Allegory In The Masque Of The Red Death

Tashi Dhondup

Mr. Ken Lau

ENG4U

May 17, 2017

Masque of the Red Death ‘The Masque of The Red Death’ gives us insight on the author himself, his perception of life and his experiences. The idea that the plaque could be held out forever was rather a desire and a hope which was not possible. His longing for his family’s death to not occur may be related to that. Death cannot be avoided and barred. His mother, foster mother, father and his wife all died of tuberculosis. There’s a huge desire to live in a world of dream but eventually it comes to us anyway. In a short story by Edgar Allan Poe called, “The Masque of the Red Death”, it illustrates many concepts and interpretations; as a result, allegory. This eventually becomes

The reason I believe so is because as I considered Allan Poe’s biography when researching his work, the death of his mothers and wife is something I came across. His mothers and his wife all died of tuberculosis disease ( "Edgar Allan Poe: Childhood." ). They were all the women he loved very much. His life experience of his loved one’s death overlapped the story of Red Death. Aside from the point, both involved deadly diseases, his desire for his loved one’s lives can be seen in his character Prospero who also did not want to die. Like the Red Death, death caused by tuberculosis was also something that was inevitable. Unlike him, the character Prospero was at least able to create his own place isolated for a short period of time. Maybe it was something he wished he could’ve done; his desire. Regardless, at the end, he must’ve realized death wasn’t something that could be put off and there was nothing he could do so the characters in his story as well as in his real life faced

It is a stage of life and that no mankind is immortal; the more one accepts this, the more one can leave the world in peace with happiness without escaping and living with fear. This was obvious in the story because no one wanted to go to the black room and every time the clock chimed the people became even more nervous. It was also the prince himself who ran through every stage after the Red Death in the first place. His fear turned into anger, and his anger drove him to his death. We are all bound by time and death will come to us all. Thus, I believe, “The Masque of the Red Death” should be taught as allegory to high school students as well as to other