Analysis Of The Masque Of Red Death

820 Words2 Pages

Derek Cannon
Intro to Literature
March 3, 2014
Masque of Red Death
In the short story The Masque of Red Death by Edgar Allan Poe, a horrific disease called the Red Death each of the revelers, as well as Prospero in a bloody demise. Although the Red Death is fictional disease, plagues and diseases were somewhat of a mysterious and inexplicable occurrence during most of human history. During the 19th century many people attributed such afflictions to the devil or an evil presence, as shown in the corpse-like intruder in Prospero’s castle. The Masque of the Red Death illustrates the mysterious, and inescapable horrors of disease throughout history.
This story emphasizes the fact that no one can escape disease. Prospero and his group of nobles have secluded themselves within his castle to wait out the plague of the Red Death which is described as causing “sharp pains, and sudden dizziness, and then profuse bleeding at the pores, with dissolution” (Poe, 1). Through the extravagant parties in Prince Prospero’s house of grandeur, both the Prince and his guests would be able to forget about the plague and await its end in comfort. The illusion of safety is shown through the seclusion of the castle, as well as the great gates around the castle that are closely guarded so as to not let anyone in. Consequently, when the clock strikes midnight the revelers are struck with fear when they notice this figure resembling the plague itself amongst them. Everyone is so terrified that even when Prospero announces that they must apprehend this intruder “there were found none who put forth a hand to seize him.” The horror that the guests display, shows how frightening disease could be. It couldn’t be simply captured and killed, and attempti...

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.... Perhaps when the prince first laid eyes upon his unwelcome “in the first moment with a strong shudder either of terror or distaste; but, in the next, his brow reddened with rage” (Poe, 1). This could have shown something of Poe’s own emotions towards his wife’s condition, as would be a common reaction to any inexplicable disease to which you could do nothing about. This story showed how Prince Prospero had to face up to the reality of the disease as did Poe about his wife.
Through the illusion of security and mystery Poe creates a story based on what truly happened during outbreaks throughout history. Through the use of symbolism of a masked figure of death and the extravagance of the masquerade it truly shows the mystery of how plagues came to be and why. Even more importantly, it shows that no matter your social status or income, no one is safe from death.

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