Essay on Symbolism in The Masque of the Red Death

Edgar Allen Poe, in the short story â€Å"The Masque of the Red Death†, shows how people may try to outsmart death and surpass it, but in the end they will die since death is inevitable. He reveals this in the book by showing all the people closed up in the abbey that belongs to Prince Prospero. They are trying to escape the â€Å"Red Death† and think that they can escape the death by hiding away in the abbey. They manage to stay safe for six months but in the end they all die after the stroke of midnight during the masquerade ball Prince Prospero puts on from the Red Death itself which appears after midnight and leaves no survivors in the end. Poe develops the theme of how no one can escape death through the use of the point of view, the setting,†¦show more content†¦He also took the precautions to not allow anything through the windows not even light so he uses â€Å"the fires [to] create the illusion of daylight† to come through each of the colored gl ass window panes (Dudley). The colored rooms are also a big part of the setting as well as being a form of symbolism also. He goes into great detail of all seven of the colored rooms. The rooms started in the east with the blue room and concluded in the west with the black room. All of the rooms had matching wall and windows except the one that is farthest west which is the black room with the blood red window that houses the clock that could be heard through the entire abbey. The colors of the rooms are symbolic in many ways. They can be taken as a biblical symbol that Hubert Zapf shows in his article which states, â€Å"†¦ of human life which leads from the color blue to the color black, from light to darkness, from creation to destruction.†, which can then be used to compare to the way the path goes when Prospero is trying to catch the masked figure and his destruction of Prospero takes place in the black room with the red window (Zapf). The rooms also canShow MoreRelatedSymbolism In The Masque Of The Red Death708 Words   |  3 PagesDeath is something everyone frets on a daily basis. Edgar Allan Poe stresses how death is an unavoidable reality in his short story â€Å"The Masque of the Red Death†. Prince Prospero, a lying, cowardly, untrustworthy leader pretends to be helping his town as people are suddenly dying off from the Red Death, when he is actually just protecting himself and leaving his town helpless. This story is shown through the use of many symbols and events. Ultimately Poe utilizes symbolism in order to convey theRead MoreSymbolism In The Masque Of The Red Death766 Words   |  4 PagesThe Masque of the Red Death Poe often gives memory the power to keep the dead alive. Which in the short story Poe distorts the aspect of death. By creating a memory as the trigger that reawakens death Poe reveals the theme of the story; that no matter the persons social class death comes for us all. In Edgar Allan Poe’s short story â€Å"The Masque of the Red Death† he uses literary elements such as allusion, symbolism, and allegory to convey that death is inevitable. In the short story, Poe usesRead MoreSymbolism in the Masque of the Red Death Essay802 Words   |  4 PagesArrogance Kills Edgar Allen Poes The Masque of the Red Death is a typical dark Poe story, but it contains some unique themes and symbolism. In the story a disease known as the Red Death is ravaging the fictional place where the story is set, and it causes its victims to die quickly and painfully. Even though this disease is spreading rampantly, the prince, Prospero, does not care. He decides to lock the gates of his palace in order to keep away from the plague, ignoring the illness that is ravagingRead MoreEssay on The Masque of the Red Death: Symbolism1419 Words   |  6 Pagesusing illusion or misdirection keeps the reader is suspense throughout this story called The Masque of the Red Death. Symbolism such as the colored rooms, the impressive clock, the feeling of celebration being at a party all makes this story feel like a fairytale. Poe used this fairytale style and converts it into a nightmare in disguise. 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 horrorsRead MoreEssay on Symbolism in The Masque of the Red Death520 Words   |  3 PagesSymbolism in The Masque of the Red Death Poe uses heavy symbolism throughout the story to convey his underlying theme: the inevitability of death and the futility of trying to escape death. The princes name, Prospero, generally denotes happiness and prosperity. The Prince possesses these characteristics yet is faced with a plague that he desperately attempting to avoid. This oxymoron is used to hint that this man of exuberance will soon be faced with tragedy. The fires in eachRead MoreThe Masque Of The Red Death Symbolism Analysis954 Words   |  4 PagesDarkness of Symbolism Gothic literature often has a common theme of fear and/or death. Author Edgar Allan Poe is the most well known gothic writer because of his famous dark and frightening short stories such as â€Å"The Masque of the Red Death.† Poe is so popular because of his ability to write stories that leave lasting effects on all readers. In this story, he uses many small symbols that then relate to the major symbols, such as Prince Prospero, his name represents his prosperous lifestyle. TheRead MoreMasque Of The Red Death Symbolism Essay700 Words   |  3 PagesThe Black Death, also known as The Red Death, killed over sixty percent of Europe’s population. â€Å"The Masque of the Red Death†, written by Edgar Allan Poe, is about wealth and privilege, where the prince hides from the Red Death with his revelers. Poe uses symbols such as setting, objects, along with characters to reveal an allegorical theme. Thus being the theme, everyone will perish, even the wealthy and privil eged. Each apartment in the abbey is a symbol that supports the theme. The apartmentsRead MoreSymbolism in the Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allen Poe1655 Words   |  7 PagesSymbolism in The Masque of the Red Death The Masque of the Red Death is a short story written by acclaimed literary author, Edgar Allen Poe. The story is an emphasis on the fact that there is no avoiding death, no matter how hard you try, which is the overall theme. The text tells the story of Prince Prospero whose town is being plagued by the dreaded Red Death. He attempts to avoid the plague by inviting 1,000 of his closest friends, all of which are variably different, to isolate themselvesRead MoreSymbolism and in Edgar Allan Poes the Masque of the Red Death915 Words   |  4 PagesMichael Reyes Symbolism and in Edgar Allan Poes the Masque of the Red Death Thesis: Poe uses symbolism to unfold this gripping tale of terror. â€Å"The Masque of the Red Death† is an allegory. It features a set of recognizable symbols whose meanings combine to convey a message. An allegory always operates on two levels of meaning: the literal elements of the plot (the colors of the rooms, for example) and their symbolic counterparts, which often involve large philosophical concepts (such as lifeRead MoreSymbolism In Edgar Allan Poes The Masque Of The Red Death1028 Words   |  5 Pagesis infinite, but unfortunately for human beings, they face times rath. Eventually, every living being or organism faces death, you cant escape it or run away from it, death is always around the corner. In â€Å"The Masque of the Red Death† Edgar Allan Poe demonstrates this when the noble class and Prince Prospero tried to run away from the gruesome and infectious disease. Symbolism in the story is significant because it gives the reader more insight on how the a uthor feels towards something and gives