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Elements In The Masque Of The Red Death

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Everybody loves a good scare, some people like it in person, others in books and movies. Masque of the Red Death by, Edgar Allen Poe, it uses many gothic elements to give you a very creepy vibe. In this short story an entire country has been hit with a plague that gives you a slow painful death. A rich prince gathers all of his friends into his big castle to hide for the plague but later during a masquerade ball the red death finds its way into the castle and kills everyone. By using many gothic elements, including a gloomy decaying setting, a supernatural being, a character in distress or an intense emotion, you can write a good gothic story. One of the story elements, a gloomy decaying setting, its usually describes how something is dark or what is frightening about it. A good example from the book Masque …show more content…

A supernatural being couldn't exist in the real world so you can create one using as many different elements that frighten you the most. “seizing the mummer, whose tall figure stood erect and motionless within the shadow of the ebony clock, gasped in unutterable horror at finding the grave-cerements and corpse-like mask which they handled with so violent a rudeness, untenanted by any tangible form.” This is a supernatural being since the person is invisible you can't see him when they take off the mask. This can be apart of a gothic story since you can use your imagination to come up with what he looks like and you wouldn't be able to see this in the real world. A character in distress makes any story good but when you are stressed about being chased by a monster or you get lost in a creepy haunted house that makes it a gothic story element. “There was a sharp cry --and the dagger dropped gleaming upon the sable carpet, upon which, instantly afterwards, fell prostrate in death the Prince Prospero” The prince is in distress since he is

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In the 19th century, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Edgar Allan Poe were known for their use of gothic elements in their types of writing. The plot of gothic literature novels typically involves people who become involved in complex and oftentimes evil paranormal schemes, usually against an innocent and helpless heroine. Poe used gothic dimensions to explore the human mind in extreme situations. Hawthorne examined the human heart under conditions of fear, vanity, mistrust, and betrayal. Even though Hawthorne and Poe used the gothic elements, they still used different types of darkness to portray their writing to the reader.

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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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Rough Draft Analysis Some people think that running away from problems in life is an amazing way to get out of them. “The Masque of the Red Death” by Edgar Allan Poe, expresses how the effort of running away from a disease is not possible. The people believed that now that the prince, their loyal friend, had let them into the castle they were all safe from the terrible disease called “Red Death”. Everyone was having a good time at a ball that the prince had made for his friends.

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Have you ever read a story that causes chills or your emotionally invested in a character. The story’s Frankenstein by Mary Shelley and The mysteries of udolpho by Ann Radcliffe are literature that are centered in fear. These story’s cause suspense or has ghost or some type of monster. A gothic is a great example of fear in literature. The settings, characters, and story line has a way of making the reader invested by hooking to their emotions.

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Throughout history, many influential writers have used literature to teach people about human nature; these writers used their works improve the morals of humanity. In the 18th century, Romantic and Gothic writers used many literary elements to make their works more meaningful. These included figurative language, symbolism, imagery, allusions, mood and tone to enhance the theme in their stories. Two men who did this were the Gothic writer Edgar Allan Poe, and the Gothic romance writer Nathaniel Hawthorne. The works “The Masque of the Red Death” by Poe, and “The Minister’s Black Veil” by Hawthorne, are examples of using literary elements to enhance theme.

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The term gothic novel refers to stories that combine romanticism and horror. Common elements include supernatural events, mysterious places, and strange happenings. The Veldt also touched on overdependence of technology. Some famous novels include Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Dracula.

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“He had come like a thief in the night. And one by one dropped the revellers in the blood-bedewed halls of their revel, and died each in the despairing posture of his fall” (Poe). Edgar Allan Poe was an American author and poet during the 1800’s (anb). He is known for his gothic style of writing, and tragic tales. Poe has written famous pieces such as The Raven (1845), The Black Cat (1843), and The Tell Tale Heart(1843).

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The Gothic Influence Although the word “Gothic” is often associated with supernatural creatures or haunted, abandoned places, the word actually originates from an elaborate style of architecture. The reason that the word “Gothic” has become associated with these ideas of horror and death is because the architecture was thought of the ideal place for mysterious, suspenseful, and dark stories to occur. These types of stories became known as the Gothic genre. The Gothic literary genre often includes elements of fear, death, and strong emotions, and is set in set in a dark or mysterious place.

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