Symbolism In The Masque Of Red Death

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Disease can destroy everything and everyone. In, “The Masque of Red Death” written by Edgar Allen Poe in 1842, a prince attempts to escape the “Red Death” by gathering a thousand people or “friends” with the best characteristics that are are also free from disease. The author uses three main types of symbolism to support the “macabre” tone that is in the story. Poe writes about how the prince uses colored rooms to divide people, a grandfather clock, and an uninvited guest. The main use of symbolism in this piece of writing is when Poe describes how Prince Prospero uses color-coordinated stained glass rooms to create tunnel vision for all of his “friends”. The sections of the abbey are divided up into seven colors of stained glass. These seven colors represented the seven-deadly sins. Blue being the first, it represents the sin of lust. Second, purple and it stands for “sloth” also know …show more content…
When describing the black and velvet corridor, Poe uses this description, “In this chamber only the color of the windows faded to correspond with the decorations. The panes here were scarlet-- a ‘deep blood’ color”(2). The reason behind the collection of people with the best talents is so they can entertain the prince while being kept safe and quarantined from the pandemic. The gated and secure abbey symbolizes that death is inevitable so why not extend the time in between and enjoy it. The second contribution to the grotesque atmosphere that is the gated abbey, is the grandfather clock located against the farthest western wall inside of the black and velvet apartment. The clock was implemented in the story to symbolize that death is inevitable and no one is going to survive the “Red Death”. Poe uses this language to put in perspective what it was like to live within the fortified abbey, “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 as if in confused reverie or
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