The Masque of the Red Death

Abstract

“The Masque of the Red Death" is basically a story on the subject of the human longing to escape from death and the eventual pointlessness of such escaping. Thus, in this reaction paper, we will respond to the different aspects of this story and throw light on major theme of this extraordinary literary work by Edgar Allen Poe.

The Masque of the Red Death

Introduction

Edgar Allen Poe's “The Masque of the Red Death” conveys a single most important message which is that nobody can run away from illness and death. This point is emphasized by the overall ominous and dark tone that is presented all through the work. The author's choice of words is also very horrific and dark, which also allows the reader take in the underlying message of the story. With respect to the symbols, the huge ebony clock symbolizes the passage of time and the reverberation or sound it makes when it strikes causes the festivity to stop and turn into nervous. By means of the ebony clock, the author matches up the contraries of the macabre with a magnificent party. Another noteworthy symbol used in the story is the mask which is worn by everyone going to the party, which informs the reader that the people are attempting to build a barrier and conceal from the Red Death (Poe, 1944). One more symbol is the colors that all rooms in the abbey symbolize. They can be view as the 7 sacraments in the Catholic belief or yet as different types of personalities, for instance green could be jealousy. In my opinion, “The Masque of the Red Death” is a very intriguing piece of work. The imagery used by Poe is very vibrant and colorful, particularly when the rooms and masquerade are being portrayed in detail, in spite of the work being so foreboding and dark. As per my viewpoint, this story is very successful in conveying its message across, in particular with Poe's aptitude to use the finest words to build a dark mood with the intention that the plot shifts to an even speed, even if the story is not very long. I found this story to be very pleasant in the sense of how the proceedings outspread and the major plot was gradually revealed. This anxious or angst feeling is stimulating to feel when it originates from a story and not from proceedings that could be taking place in real life.

Discussion

The name of Prince Prospero recalls both the word for affluence and the magician in Shakespeare's "The Tempest" whose dukedom was taken over, and he makes use of his wealth to renounce his rule over his kingdom and to run away from death by closing up himself with a number of his noblemen. Therefore, Poe demonstrates him nearly immediately to be lethally imperfect, as he stays happy and free from care in spite of the decimation of his monarchy, showing a basic cut off between his sentiments and the needs and requirements ...