Use of Contrasts in Poe's The Masque (Mask) of the Red Death

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Use of Contrasts in The Masque of the Red Death

"There were buffoons, there were improvisatori, there were ballet-dansers, there

were musicians, there was beauty, there was wine. All these and security within. Without was the Red Death." (Poe, 209) In the short story, The Masque of the Red Death, Edgar

Allen Poe uses the sanctity within the abbey walls to juxtapose the harshness and

inescapable nature of the Red Death. The author uses the contrasts between the abbey

and the Red Death to reveal the true character of Prince Prospero, to suggest the

presence of the Red Death in the abbey, and to aide in the climax of events.

While the Prince's people are suffering outside the abbey walls, he is selfishly

entertaining guests at a masquerade ball. The story opens with a brief description of the

plague that is spreading through Prince Prospero's people. "There were sharp pains,

sudden dizziness, and then profuse bleeding at the pores, with dissolution." (Poe, 209)

Instead of elaborating on the effects of the plague, Poe beg...

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