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Literary devices in masque of the red death
Literary devices in masque of the red death
Literary devices in masque of the red death
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Is it possible to evade death during a massive plague that is killing millions? Edgar Allan Poe uses setting, theme and plot in the “Mask of the Red Death” to illustrate that no one can escape death. Death is everywhere either someone dies or experiences a loss in there lifetime. The mask of the red death is an allegory, which means that is a short story with two meanings. The short story uses literal elements such as plot and the colors of the room. It also has a large philosophical meaning like the concept of life and death and the powerlessness of people to evade the grip of death.
Edgar Allan Poe uses symbolism to show the transition leading to death by using each of the seven rooms in the castle to represent a stage of life. The first room was all blue with vividly painted blue tapestries, which symbolized birth and beginning of life. The next room was all purple with matching panes of purple. With the passing of each room went the passing of time. The last room is all black with matching tapestries. The only thing that did not match were the window panes which were scarlet a d...
By providing symbolism, the setting of each story coerces the reader to think and reflect on the story, its impact, and its deeper meanings. For example the setting of “Hop Frog” provides deeper insights on Hop Frog’s perspective. “In less than half a minute the whole eight orang-outangs were blazing fiercely, amid the shrieks of the multitude who gazed at them from below . . . without the power to render them the slightest assistance” (Poe). Though describing the conflagration of the king and his ministers, this setting can also easily describe the hardships faced by Hop Frog every day while in captivity. Unable to escape the fiery wrath of the king, Hop Frog is forced to suffer while Tripetta is rendered powerless, unable to do anything to assist her friend. While the setting in “Hop Frog” can be used to symbolize the pain and suffering Hop Frog is forced to endure, symbolism can also be seen in the setting of “The Masque of the Red Death”. Focused on the idea that no man can escape death, Poe uses symbolism to entice the reader to subconsciously make connections to discover this idea for his or herself. Many symbols are used throughout “The Masque of the Red Death”, one of them being “a gigantic clock of ebony . . . while the chimes of the clock yet rang, it was observed that the giddiest grew pale” (Poe). Though it is never specifically indicated that there is more significance to the clock than illustrated in the given information, one could extrapolate that the clock is a representation of time itself. Time is more or less ignored; however, as time goes on and the end draws near, people pay more attention to it, and are terrified by the reminder that they will all perish in the end. This example is one of many of the symbols used in “The Masque of the Red Death”; like in that of “Hop Frog”, the setting of “The Masque of the Red Death” leaves clues for the reader, encouraging him
Poe continues to describe the blue room, noting how clear and bright the color is, saying,“...vividly blue were its windows,” (4). This description has a very positive impact on the readers, as they associate the color of the room with positive feelings of a new beginning. On the other hand, Poe depicts the black room as having a very morbid and gruesome feeling to it, as he says, “The panes here were scarlet—a deep blood color,” (4). This depiction has a negative connotation, as people connect the colors of black and deep red with blood and death. Poe characterizes the blue and black rooms very differently, with the blue room having a positive connotation and the black room having a negative connotation. This distinct difference in the rooms and their colors contributes to the overall symbolism of life and
As explained before, the "dull, dark, and soundless" house serves as both "the castle" and "gloomy atmospheres'' in this story. Poe uses the house as the main tool to create a gloomy and mysterious atmosphere. However not all of Poe's gothic elements are actual physical objects. Fear is Poe's next choice of gothic elements as even our main character Roderick predicted would "sooner or later'' become his untimely demise. Fear is the dark recesses of the human heart and conscience and Roderick's fear in this brilliant story was not even death; but it was fear its self.
In “The Fall of the House of Usher” the gloomy house was symbolic of the Ushers and their own isolation. The narrator’s first impression was symbolic of events to come. He felt “a depression of the soul… a sinking, sickening of the heart.” He found Roderick to be “a bounden slave… to an anomalous species of terror.” In “The Tell Tale Heart” the narrator’s description of his isolated observation of the old man night after night increases the sense of terror, especially for the victim. The symbol was the old man’s “evil eye”. Another symbol was the sound of the beating heart that caused him to rush to kill the man. Fear sent Prospero and his friends into hiding in one of his secluded abbeys to escape the Red Death. Terror is evident from the narrator’s description of the dying. That fear was in the hearts of all who attempted to find “security within.” There are many symbols in the story like the eight rooms that represented the stages of life. The black room represented the final stage of life. The sound of the ebony clock that caused the masqueraders nervously to “pause” was like a foreshadowing. The “masked figure” in the Red Death mask was a symbol of death for all who hid from
Edgar Allen Poe, in the short story “The Masque of the Red Death”, shows how people may try to outsmart death and surpass it, but in the end they will die since death is inevitable. He reveals this in the book by showing all the people closed up in the abbey that belongs to Prince Prospero. They are trying to escape the “Red Death” and think that they can escape the death by hiding away in the abbey. They manage to stay safe for six months but in the end they all die after the stroke of midnight during the masquerade ball Prince Prospero puts on from the Red Death itself which appears after midnight and leaves no survivors in the end. Poe develops the theme of how no one can escape death through the use of the point of view, the setting, and symbolism.
