Symbolism In The Masque Of The Red Death

In many stories, authors use symbolism, which is using symbols to represent something, to show a moral. “The Masque of the Red Death,” is a fictionalized story about a deadly disease that pervades through a country, killing many people. A young prince, in an effort to save himself and his elite friends and family, he withholds them all in his grand castle. The castle is unique in that it has seven very distinct rooms, that all seem to represent something important. In the short story “The Masque of the Red Death” by Edgar Allan Poe, the seven colored chambers symbolize the cycle of human life, from birth to death.

In “The Masque of the Red Death,” the location of the rooms represents the cycle of life and death, with the bright blue room all the way to the east, where the sun rises and the day begins, and the black, morbid room all the way to the west, where the sun sets and the day ends. The reader comes to understand that the most eastern room represents the beginning of life, while the most western room

Poe continues to describe the blue room, noting how clear and bright the color is, saying,“...vividly blue were its windows,” (4). This description has a very positive impact on the readers, as they associate the color of the room with positive feelings of a new beginning. On the other hand, Poe depicts the black room as having a very morbid and gruesome feeling to it, as he says, “The panes here were scarlet—a deep blood color,” (4). This depiction has a negative connotation, as people connect the colors of black and deep red with blood and death. Poe characterizes the blue and black rooms very differently, with the blue room having a positive connotation and the black room having a negative connotation. This distinct difference in the rooms and their colors contributes to the overall symbolism of life and