The Masque Of The Red Death Essay

474 Words1 Page
bulb-icon

Recommended: Symbolism of the story of the Masque of the Red Death

The deadliest plague to hit the world appeared in Europe in the 1340s, taking an estimated 25 million innocent lives and lingering for centuries afterward. 30-60% of Europe's population decreased as the sickness terrorized everyone in their homes. Similar to this very real tragedy, the Red Death mentioned in Edgar Allan Poe's famous work, "Masque of the Red Death", caused the death of thousands in this fictional kingdom. Poe, one of the most famous gothic horror writers, used this deadly plague to showcase how little we can do as a people to avoid death. Gothic horror writers often portrayed death and destruction in their works. Poe was not an exception, as exemplified in his story "The Masque of the Red Death". This tale takes place in a land where a horrific and deadly plague, called the Red Death, ravages the country. Prince Prospero attempted to avoid this plaque by inviting all of his friends to a party in his isolated castle. However, he and his guests "one by one dropped ... in the blood-bedewed halls of their revel, and died each in the …show more content…

Edgar Allan Poe often used ghosts, spirits, and monsters to represent larger events or problems going on in the world. In "The Masque of the Red Death", the guests at the party notice a "figure [who] was tall and gaunt, and shrouded from head to foot in the habiliments of the grave (Poe 5)". The stranger goes on to wander the halls before the Prince notices his presence. When he does, he threatens the figure and charges toward him, before the stranger "turned suddenly and confronted his pursuer ... instantly afterwards, fell prostrate in death the Prince Prospero (Poe 6)". After the prince dies, so do the rest of the party guests as the Red Death consumes them all. The figure made its way into the party unnoticed, and killed the mighty prince by simply looking at him, suggesting that he is not of this

Show More
Related

  • My Favorite Work of Edgar Allen Poe Masque of the Red Death

    629 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...of the people (even though the quote is cased in the present and looking back). The Red Death was instrumental in European History, and Poe did a wonderful and interesting job of exposing this history. The fact that really attracted me to this story was that I knew a lot about the plague, and I was able to make a lot of connections between the “The Masque of The Red Death” and history. This story shows how sneaky and powerful the plague was filters the history into the elaborate story very nicely.

    Read More

  • The Masque of the Red Death: Symbolism

    1428 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the "Masque of the Red Death," the first sentence, "The Red Death had long devastated the country," sets the tone for the whole story. Poe describes the horrors of the disease, stressing the redness of the blood and the scarlet stains. The disease kills so quickly that one can die within thirty minutes of being infected with the disease. To create a frightening effect of the revulsion of this disease, Poe uses words such as "devastated," "fatal," "horror of blood," and "sharp pains and profuse bleeding." In summary, the story relates the prince, trying to be safe and away from the horrible death, invites a thousand friends to be in seclusion in his abbey away from the disease. During a celebration , a masked ball at the abbey - with incredible described rooms and moods - a surprise masked intruder causes death to all.

    Read More

  • Irony In Poe's The Masque Of The Red Death

    372 Words  | 1 Pages

    In the story “The Masque of the Red Death” the title slightly reveals the story. The story is about a fatal disease known as “The Red Death” and Prospero not caring about and dies. Poe writes this story in third person .Prince Prospero knew about the people dying from the disease but he paid it no attention. So one day Prospero decides to throw a masquerade ball. In the ball there are seven rooms. The seven rooms are different colors such as blue, purple, green, orange, white, violet, and black. While people are in enjoying the ball, midnight strikes and everyone silently fall to their deaths. Prospero see that everyone is dead and becomes frightened. Prospero runs in a rage and The Red Death catches him and Prospero dies.

    Read More

  • Symbolism in The Masque of the Red Death

    1690 Words  | 4 Pages

    Poe, Edgar Allan. “The Masque of the Red Death” Literature An Introduction to Reading and Writing. ED. Edgar V Roberts and Robert Zweig. Boston, Longman: 2012. 516-519.

    Read More

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

    817 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the short story “ The Masque of the Red Death,” Edgar Allen Poe uses symbolism to express ideas to develop his theme and characters. “ The Masque of the Red Death” tells a story of prince Prospero who locks his friends and himself in a castle to escape the Red Death, a deadly disease. Much to Prospero’s dismay, in the end, the deadly disease causes them to perish. Poe uses the dark room to reveal Prospero’s unusual character and reveal that death is always there and cannot be avoided.

    Read More

  • The Masque Of The Red Death Analysis Essay

    1311 Words  | 3 Pages

    Detachment from reality is what the main characters in both Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried” and Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Masque of the Red Death” express. “The Things They Carried” is the collection of interrelated short stories of Lieutenant Cross and his experiences throughout the Vietnam War. “The Masque of the Red Death” is the story of a prince who fears the “Red Death” who hides himself, along with some townspeople, to escape from the terrible disease. Each character, despite having two very different roles in their lives, have to face reality. In order to fully understand the relationship between these two works, each of these factors in turn.

    Read More

  • The Masque Of The Red Death Conflict Essay

    551 Words  | 2 Pages

    “The figure was tall and gaunt, and shrouded from head to foot in the habiliments of the grave.” (page 389). Prince Prospero demanded the stranger to be seized and unmasked, however no one wanted to be the one to do it. Even Prince Prospero was too much of a coward to approach the stranger. The stranger or Red Death, ends of killing the Prince with his dagger and the others as well. Poe describes Red Death as “coming like a thief in the night”. None of us know the day or hour of our own death, but eventually we will all die.

