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Symbolism In The Masque Of The Red Death

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In “The Masque of the Red Death” it talks of a harmful fictional disease stirred up by the imaginative mind of Edgar Allan Poe. This story takes place in the 19th century and was looked upon as a dark and dreadful tale. Throughout the story, Edgar Allan Poe gives little subtle hints about how everything you do or say happens for a reason. Each person and every object described in the story represented something symbolic to the conclusion to the story. This, in other words, refers to an allegory. Symbolism affected the story’s theme because Poe wanted to let his readers know that your words and actions can affect the people around you. In the beginning of the story, the author begins to set the setting and the tone. This story was written and took place in the 19th century. It includes the introduction of the main characters, the time period, and the description of the disease itself. The main character in which the reader is mainly focused on is Prince Prospero. Edgar was trying his hardest to try and make Prince Prospero out to be this overpowering and ruling leader. However, this character was a symbol of …show more content…

Located under his castle were seven different rooms with seven different colors. All of these rooms represented the progression of life. In each room there were two windows, one located on the east side of the room and the other on the west side. The first room was filled with blue which represented birth, the second was purple which showed youth, the third was green which was adolescence, the fourth was orange which represented adulthood, the fifth was white which showed elderly. And the sixth and seventh room were violet and black, violet represented imminent death and black represented complete death. Since there wasn’t any lighting, they had to use fires and candles outside of each

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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.

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The seventh room also had the ebony clock. The rooms represent death and awaiting the death to come. The next symbol Poe uses to symbolize is the gate outside of Prince Prosperos

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The Masque of the Red Death Analysis Edgar Allen Poe’s use of vivid words and phrases in “The Masque of the Red Death” allows the reader to visualize the events as they unfold in the short story. In addition to these images, the reader is engaged by the use of irony that is built upon throughout the story. Also, the personification of the disease, the “Red Death”, causes the reader to feel fear as the masked figure walks through the rooms. These literary devices generate feelings in the reader that have him or her experience the characters security and dread. Therefore, the language used in the piece, along with the irony and personification, allows the reader to fully enjoy it.

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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.

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The black and dark ominous room made many of the guest uneasy. Knowing that the black is symbol of death would clarify why many of the guest would skip the room all together wherein the other rooms the guest would linger and examine them. People are afraid of death and the thought of it makes many individuals uncomfortable and fearful and explains the unusual behavior of the guest whenever they were in the room or saw the room. Last, the prince Prospero who is a symbol of the wealthy.

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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

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He runs after the intruder, a knife in his hand as he runs through the seven rooms to achieve his goal of beating death. The 7 rooms of different colors are described as odd, yet full of treasures in the text. They symbolize the 7 stages of life, and people socialize in the first six rooms but they all avoid the last room. At the end of the 7 stages of life, the last room is fully black except for blood colored window panes casting everything in a dark light. This room represents death, so as the prince follows the “mummer” into the last room, the Red Death steps forth from the ebony clock and Price Prospero gets the end he deserves.

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The only downside of the abbey, which is quite luxurious, is the decor. Seven rooms are color-coded and arranged east to west. The last of these rooms is an eerie room that is decorated in black and scarlet. This room contains a

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However, the seventh room does not. It is decorated in black tapestries but has a red paned window, instead of a black or grey window. The one that decorated the room wanted a meaning far beyond that of just a color, they wanted it to symbolize death. Because of the window, it sent a sight that, “was ghastly in the extreme, and produced so wild a look upon the countenances of those who entered, that there were few of the company bold enough to set foot in its precincts at all (Poe 84). The symbol that is being portrayed in the seventh room is the symbol of death.

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Many critics say that Prince Prospero dies as a result of the sins he commits during his life. In the short story, "Masque of the Red Death" by Edgar Allan Poe writes about a Prince that locks his palace up with all his relatives during a deadly plague. Overall, this story ends in a tragedy and a lot of symbolism was used throughout the course of the story. The seven deadly sins was one of them (Pride, Envy, Gluttony, Lust, Anger, Greed, and Sloth) and you can see this when Prince Prospero describes the seven rooms that were located inside the castle. Pride was the sin that Prince Prospero caused which also leads to making him commit other sins.

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Each of the rooms shows a different stage of a person's life. Blue is when you were born up to the black velvet room representing death. Shades of blue can show life and peacefulness showing the very first stages of life. Black evokes sadness and anger and the harsh feelings that the end of one's life can have. Even though the people attempted to hide away in these seven rooms, the red death still managed to end their lives because they were trying to cheat their way out of it.

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The seven rooms were placed in an unusual and scattered manner. There were twists and turns around every corner. In the center of each wall there was a “tall and narrow Gothic window” that overlooked a passageway connecting the rooms. Each window was colored according to the theme in each room. There was a window of blue, one of purple, one of green, one orange, one white, one violet, and the last red.

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The east represents the beginning, and the color blue corresponds to sanity and serenity. On the other hand, black is an archetypal symbol for death and the west is the epitome for the end(e.g. the end of the day). Prospero’s run from the blue room to black room represents his journey chasing an obsession similar to a sane man to being overtaken by his phobia. When the Red Death stabbed Prince Prospero, his sanity was

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769 Words | 4 Pages

There are many that have different opinions about death. It can be seen as something to be feared, or it can be seen as something long-waited for and welcomes. In the short story, “The Masque of the Red Death”, Edgar Allen Poe addresses death as an inevitable and to all things. While the rest of his subjects are falling victim to the Red Death, Prince Prospero thinks it is easily escapable, so he hides away and parties. However, the disease still manages to enter his secure castle and proves that one can no run from misfortune.

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During the black plague death was everywhere, and not even the rich could escape it. In The Masque of the Red Death, a short story by Edger Allen Poe the red death is an allegory for the black plague. While this plague-like disease is running rampant, Prince Prospero invites many of his friends to hide away in his castle. During one of his extravagant parties, Prince Prospero along with his guests are led to death. To enhance his allegory of The black plague in “The Masque of the Red Death,” Poe expresses that death can be postponed but not prevented through his portrayal of the clock, masquerade, and the corridor.

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