Of Dark Romanticism In Masque Of The Red Death And The Raven By Edgar Allan Poe

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Dark Romanticism has many different significances. It has impacted reading a lot. Poe had a huge impact on dark romanticism. In Edgar Allan Poe’s short story “Masque of the Red Death” and his poem “The Raven” he uses symbols to show people are in perpetual fear.

Poe first shows his beliefs about humanity in “Masque of the Red Death” when he uses the masked figure to show death. For example Poe states “While none followed him on account of a deadly terror that had seized upon all” (Poe). The masked figure represents the red death and how the people that thought they were safe were not safe. They figured if they stayed inside they would not be exposed to the red death. The supernatural figure represented the red death. The prince got killed in the black room showing death in that room. They all thought they were safe from the red death but the masked figure showed up as the red death. The red death took over as darkness and killed everyone. As said in Masque of …show more content…

In the text it states “But the raven, sitting lonely on the placid bust, spoke only that one word, as if his soul in that one word he did outpour” (Poe). The Raven is like the afterlife of Lenore and her trying to give guilt for the things he had done. As the Raven only uses one word “Nevermore” it could be the bird following him around as a reminder of things he has done and give him guilt. After every question he would ask he would only get one reply from the Raven. This ties together with the Masque of the Red Death because he talks about darkness and fear. For example in the text it states “Deep into the darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before” (Poe). This quote could be hinting that he is not mortal since he is having dreams no mortal ever dared to. Him standing in fear shows that he knows he has done something

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