What Does The Room Symbolize In The Masque Of The Red Death

The Masque of the Red Death Essay
Symbolism, as used in many of Edgar Allen Poe’s allegories (a short story or poem that has hidden meaning), means to represent something. Throughout Edgar Allen Poe’s The Masque of the Red Death the color of the rooms and the ebony clock were key types of symbolism that were used to help develop the theme that death is inevitable. For example, no matter how much money or protection from the plague Prospero had, he and his friends inevitably died.
The colors of each room represent a different stage of life starting in the east and ending in the west. The room farthest to the east is the blue room which represents birth. This is the room that Prospero begins chasing the masked man in. The second room is purple which represents the beginning of growth. The third room is green, which means adolescence or youth. The next room is orange, which represents adulthood. The fifth room, which is white, represents age. The sixth room, violet, means imminent death. Finally the last room, being black, represents actual death. In addition, the black room had a deep red stained window. This deep red represents blood, which, when put together represent a bloody death. This is accurate because in the end Prosper was stabbed while standing

As they made their way to the black room they all avoided entering it. This implies that they all feared death. In addition, when the man in the mask first appears Prospero chases him, starting in the blue room and ending inevitabley in the black room. This chase symbolizes prospero’s life starting at birth in the blue room, and running through all the rooms making his way to his inevitable death. After that, as Prospero chases the masked man through the rooms into the black one, the people hesitated to enter which backs up the idea that they were afraid of