(855) 4-ESSAYS

Type a new keyword(s) and press Enter to search

Fear and Death in Masque of the Red Death

            In, 'The Masque of the Red Death' by Edgar Allen Poe, the short story embodies the fear of inevitable death in a story about Prince Prospero's party being crashed by The Red Death and eventually every single person dies. The short story about an extravagant party hosted by a prince and regardless of the Bubonic Plague that is ravaging the population he still throws his party. Poe's allegory is that no matter how extravagant the party is, no matter how protected the castle may be, and no matter how rich the people are, death will eventually kill everyone and that no one is safe. Poe enforces this idea by using the plague, the 7 rooms & clock, and the masqued Red Death itself. .
             The story starts by describing in detail the symptoms and outcome of The Red Death. Poe writes about the helplessness of the disease and how the outcome will always be death without the aid and sympathy of his fellow man. Poe connotes the Black Plague in this short poem in being death itself. This is backed later in the story when every single party goer eventually dies starting with Prince Prospero. Similar to the reality of death, not everyone may die at the same time but eventually it will catch up to you no matter how rich or how poor. Poe doesn't just use disease to show how death can reach you, time is used in the short poem as well with the clock and seven rooms. The clock is described to be always ticking by. No matter how bad you want time to stop/go backwards or continue/go faster time regardless of your will will indefinitely go it's set pace. At the end of the story the clock does eventually "die" when the last party goer dies but that's not to say time itself stopped. It can be inferred that the perception of time dies when you die because when you die no matter how much time has passed you're still dead and will continue to be dead forever. The seven rooms in the story are harder to interpret as time but if you look hard enough it can be found.


Essays Related to Fear and Death in Masque of the Red Death

1. The Masque of the Red Death: Gothic Literature

In the Masque of the Red Death, there are many elements reflecting the gothic literary parts of its nature. ... Death comes and takes him; he joins all those who the Red Death claimed earlier. ... While the Prince was partying and having a superb time, a large amount of people were dying from the Red Death. ... The black room and the Red Death claim every last soul. ... Everything in the room was black and dark, the red light through the window created an inapt sense of the Red Death outside and the room and the clock in the room instilled fear in all the Prince's guests. ...

  • Word Count: 461
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: High School

2. Poe's Masque Of The Red Death

Poe used the setting of "The Masque of the Red Death" to depict an atmosphere characterized by a sense of inevitability of death and one of somber morbidity. ... When the Red Death arrived, the people heard the chime for the last time. ... The masked figure of the Red Death silently crept toward Prince Prospero, untouched by the others being that they had an innate fear of it. ... Here he attempted to overcome the Red Death and prevent his own downfall, but as death was inevitable, the prince was unsuccessful. ... The figure of the Red Death, with "blood [as] its Avatar," present...

  • Word Count: 796
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

3. Edgar Allan and his writings

Critique of "The Masque of the Red Death" Edgar Allan Poe created some of the most terrifying written works of all time, including The Masque of the Red Death. ... The Masque of the Red Death proves that a skilled writer can very effectively create a sense of fear in a reader. ... In The Masque of the Red Death, Poe uses diction, detail, and imagery to create a tone of horror. ... Diction is only one method Poe uses to create the feeling of hate and fear in The Masque of the Red Death. ... Poe masterfully describes the terrifying, inescapable death in The Masque of the Red Death. ...

  • Word Count: 749
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

4. Summary of The Mask of the Red Death

The Masque of the Red Death Prince Prospero and his followers retreat to his palace to have a huge party in honor of life. ... The panes of the black velvet room were of a deep blood red color. A person dressed as death disrupted the party. ... They know that death is closer every time the clock strikes, so when they hear the chime they get a chill of fear because they don't want to die. ... For example, Poe never says red, it is always blood-red, so you can see that it is a very deep and dark red that he is talking about, not just a plain red. ...

  • Word Count: 747
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

5. Edgar Allen Poe: The Masque Essay

The Masque Essay: No Clever Title Intended ASO CI: In Edgar Allan Poe's "The Masque of the Red Death- the setting creates a threatening atmosphere. ... In Edgar Allan Poe's "The Masque of the Red Death- the setting creates a threatening atmosphere. ... The pall of the now inevitable masquers' deaths is the basis from which the other elements of the abbey can produce a more foreboding atmosphere. ... The Red Death is, as its name suggests, signified by profuse bleeding. ... None of the revelers venture into the chamber out of instinctual fear. ...

  • Word Count: 1154
  • Approx Pages: 5
  • Grade Level: High School

6. Edgar allen poe

All of the literary elements in The Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allan Poe contribute to the mood of horror. ... The connotations Poe uses of these words are what makes you feel fear. ... This also instills the mood of fear. ... The conflict of The Masque of the Red Death is a prince and his friends are trying to keep themselves from Red Death. ... All of the literary elements in The Masque of the Red Death contribute to the mood of horror. ...

  • Word Count: 647
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

7. Man's Eventual Appointment with Death in Poe's

In "The Masque of the Red Death," Poe uses symbolism through the colors of the rooms, the clock that counts down time, and the characters at the ball in order to discuss man's eventual appointment with death. ... Everyone knew that the clock was counting down time until death and they feared every obnoxious ring that occurred. ... The "masked figure" which is also known as the "Red Death" is the one of the most important characters in the story. ... All fear this form and hope that they aren't who he's looking for. ... Concluding, all the items discussed above play an impo...

  • Word Count: 823
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

8. Romantic Literature

Also, in the story, " The Masque of the Red Death", the title in its self is a form of the past that is renamed. Poe got his inspiration from the Black Death, a plague which killed millions of Europeans. ... In "The Fall of the House of Usher," Poe states, " and in her violent and now final death agonies, bore him to the floor a corpse, and a victim to the terrors he had anticipated" (The Fall of the House of Usher" 172). ... In addition to this, in -Masque of the Red Death," Poe has everyone in the town so afraid of dying that the fear actually causes them to die. ...

  • Word Count: 388
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: High School

9. Romanticism

Also, in the story, " The Masque of the Red Death", the title in its self is a form of the past that is renamed. Poe got his inspiration from the Black Death, a plague which killed millions of Europeans. ... In "The Fall of the House of Usher," Poe states, " and in her violent and now final death agonies, bore him to the floor a corpse, and a victim to the terrors he had anticipated" (The Fall of the House of Usher" 172). ... In addition to this, in -Masque of the Red Death," Poe has everyone in the town so afraid of dying that the fear actually causes them to die. ...

  • Word Count: 416
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: High School

Got a writing question? Ask our professional writer!
Submit My Question