depict an atmosphere characterized by a sense of

inevitability of death and one of somber morbidity. He used

the castle, clock of ebony, and the masked figure’s chasing

of the prince to express the atmosphere in a detailed

The castle provided a place for the story to unfold.

It allowed the reader to interpret a sense of entrapment

that carried into the plot. As the prince secured the

castle, in an attempt to avert the plague of the Red Death,

he was also eliminating any means of escape once the disease

infiltrated the area. The prince’s solution to averting

death was to seclude himself with his royal friends and

celebrate with all of the amenities of being wealthy. “There

were buffoons, there were improvisatori, there were ballet

dancers, there were musicians, there was Beauty, there was

wine.” However, in his naive attempts to lock himself in,

the prince was allowing the deaths of those outside of his

realm and locking himself out of the outside world at the

same time. Therefore, as Prince Prospero put up the “gates

of iron” and “welded the bolts,” he became a pr

awaiting the stroke of midnight, their final hour. When the

it is personified into the form of a man. This

reflecting light into the rooms in strange designs.

delineate the mood. The only light in the rooms was

Some topics in this essay:
Prince Prospero, Red Death, Red Death”, red death, , stages life, red death”, birth death, figure red death, prince prospero, outside world, figure red, clock ebony, masked figure, black velvet,