professional failure which was reflected in his writing. Poe has written many stories that involve death, horror, and violence which are all present in gothic literature. “The Masque of the Red Death” and “The Tell-Tale Heart” both show Poe's gothic writing style. Edgar Allan Poe was born on January 19, 1809 in Boston, Massachusetts. Poe’s parents both died before he was three years old. He became a foster child, and was raised in Richmond, Virginia by John and Frances Allan. Poe later went to the best boarding schools and the University of Virginia, but …show more content…

During the story, there has been an outbreak of death known as The Red Death. The prince of the town has decided to have a masquerade party because he does not think that the death will catch up to him. There are many guests at the party and every hour they stop what they are doing to listen to the chiming of the eerie ebony clock. The clock represents gothic literature in this story, and it is also counting down the hours of the people's lives there, but they had no idea. Another example of gothic literature is the seventh room that is decorated with black drapes and stained glass windows which is meant to be creepy and dark and represent blood and death. Everything is going well at the party until a stranger dressed in an ugly red mask walks in the door and goes through all the rooms in the castle. The prince becomes annoyed with the strangers behavior, approaches him, and dies immediately. Shortly after, everyone in the castle has died because of the Red Death. This story of death refers back to all the death in Poe's life. All the important women of his family died from tuberculosis which left him with no one. In “The Masque of the Red Death,” all of the people dying represents the members of Poe's family that meant something to him who have

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