Allegory In The Masque Of The Red Death Analysis

Proving Allegory in “The Masque of the Red Death” “The Masque of the Red Death” is an allegory written by Edgar Allan Poe. Poe was an American writer who wrote short stories about mysteries and horror. This allegory is about a plague called “The Red Death” spreading throughout a city. A noble prince invites all of the city’s wealthiest people into his secure abbey to save them from the plague. In this abbey all of the guests are protected from getting sick until one evening when the giant clock struck midnight at the prince’s masquerade ball. At the ball a figure appears and it was wearing a mask that looked like a “stiffened corpse”. The prince furiously ran through the seven rooms of the abbey after the intruder. Once the prince had stopped …show more content…
This symbol conveys the moral of the allegory because it shows that everyone has a certain time to live and they can not escape death. In the story, every time the clock strikes a different hour the guests would stand still and be silent. The guests would continue with their everyday duties once the ringing of the clock stopped. Each stroking of the clock reminded the guest that they have one less hour to live (Milne 238). Edgar Allan Poe says, “ the giddiest grew pale, and the more aged and sedate passed their hands over their brows as if in confused revery or meditation” (Poe #). This quote from the allegory supports the moral that death will affect everyone no matter who you are. At the prince’s masquerade ball all of the guests were dancing until the clock struck twelve. Like always the guests stood still and they were silent for all twelve rings of the clock. At this time the masked figure appeared and all of the guests began to whisper about this mysterious person. The prince began to chase this intruder until he tried to stab kill the masked figure and was killed. Midnight symbolizes death, so that is why the prince dies at this time. Therefore, the time on the clock represents the time left in a human beings …show more content…
The seven rooms represented the journey through a man’s life and that it doesn’t matter if you are wealthy or poor everyone will always face death. The clock located in the last room of the abbey signifies the time left in a man’s life and that everyone’s life is on a timed schedule that ends in death. The masked figure symbolizes The Red Death itself and that no matter what man does to protect themselves from death it will always come for them. Edgar Allan Poe uses all of these symbols to show that all human beings will eventually have to face their death and there is nothing they can do about