The Use Of Figurative Language In The Masque Of The Red Death

The Masque of the Red Death was very serious from the beginning to end. The story never pulled away from the sense of a looming threat. Poe did not waste anytime, he cut straight to the point and set the tone right away. The tone relates to people language and the specific words that he uses to create illusion and imagery. Poe uses different times of words to define his language which is called Old English today. Poe sentences are also short and they are practically identical in the simple structure. Poe is a very different writer than most writers today, he has a unique way about his language. Poe language is serious, he cuts straight to the point in the beginning of the story. For example, “ The “Red Death” had long devastated the country.

Poe also uses figurative language. Poe word choice just adds to the feeling of how composed and how well put together his writing is. Poe like to pull good objectives and good word choices , to put into detail, “ Its pendulum swung to and fro with a dull, heavy, monotonous clang; and when the minute-hand made the circuit of the face, and the hour was to be stricken, there came from the brazen lungs of the clock a sound which was clear and loud and deep and exceedingly musical, but of so peculiar a note and emphasis that, at each lapse of an hour, the musicians of the orchestra were constrained to pause, momentarily, in their performance, to hearken to the sound; and thus the waltzers perforce ceased their evolutions; and there was a brief disconcert of the whole gay company; and, while the chimes of the clock yet rang, it was observed that the giddiest grew pale, and the more aged and sedate passed their hands over their brows as if in confused revery or meditation’ (5). In this quote Poe loves using lots of descriptive words, even if the sentence is short , to describe the pendulum swing for example, one adjective is not enough, Poe uses three, “dull, heavy and monotonous