What Are The Symbols In The Masque Of The Red Death

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

One of the most apparent symbols in the text are the bizarre colored rooms. The rooms represent the cycle of life, blue is birth, purple childhood, green adolescence, orange adulthood, white is the elderly years, violet is dying, and finally black is death. The rooms are arranged like the sun rise and set with the blue room all the way in the east and the black at the west end. Furthermore, the rooms have similar styles, all one color with the decor and windows matching said color. However, the black room is different with black velvet curtains, and the windows a blood red color. The light from the hall isn’t able to enter the room so a candelabra was placed behind each window so that it “projected its rays through the tinted glass… And produced so wild a look upon the countenances of those who entered” (2) The

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

“No pestilence had ever been so fatal, or so hideous. Blood was its Avatar and its seal--the redness and horror of blood” (Poe 446). Edgar Allan Poe is well-known for his gothic elements, bizarre plots, and chilling tones. The short story The Masque of The Red Death by Poe is no different. In the story the kingdom has been long devastated by the horrific “red death”, and their leader is failing to help them. Poe’s short story is strong in various uses of symbolism; thus, leading to the theme that death is inevitable.

“The Read Death” Had long devastated country. No pestilence had ever been so fatal or so hideous (Poe 1). The Masque of the red death by Edger Allen Poe is a gothic literature about a prince, Prospero, who brings 1000 of his friends into his castle to escape the plague all over Europe. In this story there are many symbols that represent important things going on inside his castle. The three main symbols that are going to be talked about in this paper are Prince Prospero, the clock, and the colorful rooms.

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

“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.

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.