The Masque Of The Red Death

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.

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.

Prospero’s character is seen as incautious, and perhaps arrogant, which adds to the foreshadowing of the story’s ending. When nearly half of the town has died, Prosperous packs up his things and takes his close friends to live in the safety of one of his many palaces, leaving all the other citizens to fend for themselves against the Red Death. Upon moving to the castle “Prospero had supplied everything they needed for pleasure” (Poe 2) and never once stopped to consider his subjects, or their safety. In a crucial time of need, the leader could not be bothered and instead decides to flee, revealing the kind of person he really is. The king’s carelessness for everyone, except his own social circle suggests that this trait may get the best of him in the end. Karma is commonly a substantial factor in literature, and Prospero certainly appears to have something coming back to bite him. Similarly, the way in which Prospero’s character is portrayed proposes that maybe his own ego may

Death is something that will happen to everyone eventually. Death is not a thing that can be easily shaked off as if it were nothing. Some people fear death, others wait for it, and some don’t give a care in the world, being too busy enjoying life. Death is something that can happen either peacefully or painfully. Death relates to the hidden message in Poe’s “The Masque of the Red Death” by trying to give the meaning that no matter who the person is and what the person tries to do, no one is capable of being able to escape death.

Conflicts affect the mood of the main characters in a story, by expressing the insecurities, Death,” a couple of conflicts are exposed throughout the piece. In the story “The Masque of the Red,” a couple of conflicts are expressed throughout this piece. The conflicts man versus fate and man versus himself are the conflicts that are displayed several times within this story. From major conflicts to minor conflicts, this story clarifies the problems that Prince Prospero faces within himself. In addition to Prince Prospero’s problems with himself, this story also explains the conflict of how death is uncontrollable.

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 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 Allen Poe, completely transformed the horror genre with his tales reflecting the psychological depth and insight of the the human conditon not previously seen (Poe Museum, no date). Despite his alignment with the horror genre, he was initially taken in by the romantic ideals of consumption. This is portrayed in one of his early short stories, ‘Metzengerstein’, from 1832, where despite the majority of the story following many gothic conventions, the protaganist’s mother dies of consumption. The narrrator of the story asserts that ‘…it is a path I have prayed to follow…I would wish all I love to perish of that gentle disease’ when referring to the mother’s impending death. The narrator’s desperation to die from consumption is implied through the use of the verb ‘prayed’. This verb has connotations of wishing or hoping strongly for a particular outcome (Oxford Dictionaries, 2017): despite the horrific and drawn out process of the disease that we now understand in the 21st Century, this character still desires it thus reflecting the general insensitivty towards the disease. Although influenced early in his career by the romanticized stance on consumption, he changed his portrayal of the disease completely in his short story ‘The Masque of the Red Death’, published in 1842. Very little had advanced in the medical understanding of consumption, but between Poe writing the aforementioned text and ‘The Masque of the Red Death’, his own wife had contracted the disease

Death is a terrifying prospect for most people , imagine being face to face with it. In Edgar Allan Poe’s “Masque of the Red Death”, the revelers were in this very situation. Prince Pospero’s country was devastated by the Red Death. A plaque that resulted in a painful, gruesome, death. Prince Pospero being the selfish uncaring man he is, locked himself and a thousand of his lighthearted friends in his abbey to hide from the Red Death. After 6 months of seclusion Prince Pospero throws a masquerade to celebrate that they were still free of the Red Death. It was at this masquerade a gruesome mummer appeared shortly before Prince Pospero and all the revelers to died of the Read Death. In this story Poe personifies death through the mummer who

Many short stories have an underlying message that the author does not directly convey. Logan Pearsall Smith states, “It is not what an author says but what he or she whispers, that is important.” This means that the reader needs to search for a hidden message within the story, as one might say; there is more than meets the eye. Two stories supporting this quote are “The Masque of the Red Death,” by Edgar Allan Poe and “The Necklace,” by Guy de Maupassant. The characters within these stories that gradually relate and connect to the quote are Prince Prospero and Madame Loisel.

Everybody faces the same destiny, which is ultimately the end of one’s life. This is how Edgar Allen Poe paints it in Masque of the Red Death. He demonstrates how people will try and protect themselves from untimely events foreseen by fate. A plague ravages a kingdom while a prince and his friends hide inside the castle and hold a masquerade to distract themselves from the horrors of reality. They attempt to keep themselves safe from becoming infected, technically altering their fate. Yet, Poe throws in a dark hooded figure to represent the Red Death. It swifty ends Prince Prospero’s life, causing him to go out the way he had tried avoiding: slaughtered by the sickness. With this it showcases Poe’s thoughts on fate, in that it cannot be avoided no matter what you do. Death is predetermined, everybody knows it will happen at one point or another. Trying to prolong it or stop it from happening will do nothing in the long run. This contradicts the points of A Christmas Carol and The Lorax; as if Poe, Dickens, and Seuss would not meet eye to eye. In the other two stories, characters work to change their fate, and ultimately go to succeed with their actions. Prince Prospero, however, tries to change what could happen to him and fails. “And now was acknowledged the presence of the Red Death. He had come like a thief in the night. And one by one dropped the revellers in the blood-bedewed halls of their revel, and died each in

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.

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.