The Masque of the Red Death: Essay
The Masque of the Red Death is a short gothic horror story. Overall is about a prince who thinks he is invincible, while having a party one night a mysterious guest appears and all the party-goers are very frightened of him. In the end this red death man kills the prince along with many other people at the party. This story became more horrific because the setting was in a castle, there was supernatural elements, and there was revenge. The Masque of the Red Death depicts the not so good aspects of human nature; that being selfishness, fear, and power. These are all things many witness almost daily, either by watching television or being outside. Although there are many good aspects of human nature, like being kind courageous and doing the right thing, this story written by famous author Edgar Allan Poe in 1842 uses anger, fear, and greed to illustrate how some humans that don’t do the right thing get led down a dark path.
Throughout this story, the prince prospero is very selfish and greedy. In the beginning of the story it states, “And the whole seizure, progress and termination of the disease, were the incidents of half an hour. But the prince prospero was happy and dauntless and sagacious”. By not caring about the people of his country, the prince proves that he is a self-serving leader. It
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The story portrays a lot of anger, greed, and fear. Edgar Allan Poe used these forms of nature to show that although nobody is perfect, they most important thing is to do the right thing, be kind, and courageous no matter what. By using supernatural, gloom and horror, revenge, and a castle this was the perfect setting for the horror story it became, using this to show that it is some humans nature to be selfish, fearful, or powerful made readers understand the importance of the message Poe was trying to depict. Always doing the right
Though Poe took the short story in an entirely different sort of direction, some speculate that he got the idea from William Shakespeare’s “The Tempest.” Not only did he name the prince “Prospero” like the main character in “The Tempest,” but he also devised the plague from it. In “The Tempest,” the antagonist, Caliban, screams out, demanding the “red plague” kill Prospero. In “The Masque of the Red Death,” Poe refers to it differently, initially saying that the part was “without the ’Red Death,’” (Poe 15).
In The Masque of the Red Death, the setting helps the reader get the sense of fear, terror and dread. This is because, the isolation of the abbey makes the reader feel frightened, since they are isolating themselves from the rest of the world. If something was to go
(Poe 8). This is describing the Red Death's appearance at the masquerade. This story is much like a story told in the Harry Potter series about three brothers. In this story as well as the other one the brothers try to cheat death who is portrayed in as a human-ish figure. Instead of killing them then he congratulates them and sends them on their way.
Secluding themselves in a magnificent castle, the courtiers believed they could escape death and be left with an all-noble society, but they acquire fresh knowledge that one life is equally sufficient to another no matter what their riches allow them. This realization comes when the Stranger secretly enters the fortress. This connects to the allegory of The Masque of the Red Death because Poe illustrates how unjust he believes the process of economic classes are through the thoughtless actions of the barons. The courtiers now comprehend that no one, no matter who they are, can escape the inevitable fate of
Edgar Allan Poe was an American author and editor, who was best known for his works in Gothic literature. Most of Poe’s stories deal with the theme of horror, as was reflected in Poe’s life as it was full of tragedy involving the loss of many of his beloved wives and mothers. The following stories are amongst Poe’s most celebrated stories; The Tell Tale Heart - a short story told by an unreliable narrator who persuades the readers of his sanity, while telling of a murder he committed. The Masque of the Red Death - a story that illustrates Prince Prospero’s efforts to eschew the dangerous plague by hiding in his castle, where he throws a party.
Beginning with diction: To put it plainly, diction is the overall word choice the author chooses to use within their story to provide a variety of meanings, set particular tones, etc. Edgar Allen Poe’s complex diction further heightens the eerie atmosphere and foreboding suspense that frequently lingers within his iconic Gothic short stories, and are all the more present within Masque of the Red Death. It’s evident that Poe pays attention to connotation and meticulously chooses words that best convey the unsettling imagery that he’s going for, as shown when the narrator was describing the 7th room, “But in the western or black chamber the effect of the firelight that streamed upon the dark hangings through the blood-tinted panes, was ghastly in
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.
In “The Masque of the Red Death”, the main character, the prince, locks the aristocrats
In contrast, The peasants mean nothing to him because they’re not worth of any value. The ignorance comes from Prospero’s delusional views of the world. As said before, Prospero doesn’t do anything because he looks the world through a different perspective. It ties in with his selfishness because since the Red Death has not affected him and instead ignores the harsh reality and lives in his own fantasy. “The prince had provided all the appliances of pleasure.
This story of death works out, because Edgar Allen Poe gives good use to author’s craft. Edgar Allen Poe uses imagery, symbolism, and setting to create an effective story. In the “Masque of the Red Death” Poe uses description to give imagery.
Demi Pyle February 20, 2018 English 1302 Looking Closer at “The Masque of The Red Death” In the grim short story written by Edgar Allan Poe in 1842, “The Masque of the Red Death” tells the tale of a kingdom ravaged with disease and a prince’s journey to escape death. Poe hides underlying messages throughout the story, leaving the reader to interpret the true meaning of prosperity and death. Edgar Allan Poe uses symbolism and imagery in the form of an allegory to reveal to the reader that death is inescapable, no matter how wealthy you are.
Poe wrote in the “Masque of the Red Death,” “The scarlet stains upon the body and especially upon the face of the victim, were the pest ban which shut him out from the aid and from the sympathy of his fellow-men,” (Poe 1). It goes to show to what length people will go to survive. In “The Cask of Amontillado”, Montresor's cellar represented the embodiment of death
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.
Nature and men have always been in conflict. Even though humans are part of Nature, we see ourselves as entities unrelated to it. Since the prehistory, we have been using Nature at our favor mostly to feed ourselves.
In Poe’s stories, the main characters experience fear, but they all handle it distinctively. Poe uses irony, symbolism, and imagery to show how fear affects the narrator’s mindset, along with their future. In “The Tell-Tale Heart” and “The Masque of Red Death”, the main characters try to isolate themselves from evil, but Poe uses irony to show that death is inevitable.