Edgar Allan Poe's short stories, "The Telltale Heart" and "The Masque of the Red Death" are two very different stories. One is about a simple man, perhaps a servant, who narrates the tale of how he kills his wealthy benefactor, and the other is about a prince who turns his back on his country while a plague known as The Red Death ravages his lands. Yet, there are some similarities in both. Time, for instance, and the stroke of midnight, seem to always herald the approach of impending death. Both are killers, one by his own hand, the other by neglecting his country. One seeks peace, the other seeks pleasure, but both are motivated by the selfish need to rid themselves of that which haunts them, even at the expense of another's life. However, the point of this critique will show that their meticulous plans to beat that which torments them are undone by a single flaw in their character - overconfidence.
Poe, Edgar Allen. "The Mask of the Red Death." The Works of Edgar Allen Poe. Ann Arbor, MI: State Street Press.
From the onset of the story, it is apparent that Poe is employing a gothic theme upon his work. The narrator’s portrayal of the home of his longtime friend, Roderick Usher was as follows, “I looked upon the scene before me – upon the bleak walls – upon the vacant eye-like windows – upon a few rank sedges – and upon a few white trunks of decayed trees” (Poe, 75). T...
The writing style of Edgar Allan Poe shows the writer to be of a dark nature. In this story, he focuses on his fascination of being buried alive. He quotes, “To be buried alive is, beyond question, the most terrific of these [ghastly] extremes which has ever fallen to the lot of mere mortality.” page 58 paragraph 3. The dark nature is reflected in this quote, showing the supernatural side of Poe which is reflected in his writing and is also a characteristic of Romanticism. Poe uses much detail, as shown in this passage, “The face assumed the usual pinched and sunken outline. The lips were of the usual marble pallor. The eyes were lusterless. There was no warmth. Pulsation had ceased. For three days the body was preserved unburied, during which it had acquired a stony rigidity.” page 59 paragraph 2. The descriptive nature of this writing paints a vivid picture that intrigues the reader to use their imagination and visualize the scene presented in the text. This use of imagery ties with aspects of Romanticism because of the nature of the descriptions Poe uses. Describing the physical features of one who seems dead is a horrifying perspective as not many people thing about the aspects of death.
Edgar Allan Poe primarily authored stories dealing with Gothic literature; the stories were often quite dreary. Poe possessed a very sorrowful view of the world and he expressed this throughout his literary works. His goal was to leave an impression with every detail that he included in his stories. Although Poe’s stories seem very wretched and lackluster they all convey a certain idea. A trademark of Poe’s is his use of very long complex sentences. For instance, in his work The Fall of the House of Usher, Poe tried to ensure that every detail was as relevant as possible by integrating a wide variety of emotion. In the third paragraph, of page two hundred ninety-seven, Poe wrote, “Feeble gleams of encrimsoned light made their way through the trellised panes, and served to render sufficiently distinct the more prominent objects around…” This sentence illustrates the descriptiveness and complexity that Edgar Allan Poe’s works consisted of. The tormented cognizance of Poe led him to use a very gloomy diction throughout his writing. Edgar Allan Poe’s use of symbols and the way he conveyed his writing expr...
Poe also uses symbolism to represent the connection between the house and the Usher family. The description of the house itself has a shocking resemblance to that of Roderick and Madelyn Usher. Upon the main character’s arrival, Poe offers an interesting description of the building’s physical state. “The discoloration of age had been great. Minute fungi overspread the whole exterior, hanging in fine tangled web-work from the eves” (1266). Poe is able to establish an air of suspense by relating the state of the house to that of Roderick and Madelyn Usher.
Because Poe’s works are typically dark, his use of symbols is in a dark way. Although there are many types of symbols manifested in these stories, Poe’s works generally include a symbol that eludes death or the end of something, and many include references to sight and vision. Edgar Allan Poe uses many different symbols of death or the end in his poem “The Raven.” Poe symbolizes the ending of something that brought the arrival of something new in the use of the times midnight and December, with every end there is something new. Hallqvist.
First, he used simili, ’’The Red Death come like a thief in the night’’ (Poe 43). He humanizes the Red Death like a thief, the thief of life.It is fast and furious, we can not escape. Then he used ’’the brazen lung of the clock’’ . Poe describes the clock as having “lungs,” like a human being, creates that this clock -- time -- is a living, breathing thing we cannot escape. He takes the clock ,a non-living furniture, and he humanizes it, like he humanizes the Red Death, which also cannot be escaped. He also used a lots of allusion in this story( Tempest of Shakespeare, or ’’The Death come like a thief in the night’’ in Bible’’ in order to make his theme more strong with his
Poe also uses symbolism to compare the deterioration of the house to the fall of the Usher dynasty. In Roderick’s poem, “The Haunted Palace”, he describes the history of the house as it began as a strong and “radiant palace”, which over time became a decrepit, disease-ridden cage. The radiant palace repres...
The poem consists of an undeniable narrative structure. Told from the third person, Poe also uses symbolism to create a strong melancholy tone. For instance, both midnight and December symbolize an end of something and the hope of something new to happen. Another example is the chamber in which the narrator is placed, this is used to show the loneliness of the man.