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Edgar allan poe masque of the red death analysis
The masque of the red death literary analysis
Literary analysis of the masque of red death
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Andrew Fink Literary Analysis 30 April 2015 An Analysis of “Masque of the Red Death” Edgar Allen Poe’s short story, “Masque of the Red Death,” is a rather macabre story about a prince, his kingdom, and a particularly gruesome plague called the Red Death. This story very well written; Poe makes great use of the many literary elements seen in it. Among other literary elements, Poe uses irony, the setting of the story, and allegories to bring “Masque of the Red Death” to life. In “Masque of the Red Death,” Poe uses irony to better illustrate and to cause the reader to think more deeply about the more subtle aspects of the story. The first and probably the most obvious instance of irony in the story is the prince’s name. His name is Prospero. This name is ironic because it derives from the word “prosper,” meaning successful or …show more content…
fortunate. While this may not be realized at the beginning of the story, Prince Prospero, by the end of the story, is anything other than fortunate or successful. Another good example of irony in the story is that if Prospero had tried to stop the plague instead of abandoning his country and retreating to seclusion, he might have actually lived. The irony of this is that in trying to run from the Red Death instead of combatting it, he ends up dying anyway. The third instance of irony seen in the story is that Prospero’s abbey is supposedly “safe.” In the story, Poe uses the word “castellated” to describe the abbey. This word implies that the abbey is built like a castle, with thick walls, metal doors, and tall battlements and turrets. This abbey is supposedly an impenetrable fortress. However, even the thick walls and doors can do nothing to prevent the Red Death from sweeping through the abbey and killing everyone inside. While this irony one of the first features noticed in the story, it is not the only literary element evidently present in the description of the abbey. In addition to irony, Poe uses the setting itself to better illustrate his story and to instill fear in the reader.
The description of the abbey is a perfect example of this. Prospero retreats to his fortified abbey with a thousand of his subjects and had the doors welded shut. He felt that all of this was needed in order to keep the Red Death from reaching him. This helps the reader to realize the full scope of this plague. Another example of the use of the setting is that Poe tells the story in a way that it feels much like a dream. He does not try to make it feel realistic by relating the setting to a place that the reader would recognize. Instead, he allows the story to feel fictional, which gives the story an eerie mood. The third example of the use of the setting is the description of the rooms, especially the last room. The rooms grow progressively more eerie building up to the seventh room. The seventh room inspires fear in all of the guests, and it inspires fear in the reader. While it is suggested that the rooms’ purpose in the story could be just to instill fear, it could also have a much deeper
meaning. The rooms could be an allegory describing life and its phases. The first room, the blue room, could represent birth while the last room, the black and red room, could represent death. This would also explain the rooms being arranged from east to west; the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. In short, the east represents the beginning, and the west represents the end. Another example of an allegory in the story is the clock in the seventh room. The clock could represent the lives of the guests and Prospero ticking away over the course of the party. Every time the clock chimes, they are closer to their deaths. The third example of an allegory in the story is the late guest dressed as a victim of the Red Death. He is described as a man during the majority of the story. It is not until the very end that the reader realizes that this man may not even be a man. This man is actually just a personified representation of the Red Death itself sweeping through the rooms and bringing Prospero and his guests closer to death. When Prospero and the man reach the black room, Prospero reaches the end. He reaches death. This could be the real meaning of the man dressed as the Red Death. “Masque of the Red Death” is such a good story because of these literary elements that Poe uses. He uses them to immerse the reader in the story and to make the reader feel the fear of death. In this, he is very successful. The irony helps the reader to understand that there is more to the story than meets the eye. The setting draws the reader into the story by causing the reader to picture the scenes. The allegories in the story tie the other two elements together to add layers of complexity to the story. All of this makes “Masque of the Red Death” a very powerful story.
One of the most horrifying lines in the story is given by Montresor after Fortunato says, “I will not die of a cough” (Baym ). Montresor says, “True— true..” (Baym ). It seems that Montresor's murder plot became subconsciously manifest in those two words. Dramatic irony is irony that is inherent in speeches or a situation of a drama and is understood by the audience but not grasped by the characters in the story (“dramatic-irony”) and Poe uses this effectively in this story.
All people wish to avoid suffering, and those with wealth usually take too long to realize that they cannot avert it. In the short story, “The Masque of the Red Death”, Edgar Allan Poe tells the readers of death, and how the upper class deals with it. In this story, Prince Prospero and his wealthy friends hide away in a castle to evade death. This obviously does not work, as death is inevitable, but of course, they attempt to save themselves anyways. In “The Masque of the Red Death”, Poe uses the courtiers, Prince Prospero, and the stranger to symbolize the members of the influential upper class and their habit of using their power to postpone their own impending doom.
