Allegory In The Masque Of The Red Death

Allegory is a very common technique found in most, if not all, gothic literature. An allegory is a story in which characters, setting, and actions stand for a deeper concept. Some of the most common and famous allegories feature characters or places whose names directly describe what they symbolize. In “The Masque of the Red Death”, the main character, Prince Prospero, invited an exclusive group of his friends from among the knights and dames of his court to retire with him to the seclusion of one his castellated abbeys. He does this in order to escape the Red Death; a gruesome pestilence causing havoc across the country. Sooner than expected, the characters discover that there is no true means of escaping. Therefore, in the short story “The Masque of the Red Death” by Edgar Allan Poe, Poe effectively uses allegory to further his thematic conclusion that death is inevitable. First, Poe uses allegory in the form of Prince Prospero and the revellers. Next, the seven apartments are used to symbolize the stages of life. In addition, the ebony clock represents the countdown to death. Lastly, the Red Death is used as allegory to symbolize death itself. Conclusively, Poe uses allegory in the short story to remind society that death cannot be avoided. First, Prince Prospero and …show more content…
Throughout the short story, Poe applies allegory in the form of a prince and his revellers, seven suites, an ebony clock, and a fatal pestilence to indicate that there is no escape from death. In general, no one escapes death. Wealth and human happiness, which is represented by Prince Prospero, seek to avoid death, but fail. Prospero and his revellers display ignorance throughout the termination of the epidemic in order to attain bliss. But, they harshly learn that death is inexorable when death itself crashes their