Symbolism In The Masque Of The Red Death

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The Masque of the Red Death
Why is it that everyone fears death but knows that as an individual will have to face death itself sooner or later in our lifetime? Death is inescapable, but yet as a human being everyone contains its time. People choose to eat healthy so they maintain a healthy diet, people don't take risks; containing deaths time. In the “Masque of the Red Death” Edgar Allan Poe uses the symbolic meaning behind the seven chambers to reveal the idea that death itself is inescapable no matter how much we try to contain it’s time.
In “Masque of the Red Death” a plaque known as the Red Death made its way through a fictional country in which the story takes place. The king himself, Prospero, throws a masquerade ball with only wealthy knights and ladies to keep the spirits of the people up. While at the masquerade a strange guest appears and all of the party guests avoid he/it thus avoiding death. Prospero confronts the guest and dies instantly of the Red Death.
The seven chambers in “Masque of a Red Death” all hold a symbolic meaning behind the colors. The rooms continue westward, according to this design, in the following color arrangement: blue, purple, green, orange, white and violet. “The seventh chamber was closely shrouded in black velvet tapestries that hung all over over the …show more content…
Prospero throws a masquerade ball, however, unwittingly positions him as a caged animal, with no possible escape (Poe). Prospero’s arrogant belief that he can use his wealth to fend off the natural, tragic progress of life leaves him to take the power he has to his head. He turns his wealth into a model of self-defense and decadent self-indulgence. Prospero ignores that here is a deathly plague in the country in which him and many other wealthy people live, and chooses to ignore

Symbolism In The Masque Of The Red Death

some friends from dissolution? This is the inquiry that sums up and provokes the reader on through the whole story of The Masque of the Red Death. In The Masque of the Red Death, Edgar Allen Poe develops the theme that death is inevitable no matter your wealth or power through symbolism, characterization, and plot. The best place to start is with the multiple examples of symbolism used. The rooms lining a hallway were explained such “That at the eastern extremity was hung, for example, in blue-and vividly…

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Symbolism In The Masque Of Red Death

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…

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Symbolism In The Masque Of The Red Death

they’ll die, just as the red death. Poe describes the red death as the poison depicting death for all those around it. During the 1800's, the red death was infecting everyone in New England. Once the red death had infected someone, it would eventually kill them; but the worst part is that they didn't know when they were going to die. Poe uses diction and imagery to explain how the clock symbolizes death. In “The Masque of the Red Death”, Edgar Allan Poe uses the symbolism of the abbey clock to establish…

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Symbolism In The Masque Of The Red Death

emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat. In the story “Masque of the Red Death” by Edgar Allen Poe, that's precisely what a majority of Europe's population was experiencing. However, the main characters actions played a major role in his own downfall. The hidden message in Poe’s allegory is throughout all stages of life, death is inevitable, and if you ignore the sins you have created it only adds to the collapse of our lives. The main character…

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Symbolism In The Masque Of The Red Death

Death and Prosperity: An Analysis of “The Masque of the Red Death” Have you ever had a near death experience? The masque of the red death written by Edgar Allen Poe is realistic fiction and has the main theme of. “One cannot escape death” when a town is affected by a disease and instead of helping his town the prince hides him self and his friends from the red death but he does not know that death is amongst them. The first literary element that Poe uses to show theme “One cannot escape death”…

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The Masque Of The Red Death Symbolism Essay

Death can come in many different forms or at any time, one can try to escape it, but death will always catch up. In the Masque of the Red Death, by Edgar Allan Poe, Prince Prospero and the partygoers tried to run and hide from the disease that would kill them. They tried barricading themselves in, but a dark, mysterious figure slips through. The figure ends up to being the characters undoing. Poe wrote a dark, compelling story containing symbolism, theme, and irony. Symbolism is used to support…

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The Masque Of The Red Death Symbolism

The black room in the story, “The Masque of the Red Death”, symbolizes death because of the clock, and the black and red colors in the room. To begin, the clock in the black room symbolizes death because it tells the people how much time they have left. The clock proves that time is running out and that the people in the room are approaching their death. For example, in the book, those in the black room freeze of terror each hour the clock hits. Each time the hour hits, it reminds them that time…

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Symbolism In The Masque Of The Red Death

The Masque of the Red Death is an allegory explaining how being selfish when you have the money to help people in need, and overlooking the fact that you —as any other man or woman is— mortal will most definitely lead to misfortune and death. Poe uses the colored rooms as symbols for travelling through seven stages of Life, thus ultimately ending in death. Prince Prospero walked through all of the rooms before he died, just as a man grows up and dies, only the prince did it in a matter of seconds…

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Symbolism In The Masque Of The Red Death

In “The Mask of the Red Death” I liked how Poe used different symbolism. I like that the symbolism had to do something with the plague, such as the red curtains in the black room to symbolise the blood that comes along with the plague. Another example of the plague would be the uninvited guest, it symbolised how the disease had gotten into the castle and was spreading around. Poe is not clear in his writing about what the seven rooms really represent, but no one in the castle was allowed to go into…

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Symbolism In The Masque Of Red Death

The Masque of Red Death is an allegory that explains how you will die no matter what. First, Prince Prospero is a symbol for greed or selfishness. In the story, the Prince only brings his friends for security and leaves the rest of his kingdom to die. “When his dominions were half depopulated, he summoned to his presence a thousand hale and light-hearted friends from among the knights and dames of his court.”(pg. 51) Second, is the clock. It is a symbol because to shows how much longer they have…

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