    Read More

  • The Masque Of The Red Death Compare And Contrast Essay

    726 Words  | 2 Pages

    I chose to write about the comparison of two of Edgar Allan Poe’s stories. The two stories that I chose to write about are “The Masque of the Red Death” and “The Fall of the House of Usher”. Both of these stories create and have a gothic mood to them, which draws you in as a reader. The story of the masque of the red death is written about the black plague that was spreading across Europe at the time, and the story of the fall of the house of usher is written about a sickness or a disease that affects the characters of the story. In Edgar Allen Poe’s story of the “The Masque of the Red Death “, it is narrated by an unknown onlooker within the castle itself. In both stories with the narrator being an onlooker or as an unnamed friend as in “The fall of the House of Usher” forces or draws the reader to feel a part of the story itself. “The Masque of the Red Death” is about a prince who is rich that invites a thousand of his close knights and people of nobility to his castle where he has it sealed up to keep the plague from reaching his guest and his self. Edgar Allan Poe made the rooms of the castle in this story to be bazaar with all seven chambers of the castle different colors that went in one direction from east to west representing a life cycle. The last chamber was colored black with red stained windows that represented the final stage of life or death. The prince and his guest did not dare to enter this chamber because they feared death and were terrified of the idea of it (2012). In this story the prince and his guest think that they are safe and have a masque ball, while at the party they drink and are having a good time not thinking of the plague that is ravishing the country around them nor the poor that are being stric...

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Masque Of The Red Death

    1004 Words  | 3 Pages

    Hundreds of people thought that they were being isolated from a deadly contagion, but it had seemed to find another form of an entrance. “The Masque of the Red Death”, was written by Edgar Allan Poe, a poet from the mid-1800’s, with a wife who had tuberculosis. The short story begins with a lengthy description of the pestilence, which can be interpreted as tuberculosis, that has infested the fictional country. The wealthy Prince Prospero decides to house a thousand of his friends, in order to keep them safe. The artistic home of this Prince has seven rooms, each decorated with a separate color. After five or six months of being sheltered from the contagion, Prince Prospero decides to throw a masquerade ball. As the party progresses, the large ebony clock in the black room chimes, on the twelfth chime, a new guest appears. The rooms turn silent as the ghost of the red death slowly walks through, the fearless Prince Prospero follows

    Read More

  • Decoding Social Symbolism in Poe's Red Masque

    1028 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Masque of The Red Death is a famous short story written by Edgar Allen Poe which talks about a party happening in a large amount of different rooms that were all painted different colors. The main room as the title says would be the red room. Everyone was at the gala; you had your ballet dancers, your musicians, and your wine. The wine is most likely a reference to sophisticated men buying drinking expensive fine wine or cognac. You have the beauty; this references girls and goes into the stereotype of models and bottles at most galas, events and nightclubs. This was most likely a party where men went to meet women. Similar, to that of a large city nightclub like Lavo or Avenue in Manhattan. In the 1800’s there were no nightclubs, as we

    Read More

  • Symbolism In The Masque Of The Red Death

    1168 Words  | 3 Pages

    Edgar Allen Poe wrote the short story “The Masque of the Red Death” in 1842. While only one character is actually named, Prince Prospero, the story builds apprehension just based on the descriptions and not on dialogue. The narrator is never named and it is a mystery as to this person’s involvement in the story. The ambiguousness of the narrator also helps build the drama throughout the story. “The Masque of the Red Death” tells the story of a group of wealthy people who are trying to ignore and separate themselves from a terrible disease that is sweeping across their country. The disease is swift and brutal and can cause death within 30 minutes. The people infected weep blood from the pores on their faces and bodies, which causes a disturbing visual image. Poe uses the setting and symbolism to reiterate to the reader that death is inevitable.

    Read More

  • Language and Symbolism in The Masque of the Red Death

    417 Words  | 1 Pages

    Edgar Allen Poe's The Masque of the Red Death is an elaborate allegory that combines

    Read More

  • The Masque Of The Red Death Analysis

    1932 Words  | 4 Pages

    Throughout the short story “The Masque of the Red Death,” Edgar Allan Poe uses vivid symbolism, structure, and reoccurring details to paint a powerful image regarding the finality and inescapable reaches of death itself. “The ‘Red Death’ has long devastated the country,” yet the Prince Prospero continues to hold extravagant parties for his fellow elite members of society. Rather than merely telling a series of events, Poe carries his readers throughout the many rooms and scenes that hold the Prince’s masquerade, up until the clock strikes midnight and the partygoers can no longer hide behind their façade, and death comes in to take those that thought themselves invincible (Poe 438-442).

    Read More

  • Masque Of The Red Death Essay

    639 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the story, “Masque of the Red Death” it covers six months during the Red Death.It takes place in a castle which has seven different colored rooms.In the beginning of the story it describes the main character prince Prospero as happy,fearless and wise. Towards the end of the story a new guest appears to the party and everyone is scared and Prospero goes from being happy to mad and in the end the new guest kills Prospero and everyone dies because he was the Red Death. The message in this analogy ,”The Masque of the Red Death “ by Poe is life passes by so quick that you don't realize what's going on until it's your time to die.

    Read More

  • Criticism In The Masque Of The Red Death

    1859 Words  | 4 Pages

    Edgar Allan Poe is known for his masterful writing on all aspects of mortality, but his famous short story “The Masque of the Red Death” proves to be more than a simple story about death. While it is about death, Poe’s short story can be read and applied as a cautionary tale whose purpose is to illustrate a worthy way to live and die by portraying the opposite of both. This interpretation comes about when the story is viewed through the lens of New Criticism. This viewpoint shows how the story uses its formal elements converge to create one complex theme. Poe’s short story develops its theme through the use of paradox, tension, irony and ambiguity, all of which come together to identify

    Read More

More about The Masque Of The Red Death Essay

Open Document