Edger Allen Poe is an incredible author of horror. His story, The Masque of the Red Death, was an amazing chiller about a party that was ended by a disease. Throughout the kingdom a disease is spreading from citizen to citizen, killing each one who possesses it so the king invites those closes to him to a party where no one can leave and will be safe from the disease but yet in hindsight they were locking themselves in with the disease. Throughout the course of this hair-raising story, several symbols are represented to array Poe’s theme of death. Symbols such as the seven colored rooms, the clock, and lastly the Red Death are all symbols that are displayed to help get Poe’s notion across.
Poe uses Gothic diction to explain the dire significance of the red death, while also creating an ominous mood. Early in the story the speaker introduces the devastation that the Red Death causes. The speaker describes the effects as “So fatal.” (1.1) The word fatal is often used when regarding something that causes death.
Poe’s Life Influences in The Masque of the Red Death As Poe put it, “the boundaries which divide Life from Death are at best shadowy and vague. Who shall say where the one ends, and where the other begins?” He is very correct indeed (“The Premature Burial”, n.d, para. 3). Just like his books which are chilling and mysterious so was his life.
For instance, Poe gave the name Prospero to a wealth prince. “But the Prince Prospero was happy and dauntless and sagacious” (83). Giving the prince this name symbolizes the wealth of the prince, how he thrived, and how successful he was. Another example of symbolism is when the Red Death appears after the palace doors are bolted lock. “When the eyes of Prince Prospero fell upon this spectral image solemn movement….”
The rooms are all connected so the path of death can never break. There’s no way to avoid the black room which represents that death can’t be avoided. Lastly, they are all connected so if you’re in one room you’re in the death room. Another example for a symbol would be the hallway. In the hallway you can’t see far ahead which symbolizes you can’t predict life.
At first the party is wonderful, then it takes a turn when a mysterious stranger appears. This unwanted stranger is the beginning of the end. To enhance his allegory of The Black Plague in “Masque of the Red Death,” Poe expresses the thought life can often be blinded by your lack of reality through his portrayal of Prince Prospero, Building Alignment/Layout of Rooms, and the Clock.
The following line meant that the people in the palace are “safe” from the outside world, which was known as dangerous because of the plague that was spreading throughout the land. 7. Discuss the symbolism regarding the number of rooms, the colors of the rooms, and the direction in which the rooms are built. What is the significance in the color of the last room and how does all of this effect Prince Prospero’s perspective about death? In this fictional story, there were 7 rooms and all in different colors; blue, purple, green, orange, white, violet, and black.
This message is shown when the phantom kills the prince in the red room. Throughout the story Poe shows examples of how he reveals his hidden message. Edgar Allan Poe gives symbols and hints revealing a clue about what the message could be. The evidence given was the castle and clock that were used as symbols as well as interesting objects that appear before the “Red Death” came to play.
In Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allen Poe, many symbols are used to justify the overall purpose and meaning of the story. These symbols include the ebony clock, the seven chambers, the scarlet and black room, and the Red Death itself. Each of these symbols help characterize the Prince and his guests, along with foreshadowing the overall outcome of the story. First of all, the seventh chamber and ebony clock not only provide a sense of eeriness, but reveal the underlying personalities and outcomes of the characters. For example, Zapf writes, “In the process of the story, of course, the seventh chamber more and more becomes the center of attention, and with it the clock of ebony which symbolizes the structure of temporality underlying and terminating all human
The sound made by the ebony clock symbolized the arrival of midnight. Everyone stopped doing what they were previously occupied with, too scared to move because of the sinister sound of the clock. “Who dares?” Prince Prospero’s voice echoed through the blue room disturbing the silence that settled in the atmosphere. “Who dares insult us with this blasphemous mockery?
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.
Many people go through horrors in their life. However, most don’t record them in the way Poe did. From a young age Poe experienced death in his family. As Poe lived his life, he started using his feelings and life experiences in his work. He based his feelings in his poems such as Annabel Lee and Alone.
The rooms go from east to west. I believe the colors symbolize life stages from birth to death. Life will end at death no matter what. The guests are scared to go into the black room because it looks scary but I think that is a symbol because no one wants to die so no one wanted to enter the black room.
As Prince Prospero and the masked guest go from room to room, they are symbolizing the progression of life from birth to death. This is an important symbol in the story because it emphasizes the theme of inescapable death. The next example is the Black Clock in the black room. This symbolizes the span of life. In the story, the clock struck midnight and the Prince’s time was up, symbolizing his life being over.
Edgar Allan Poe was an American author; he mainly focused in genres such as short stories and poems. Poe didn’t have much of an academic background in literature but, he excelled in it. Some people believe that his success was mostly due to the fact that his life was very sad, filled by a series on misfortunate events, such as being an orphan, suffering from poverty and being constantly surrounded by death. In his works, Poe portrays narratives that are characterized by their mystery and macabre. The topic of death was ever present in his work, constantly describe with dark moods and somewhat terrifying settings.
