What Are The Symbols In The Masque Of The Red Death

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

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.

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 there are many different examples of symbolism in “The Masque of the Red Death”, the example that sticks out the most is in the design of the rooms within the castle. A large portion of this writing is focused on the colors of the seven rooms and what is held within them. The author first points out how there are seven rooms; all set up differently then most castles. The second piece of

In the story there are seven rooms. The last room symbolises the last stage of life, death. In the story it says “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” (Poe).

Most are afraid of this happening, but there is no way they will ever be able to escape it. This happening is death. Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Masque of the Red Death” is an iconic piece of gothic literature with a dark theme. He uses normal objects in his story such as rooms and hallways and gives them a deeper meaning to connect to the moral of the story. Poe’s short story is heavy with symbols which lead to the ultimate theme of his piece that there is no way to escape the inevitable no matter what your social standing may be. Poe showcases this thought through his many forms of symbolism to support this theme.

In the story “The Masque of the Red Death”, Poe expresses the theme that death is inescapable or inevitable. He expresses this theme through rhetorical devices such as symbolism and allegory. For example, Prince Prospero’s chambers were allegorical because of the rooms’ arrangement which was from east to west. The east represents the beginning of life, while the west represents the end of life. The Darkroom, which was at the end of the hall, symbolized death. It was the room that the guests didn’t want to go in and eventually was the place that they were killed by the Black Death. Another example of symbolism is the clock which as a symbol of the time-lapse of life as a human being. It was in this apartment, also, that there stood against the western wall a gigantic clock of ebony...and 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, but of so peculiar a note and emphasis that, at each lapse of an hour the musicians of the orchestra were constrained to pause, momentarily (Poe 374). This sentence expresses how compelling the clock is and how it attracts the attention of the masqueraders. The author also uses imagery to build suspense upon the reader. An example would be how the author describes the Red Death. His vesture was dabbled in blood-and his broad brow, with all the features of the face, was besprinkled with the scarlet horror (Poe 378). This describes the dreadful

The Red Masque of Death is a story about a rich man who hosts a party and at the end of the party death descends on them. The man tries to fight death himself when no one helps him and he dies trying to fight his death. This story has a few themes, but the one that stands out the most is that death is inevitable. This theme is a very important lesson, because it is something that everyone will go through at some time in their life and must deal with it. Throughout the story the author uses symbols to show these things.

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.

People have always tried to avoid death, but they cannot. In Edgar Allan Poe’s “Masque of the Red Death” the characters are trying to avoid the Red Death, but they do not succeed. Every hour a clock chimes indicating that life is passing by and death is close. People begin to die every minute once the Red Death begins.

Symbolism can be a very strong tool for an author. Poe uses symbolism for many purposes in his work. Most of the symbolism in Poe’s work have a sinister underlying. He uses these symbols to teach his readers a lesson and make them think deeper into his story. In Poe’s “The Masque of the Red Death,” the use of symbolism affects the setting, the mood of the reader, and Prince Prospero

Ever been to a party with a killer beat? The characters in this story have. While they are blocking themselves off from the death outside, it finds a way back in through the use of symbolism, characterization, and different points of view. In the short story “The Masque of the Red Death” by Edgar Allen Poe it emphasizes the idea that that one cannot run from death.

Poe’s use of symbolism is very evident throughout the story of “The Masque of the Red Death”. Much has been made about the meaning of the rooms that fill Prince Prospero’s lavish getaway. One such critique, Brett Zimmerman writes, “It is difficult to believe that a symbolist such as Poe would refuse to assign significance to the hues in a tale otherwise loaded with symbolic and allegorical suggestiveness” (Zimmerman 60). Many agree that the seven rooms represent the seven stages of human existence. The first, blue, signifying the beginnings of life. Keeping in mind Poe’s Neo-Platonism and Transcendentalism stance, the significance of blue is taken a step further. Not only does blue symbolize the beginning of life, but the idea of immortality is apparent when considering these ideas. “Perhaps ‘The Masque of the Red Death’ then, is not quite the bleak existential vision we have long thought it to be”, expounds Zimmerman (Zimmerman 70). Poe’s use of each color is significant to the seven stages

The seven rooms in the house also conveyed stages in life ending with death. These rooms were set up from east to west. This meaning that the sun comes up in the east and goes down in the west, and death comes in the darkness. "In this chamber only, the color of the windows failed to correspond with the decorations. The panes here were scarlet--a deep blood color." The guest's avoided this room because it was a sign of death.

“In Masque of the Red Death” , Edgar Allan Poe uses Symbols to show that no matter who you are, how rich you are, and how much you try, death will end you.