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Edgar allan poe the masque of the red death analysis
The theme of death used in literature
Edgar allan poe the masque of the red death analysis
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Language and Symbolism in The Masque of the Red Death Edgar Allen Poe's The Masque of the Red Death is an elaborate allegory that combines objects in the story with visual descriptions to give focus to the reader's imagination. In the story, a prince named Properso tries to dodge the Red Death through isolation and seclusion. He hides behind impenetrable walls of his castellated abbey and lets the world take care of its own. But no walls can stop death because it is unavoidable and inevitable. Visual descriptions in the story are used to symbolize death. Poe's use of language and symbolism is shown in his description of the seventh room in the suite, the ebony clock, and the fire. These objects are used to depict the theme of the story death "held illimitable dominion over all" (363). The first symbolic mean of death is depicted in the seventh room in the suite. Poe says, "The seventh apartment was closely shrouded in black velvet tapestries that hung all over the ceiling and down the walls, falling in heavy folds upon a carpet of the same material and hue" (359). He uses the seventh room to symbolize the final stage of life, death. He sees the black velvet tapestries as blood flowing from the ceiling and walls to the floor. The relationship between blood and death is important because he wants the reader to have a visual image of the blood pouring down the walls as a form of death. The fire lighting the suite of rooms is another object in the story that represented death. He says, "...There stood, opposite to each window, a heavy tripod, bearing a brazier of fire that projected its rays through the tinted glass... 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 the extreme, and produced so wild a look upon the countenances of those who entered..." (359). The fire was meant to produce a shadowy atmosphere in the west and a favorable one in the east. This is symbolic to the sunrise in the east and sunset in the west because light means life and darkness means death. Poe uses darkness as another visual representation of death. The gigantic clock of ebony is another symbolic object in the story. "Its pendulum swung to and fro with a dull, heavy, monotonous clang; and when the minute hand made the circuit.
“He uses similes to compare the curtains that danced in response to the breeze to pale flags gliding back and forth caught in the wind. The shadow from the curtains on the wine colored rug is related to the image of wind on the
The characters in “The Mask of the Red Death” include Prince Prospero (who is the only person that speaks in the story), a multitude (a thousand) of the Prince’s wealthy friends, and the masked figure, which doesn’t appear until the end of the story. Prince Prospero’s name signifies happiness and good-fortune. Ironically, this is not the tone of the story. The prince is an unusual man with strange tastes. “His plans were bold and fiery, and his conceptions glowed with barbaric luster". After half of his dominions were killed by the disease is...
Edgar Allen Poe, in the short story “The Masque of the Red Death”, shows how people may try to outsmart death and surpass it, but in the end they will die since death is inevitable. He reveals this in the book by showing all the people closed up in the abbey that belongs to Prince Prospero. They are trying to escape the “Red Death” and think that they can escape the death by hiding away in the abbey. They manage to stay safe for six months but in the end they all die after the stroke of midnight during the masquerade ball Prince Prospero puts on from the Red Death itself which appears after midnight and leaves no survivors in the end. Poe develops the theme of how no one can escape death through the use of the point of view, the setting, and symbolism.
Ralph heard the night watchman call lights out. The moon gleaming in the window was the only source of light within Ralph’s room now. Even in the dim light he could make out the sink and toilet. The room was padded, and the door had a glass window that reflected fluorescent light into the room. The combination of the artificial and natural light created a faint glimmer upon the mirror that hung above the sink.
Poe creates seven rooms with each having their own unique color. According to the text, “...the room in which it was held...were seven-an imperial suite” (Poe 4). Poe chooses seven rooms because it symbolizes the seven deadly sins: gluttony,
The ebony clock symbolizes death. “…the hour was to be stricken, there came from the brazen lungs of the clock a sound which was clear and loud and deep and exceedingly musical, but of so peculiar a note and emphasis that, at each lapse of an hour, the musicians of the orchestra were constrained to pause…” (Poe 359). This symbolizes death by the people not able to stop the inevitable. An example of this is they could not prevent the clocks sound from diminishing their energy or like they could not stop the pendulum from swinging. That’s what the ebony clock symbolizes.
=In “The Masque of the Red Death”, by Edgar Allen Poe, figurative language is used in
The writing style of Edgar Allan Poe shows the writer to be of a dark nature. In this story, he focuses on his fascination of being buried alive. He quotes, “To be buried alive is, beyond question, the most terrific of these [ghastly] extremes which has ever fallen to the lot of mere mortality.” page 58 paragraph 3. The dark nature is reflected in this quote, showing the supernatural side of Poe which is reflected in his writing and is also a characteristic of Romanticism. Poe uses much detail, as shown in this passage, “The face assumed the usual pinched and sunken outline. The lips were of the usual marble pallor. The eyes were lusterless. There was no warmth. Pulsation had ceased. For three days the body was preserved unburied, during which it had acquired a stony rigidity.” page 59 paragraph 2. The descriptive nature of this writing paints a vivid picture that intrigues the reader to use their imagination and visualize the scene presented in the text. This use of imagery ties with aspects of Romanticism because of the nature of the descriptions Poe uses. Describing the physical features of one who seems dead is a horrifying perspective as not many people thing about the aspects of death.
Edgar Allen Poe wrote the short story “The Masque of the Red Death” in 1842. While only one character is actually named, Prince Prospero, the story builds apprehension just based on the descriptions and not on dialogue. The narrator is never named and it is a mystery as to this person’s involvement in the story. The ambiguousness of the narrator also helps build the drama throughout the story. “The Masque of the Red Death” tells the story of a group of wealthy people who are trying to ignore and separate themselves from a terrible disease that is sweeping across their country. The disease is swift and brutal and can cause death within 30 minutes. The people infected weep blood from the pores on their faces and bodies, which causes a disturbing visual image. Poe uses the setting and symbolism to reiterate to the reader that death is inevitable.
Throughout the short story “The Masque of the Red Death,” Edgar Allan Poe uses vivid symbolism, structure, and reoccurring details to paint a powerful image regarding the finality and inescapable reaches of death itself. “The ‘Red Death’ has long devastated the country,” yet the Prince Prospero continues to hold extravagant parties for his fellow elite members of society. Rather than merely telling a series of events, Poe carries his readers throughout the many rooms and scenes that hold the Prince’s masquerade, up until the clock strikes midnight and the partygoers can no longer hide behind their façade, and death comes in to take those that thought themselves invincible (Poe 438-442).
The “parlor walls” are the most dominant reason for the blurred distinction between life and death. The walls are the most distracting object in the novel that manipulates
The colors of the rooms range from light to dark. The first room is blue, symbolizing "truth or insight," "spiritual values, wisdom or healing," (Todeshi, 71) giving the reader a feeling of peace and tranquility like a clear blue sky. The rooms go on leading to a deeper and somewhat darker feeling ending with the last or seventh room. This room is mostly black in color symbolizing an association "with negativity, sin, or evil," and representing "depression, illness, or disease." (Todeschi, 71).
He was sitting in a large chair close to the fire. He was able to observe her entrance and smiled softly to himself, realizing she was unaware of His presence. Observing her on more than one occasion, He watched her every motion, realizing that her wants and needs were of a woman that had seen many sorrows. She intrigued Him, he could see that she became one with the darkness, thriving like the black orchids that feed from the night, giving her joy and comfort. It was an inner peace that fed her dying soul with her constant denial of loneliness. He pondered her captivating darkness as she moved toward the fire.
Similarly, the furniture in the house is as sullen as the house itself. What little furniture is in the house is beaten-up; this is a symbol of the dark setting. The oak bed is the most important p...