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Compare The 7 Deadly Sins In The Masque Of The Red Death

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The Seven Deadly Sins & the “Masque of the Red Death”
The “Masque of the Red Death” is a short story written by Edgar Allan Poe, published in 1842. There are various underlying messages within the story. The question is, did Edgar Allan Poe imply the similarities of the Seven Deadly Sins, in his short novelty “Masque of the Red Death”? It is stated that Poe, dislikes didacticism and allegory, but believed literature should have an undercurrent under the story, to be a proper literature piece. Perhaps illustrating the Seven Deadly Sins was his under current for “Masque of the Red Death.”
The nature of this almost ornate story is indicated by the fact that the only named character is Prince Prospero. The irony in the Prince’s name is evident, …show more content…

Pride matches the Prince’s extravagant actions, and opulent palace. Prospero also believes he is above death, building a castle to avoid an epidemic, for only him and his wealthy acquaintances. The prince tries to provoke the second sin, envy, by making his guests envious with his palace and provoke jealousy. Welding the castle was utterly selfish, considering he didn’t think of the individuals that he didn’t invite to avoid the Red Death. The era in which Poe wrote prohibited the explicit or implicit description of sex. There were also arabesque dancers, and harlots at the ball. Although it is apparent Prince Prospero shares his wealth with a thousand guests, he helps those who need it least and withholds his substance from those in need, which is greedy. Sloth is the absence of work, and the is extremely apparent, since the Prince is constantly partaking in festivities. At the end of the story, the Prince becomes extremely angry at the man who interrupts his party. The individual's mask insulted the Prince, in a result he thwarted his dagger towards him, only to fall to his

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Allegory and Symbolism of “The Masque of the Red Death” The Masque of the Red Death is a story of symbolism and allegory. Everything from the arrangement of the seven chambers, the ebony clock, and the color red. The seven chambers are arranged ever so carefully, “The apartments were so irregularly disposed that the vision embraced but little more than one at a time.” The chambers are color coded by which I see as the seven stages of life.

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The Masque of the Red Death has a lot of symbolism that has to do with the circle of life- such as the different colors of the seven rooms each meaning one stage of life. The stages of life obviously have relations to death, possibly even being centered around it. The thought is just so artistically

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On the other hand, even though Prince Prospero tried his best to escape the horrible reality of the plague, in the end he died because of it. He failed to realize that the Read Death had entered his castle in the form of the masked figure. The masked figure clearly represented Death. The figure was “tall and gaunt,” wore “habiliments of the grave,” and had the “countenance of a stiffened corpse.” The “black velvet room” also hinted the presence of a mystery figure that would bring nothing but misfortune.

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Eventually, the Red Death, which Prospero had tried so desperately to evade, approached and killed him, so “now was acknowledged the presence of the Red Death. He had come like a thief in the night. And one by one dropped the revelers in the blood-bedewed halls of their revel, and died each is the despairing posture of his fall” (88). Because the castellated abbeys can be considered a part of Prospero’s mind, then this clearly shows that denying the existence of a problem will not magically resolve it, and could instead cause bigger and even more pressing issues. Poe is proving that even if a problem does not directly affect someone, it should still be acknowledged, confronted, and dealt with in one way or another.

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The authors’ use of strong imagery invokes strong emotions that give the audience a personal connection to the characters and events. In the “The Masque of the Red Death”, the theme is mortality. Poe shows how people are vulnerable to death, even after taking every possible precaution. Poe writes, “The mask ... was made so nearly to resemble the countenance of a stiffened corpse ... gone so far as to assume the type of the Red Death. His vesture was dabbled in blood - and his broad brow, with all the features of the face, was besprinkled with the scarlet horror” (6).

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There was much of the beautiful, much of the wanton, much of the bizarre, something of the terrible, and not a little of that which might have excited disgust,” (Poe 6). Poe describes the luxury and extravagance of the masquerade to enhance the dream-like qualities that he gives the story. By using such descriptive imagery, he reinforces the dark and dreary tone, which also enhances the theme of

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