Foreshadowing In The Masque Of The Red Death

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Avoiding Death in “The Masque of the Red Death” The Plague was a tragedy that took many lives all across Europe; “the Red Death had long devastated the country. No pestilence had ever been so fatal, or so hideous. Blood was its Avatar and its seal- the redness and the horror of blood” (Poe 373). This short story takes place during that time, but it has a slight twist to illustrate the theme. Death is something everyone fears and no one can elude. “The Masque of the Red Death” written by Edgar Allan Poe communicates the idea that death cannot be avoided no matter how many precautions are taken; this is accomplished through foreshadowing, symbols, and allegory. First, foreshadowing plays a big role in “The Masque of the Red Death” to show …show more content…

Poe uses the clock to show time running out with the characters lives; “the life of the ebony clock [goes] out with that of the last of the gay” (Poe 380). This symbolizes the end of life and time shortening. In the beginning of the story, Poe mentions all of the precautions taken to shut out the plague, including the iron gate. The courtiers use furnaces and hammers to weld the bolts shut inside the iron gate (Poe 373). This is a symbol because an iron gate is strong and sturdy, and it is meant to keep out all evil: another attempt to dodge death. Lastly, Poe describes how distraught the guests are at the masked figure. The partygoers are offended at the costume of the figure that is attending the party, and they describe him as wearing a “mask that conceal[s] the visage and [is] made so nearly to resemble the countenance of a stiffened corpse” (Poe 378). This symbolizes that he looks like death, and he is, in fact, death itself. The characters do not know that he was The Red Death, and all of their precautions have failed to elude …show more content…

The clock is a symbol used in the allegory to symbolize the end nearing when the musicians change their behavior: “the musicians of the orchestra [are] constrained to pause, momentarily, in their performance, to hearken to the sound” (Poe 374). This is symbol in the allegory because the reader can pick up the real meaning if they analyze the text, and they would be able to recognize the symbol of time running out. The clock is used frequently to show that life can be interrupted at any time, and it cannot be averted. For example, when “the waltzers [are quiet]; and there [is] an uneasy cessation of all things as before” (Poe 377). Poe is able to add many details about the clock to symbolize life ending soon. The strange formation of the apartments is symbolizing the stages of life (Poe 373). Most readers wouldn’t have assumed anything from the formation of the rooms, but the circular formation ending in the color black symbolizes the end of life for the characters. No matter how hard the characters try, they all end up dying in the black room: it is inescapable. Allegory is a strong literary element, and Poe uses it strategically in this short story to symbolize

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