Danse Macabre: A Literary Analysis

Gothic, suspense, and horror add an exciting and chilling type feeling to people’s lives. Weather it is reading a story, a poem, or watching a movie, these genres leave the audience or readers wanting more and will make them not want to stop reading or watching. In a book called Danse Macabre, an examination of the use of phycology in the horror genre, Stephen King writes “what’s behind the door… is never as frightening as the door… itself.” All of the build up until the door is actually opened makes the audience more scared and tense than what is actually behind the door. Behind the door can either be scary or not as scary, but all the details and extra effects leading up to the door opening cause the suspense and will not make the reader

or audience want to turn away. All the tension that is created leading up to the door opening is what really reels the audience in. In the Masque of the Red Death and the Skeleton, violent events, symbols, and pace all contribute to the fact that the build up is much more exciting than what really is behind the door.
The first literary element that is shared between the Skeleton and the Masque of the Red Death is violent events, which can relate to Stephen King’s quote. The genre of horror or gothic can not be completed if there is no violent events. In the Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allan Poe, the element of violent events can be expressed through, “It was then, however,... untenanted by any tangible form”, (170-184). Before that door is actually opened, or in this stories case, before Prince Prospero’s death occurs, all of the tension that built up to that was much more enticing. The details and descriptive writing before his death cause more tension because the audience’s hearts start racing and the audience can start thinking to themselves what horrific outcome may occur. The device of violent events also occurs in the story Skeleton by Ray Bradbury. In Bradbury’s piece he states, “his throat clogged. He gasped for breath. Harris could breathe again”, (39-40). In this section of the story, Bradbury writes in a way that suddenly intensifies the feeling of the story. This tension that is created draws the reader closer to the reading and makes them feel as if they are a part of the story. Violent events in the stories Skeleton and the Masque of the Red Death portray context similarities in a way that explains Stephen King’s quote.
Another literary device that is shared between the Skeleton and the Masque of the Red Death is the use of symbols which also help arrise the theme of suspense. In the Masque of the Red Death, suspense and horror are brought about by many different symbols. One for example, is the explanation of the ebony clock. The ebony clock is described when Poe writes, “It was in this apartment… tremulousness and meditation as before”,(61-79). This clock helps symbolize the passing of time and life and how it can not be stopped. Also, at every hour when the clock strikes, people stop dancing. For the reader this causes them to become very enticed and the theme of suspense is brought out because the reader does not know why people are being taken down. This dramatic build up relates to King’s quote as it helps shows why what happened before the opening of the door has more tension than what happens after that “door” is opened. Skeleton by Ray Bradbury also includes symbolism that creates suspense. Bradbury expresses his symbol of the skeleton when he states, “M. Munigant nodded… and some others”, (33). The symbol in this story was the human skeleton of the body which symbolized Mr. Harris’s aches and pains. Bradbury had never mentioned or brought up any illness or condition that he might have had so the audience or reader always questioned what the problem was. This causes the reader to want to keep reading and creates suspense due to the fact that there seems to be something wrong, just that no one knows what. Symbols are used effectively in these two stories to help explain Stephen King’s quote, that the tension that is being built up before the door being opened is what really reels the audience in for a great experience of suspense.
Lastly, the literary device of pace and sequencing of events in Skeleton and the Masque of the Red Death also correlate to Stephen King’s quote.

The pace and sequencing of events play a large and effective role in creating that tension and horrific feeling that readers and audiences are looking for in this type of genre. Edgar Allan Poe demonstrates pace very well when he writes, “It was then, however,... any tangible form”,(170-184). During this entire section each sentence seems to build directly off the sentence that came before. It seems as if there were never any periods and it was one long sentence for the entire paragraph. As soon as the reader’s eyes hit this section, they will help but not to notice that they had started to read quicker and with more of an erie type tone. This faster paced section helps create that dramatic, fist clenching, and tense type feeling that is perfect for the suspense genre. The device of pacing is also expressed in Skeleton, when Bradbury writes, “Harris felt his jaw… M. Munigant was gone!”(39-40). The effects of this sections increased pace are very similar to that of increased paced section in the Masque of the Red Death. The tension that is created from increased quickness is much more suspenseful than that of the “door” finally being opened. Once that “door” is finally opened then all of that built up tension is quickly relieved. However, when these two sections with increased pace are being read, the readers or audiences feel much more tension because they start thinking of all the possibilities that might happen and all of the possible outcomes. The pacing and sequencing of events in the Masque of the Red Death and Skeleton help correlate the idea of Stephen King’s quote that the tension before the door is opened is much more dramatic than what is actually behind the door

itself.
The two stories, The Masque of the Red Death and Skeleton, both have literary devices in common that help express and prove Stephen King’s quote to be correct. Among all three of the devices explained, tension and suspense is built up to be more horrific and heart pounding than the events that were yet to occur after the climax or “door” was opened or stated. The evidence and explanations of violent events, symbolism, and pace perfectly show that Stephen King’s quote, “what’s behind the door… is never as frightening as the door… itself”, is true.