Symbolism In The Masque Of Red The Death

Edgar Allan Poe, one of history’s most terrifying and demented authors, is famous for his multitude of stories perfectly crafted to haunt readers for years after they finish reading the final words. To achieve this, Poe uses many suspense techniques such as imagery, vocabulary, psychological insights and unreliable narrators to heighten the power of his tales and truly chill readers to the bone. His use of these tactics is no more apparent than in his most morbid and haunting tale, “The Masque Of Red The Death”. In this story, Poe uses three main literary devices: Imagery, symbolism and themes. Poe’s use of imagery is something that makes this tale captivate the audience and truly resonate within readers’ minds. Poe uses words to paint a flawless picture of Prince

Lastly, but possibly Poe’s most vital element to the story is his clever, subtle use of symbols. Poe uses symbolism throughout the story to reinforce key points and add a chilling, supernatural effect to the tale, such as the ebony clock in the seventh chamber of the castle, which represents death. Poe enforces the clock’s importance to the story every sixty minutes, when it clangs, reminding the conceited party guests that they grow one hour closer to their imminent demise. Poe also uses the seven chambers of the castle to symbolize life, and the dainty, oblivious way in which the revellers rush through it, only realizing where they are when they find themselves in the doorway of the final chamber. It is not hard to understand why “The Masque Of The Red Death” is Poe’s most haunting tale. Poe packs the story full of his most ingenious and terrifying literary devices, such as symbolism, themes and imagery and uses these devices perfectly to terrify the reader long after they finish the final