Firstly, The Masque of the Red Death is a short story that dwells on a wide variety of societal issues. On the other hand, The Raven adopts the form of a poem, which is especially notable for its dramatic and melodic properties. The poet uses the refrain of “Lenore” and “nevermore” in order to emphasize the narrators’ troubled interaction with death (Poe, The Works of Edgar Allen Poe). Furthermore, The Raven employs allusion in its attempt to explain the mysteries surrounding death. The poet seeks to know whether there is “balm in Gilead” in reference to the hope of life after death demonstrated in various religious faiths such as Christianity. In The Masque of the Red Death the author addresses death’s inevitability and its wider implication on the society (Poe). The short story addresses the ability of epidemics to wreck havoc on populations. Furthermore, the short story addresses the authority’s selfishness and incompetence when it comes to addressing pivotal issues affecting people. Instead of finding ways of protecting people from further infections, the prince selfishly runs away from the rest of the population. Whereas death finally catches up with everybody regardless of one’s social status, the short story plays a pivotal role in highlighting leadership discrepancies that plague many civilized
In “The Masque of the Red Death,” Edgar Allan Poe uses imagery, sensory detail and symbolism not only to build suspense, but also to convey the idea that an individual can not hide or run away from death which becomes closer as time passes on. Throughout the story Poe uses imagery details to create suspense in the story. For example when the author is describing the disease that has taken many lives he describes the unfortunate event as, “ Blood was its Avator and its seal- the redness and the horror of blood. One can understand that in the story the tragic death of someone might occur as tragically as the disease is described. Accordingly, as the story progresses the deep shade of the color red is evident in many areas to represent symbolism.
In the story “The Masque of the Red Death” the title slightly reveals the story. The story is about a fatal disease known as “The Red Death” and Prospero not caring about and dies. Poe writes this story in third person .Prince Prospero knew about the people dying from the disease but he paid it no attention. So one day Prospero decides to throw a masquerade ball. In the ball there are seven rooms. The seven rooms are different colors such as blue, purple, green, orange, white, violet, and black. While people are in enjoying the ball, midnight strikes and everyone silently fall to their deaths. Prospero see that everyone is dead and becomes frightened. Prospero runs in a rage and The Red Death catches him and Prospero dies.
Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Masque of the Red Death." The American Tradition in Literature. Ed. George Perkins and Barbara Perkins. 9th ed. vol. 1. New York: McGraw, 1998.
In the "Masque of the Red Death," the first sentence, "The Red Death had long devastated the country," sets the tone for the whole story. Poe describes the horrors of the disease, stressing the redness of the blood and the scarlet stains. The disease kills so quickly that one can die within thirty minutes of being infected with the disease. To create a frightening effect of the revulsion of this disease, Poe uses words such as "devastated," "fatal," "horror of blood," and "sharp pains and profuse bleeding." In summary, the story relates the prince, trying to be safe and away from the horrible death, invites a thousand friends to be in seclusion in his abbey away from the disease. During a celebration , a masked ball at the abbey - with incredible described rooms and moods - a surprise masked intruder causes death to all.
Poe, Edgar Allan. “The Masque of the Red Death” Literature An Introduction to Reading and Writing. ED. Edgar V Roberts and Robert Zweig. Boston, Longman: 2012. 516-519.
In the short story “ The Masque of the Red Death,” Edgar Allen Poe uses symbolism to express ideas to develop his theme and characters. “ The Masque of the Red Death” tells a story of prince Prospero who locks his friends and himself in a castle to escape the Red Death, a deadly disease. Much to Prospero’s dismay, in the end, the deadly disease causes them to perish. Poe uses the dark room to reveal Prospero’s unusual character and reveal that death is always there and cannot be avoided.
"The prince had provided all the appliances of pleasure. There were buffoons, there were improvisatori, there were ballet-dancers, there were musicians, there was Beauty, there was wine. All these and security were within. Without was the 'Red Death,'" (209). As Edgar Allen Poe set the scene for his story, he also created an ominous mood and a sense of suspense supported by the setting. He details the fun and amusement inside the prince's abbey, in contrast to the horror and doom outside, and the reader's curiosity is piqued, because such bliss cannot be maintained for long. Throughout the story Poe explicates and changes elaborate environments to build the suspenseful energy and create a strong structure. In "The Masque of the Red Death," setting is employed to organize motives and action, and to focus the reader on the climax. Poe targets the culminating point of his story using rich descriptions of the abbey, the masquerade, and the clock.
Edgar Allen Poe's The Masque of the Red Death is an elaborate allegory that combines
“The Masque of the Red Death.” Short Stories for Students. Ed. Ira Milne. Vol. Detroit: Thomson Gale, 2000. 232-260. Short Stories for Students. Web. 12 Jan. 2010.
Edgar Allan Poe's short stories, "The Telltale Heart" and "The Masque of the Red Death" are two very different stories. One is about a simple man, perhaps a servant, who narrates the tale of how he kills his wealthy benefactor, and the other is about a prince who turns his back on his country while a plague known as The Red Death ravages his lands. Yet, there are some similarities in both. Time, for instance, and the stroke of midnight, seem to always herald the approach of impending death. Both are killers, one by his own hand, the other by neglecting his country. One seeks peace, the other seeks pleasure, but both are motivated by the selfish need to rid themselves of that which haunts them, even at the expense of another's life. However, the point of this critique will show that their meticulous plans to beat that which torments them are undone by a single flaw in their character - overconfidence.
The Masque of the Red Death is a story about a prince named Prince Prospero. Prince Prospero is running away from the so called Red Death. The Red Death is to be disguised as the plague. One night, after several months, the prince threw a ball. This was a celebration, symbolizing that he escaped the Red Death.
Edgar Allan Poe is known for his masterful writing on all aspects of mortality, but his famous short story “The Masque of the Red Death” proves to be more than a simple story about death. While it is about death, Poe’s short story can be read and applied as a cautionary tale whose purpose is to illustrate a worthy way to live and die by portraying the opposite of both. This interpretation comes about when the story is viewed through the lens of New Criticism. This viewpoint shows how the story uses its formal elements converge to create one complex theme. Poe’s short story develops its theme through the use of paradox, tension, irony and ambiguity, all of which come together to identify