The Masque Of Red Death Analysis

Poe’s disheartening life probably was the root of many of his stories. An example of this parallelism is found in the story The Masque of Red Death. After disinherited by his wealthy adoptive father, Edgar struggled financially essentially for the rest of his life. In the story, Prince Prospero, obviously named for being wealthy, constructed an impenetrable fortress for him and his friends to hide in. During that time period, the Plague, or “Red Death” rampaged Europe, killing people in multitudes. Poe describes Prince Prospero’s hiding as such, “There were buffoons, there were improvisatori, there were ballet-dancers, there were musicians, there was Beauty, there was wine. All these and the security were within. Without was the ‘Red Death’” (Masque of Red Death 1). Poe’s obvious distaste for the wealthy is represented through this quote. Poe’s obsession with death comes into play in the end of the story, where the “Red Death” enters dressed as a Plague victim, and all inside the castle are killed. Poe mocks the prosperous with the ridiculous things the Prince provided when they were in the castle. By ultimately ending the lives of the prosperous, it gives the reader a look into how Poe feels about the wealthy. This parallelism to Poe’s tragic life allows the reader to see how death has become a theme of Poe’s personal life, not only in the story.

The stories focus a lot on death, as Poe did in his life. Gothic literature is known for horror stories, and stories of death and despair. Poe’s stories use Gothic elements to focus mainly on death, as Poe did in his life. In the story The Fall of the House of Usher, the narrator visits his childhood friend, Roderick, when he is ailing. At the death o...

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...ing with death, when an alternate ending could have been more reasonable for the story.

Experiencing as many deaths as Edgar Allan Poe did, it is not surprising that Poe seems to have a much deeper understanding of death than many. In The Premature Burial the narrator provides a horrific description of being buried alive. However horrible it was, when the narrator is released, he goes on to explain the new feeling he has towards death. He writes, “There are moments when, even to the sober eye of Reason, the world of our sad Humanity may assume the semblance of a Hell… Alas! The grim legion of sepulchral terrors cannot be regarded as altogether fanciful- but… they must sleep, or they will devour us- they must be suffered to slumber, or we perish” (Poe, Premature Burial 10). The quote means that even though life on earth might feel as if it is Hell, if