David Cuschieri once said, “The mind is a powerful force. It can enslave us or empower us.It can plunge us into the depths of misery or take us to heights of ecstasy. Learn to use power wisely.” In “The Masque of the Red Death” Prince Prospero chases and attempts to gain power which would drive him to those depths of misery. Power and ultimately Prospero's mind would enslave him and lead to his destruction. In “ The Masque of the Red Death”, Edgar Allan Poe writes about Prospero's drive for power over fate to control his fate, to control his environment, attempt to control an unwelcomed guest, his struggle to control death, and to lead to his ultimate failure to show him escaping from his death is inevitable. Overall, Prince Prospero could
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Prospero threw the masquerade in order to escape death as a whole , which he felt he was doing because of precautions he provided as Poe writes, “ The abbey was amply provisioned. With such precautions the courtiers might bid defiance to contagion.”(Poe, par. 2). Also as Peter Cersowsky states,”Thus he is the true antagonist of the death figure which he fights when it finally has intruded into the abbey(Cersowsky, par.5 )Although the castle was heavily guarded and safe if the contagion is airborne the safety and feeling of being safe would not matter in the end, showing that Prospero was trying to even control the contagion. Prospero could choose to let death or the power of death not bother him but instead he fights it and tries to get rid of it which would intern get rid of his power in the end. As Poe states they were just trying to escape the plague, “ The prince had provided all the appliances of pleasure. There were buffoons, there were improvisatori, there were ballet-dancers, there were musicians, there was Beauty, there was wine. All these and security within. Without was the “Red Death”.”(Poe, par. 2).Also, Dudley supports this idea again when he writes “Prospero and his guests attempt to immure themselves safely within a world of art, but their ball becomes a danse macabre” (Dudley, par. 4). Prospero thought if he had provided all the luxuries of life he and his guests could be safe from the outside …show more content…
Prospero and his guests did not know what the masked figure was as Poe writes, “ And yet all this might have been endured, if not approved, by the mad revellers around. But the mummer had gone so far as to assume the type of the Red Death.” (Poe, par. 9). Also as Martin Roth states,”I am not tempted to identify the ghastly masquerader as anything- the plague, death, life, the Philistine world, etc. - other than an “outside”. (Roth, par. 2). Both of these writers prove that Prospero and his guests did not know what the mummer was because it could have been a multitude of things. Also nobody knew why the mummer was running. As the mummer became more visible to Prospero, he became increasingly angry with the mummer. As the mummer started to
Prospero threw the masquerade in order to escape death as a whole , which he felt he was doing because of precautions he provided as Poe writes, “ The abbey was amply provisioned. With such precautions the courtiers might bid defiance to contagion.”(Poe, par. 2). Also as Peter Cersowsky states,”Thus he is the true antagonist of the death figure which he fights when it finally has intruded into the abbey(Cersowsky, par.5 )Although the castle was heavily guarded and safe if the contagion is airborne the safety and feeling of being safe would not matter in the end, showing that Prospero was trying to even control the contagion. Prospero could choose to let death or the power of death not bother him but instead he fights it and tries to get rid of it which would intern get rid of his power in the end. As Poe states they were just trying to escape the plague, “ The prince had provided all the appliances of pleasure. There were buffoons, there were improvisatori, there were ballet-dancers, there were musicians, there was Beauty, there was wine. All these and security within. Without was the “Red Death”.”(Poe, par. 2).Also, Dudley supports this idea again when he writes “Prospero and his guests attempt to immure themselves safely within a world of art, but their ball becomes a danse macabre” (Dudley, par. 4). Prospero thought if he had provided all the luxuries of life he and his guests could be safe from the outside …show more content…
Prospero and his guests did not know what the masked figure was as Poe writes, “ And yet all this might have been endured, if not approved, by the mad revellers around. But the mummer had gone so far as to assume the type of the Red Death.” (Poe, par. 9). Also as Martin Roth states,”I am not tempted to identify the ghastly masquerader as anything- the plague, death, life, the Philistine world, etc. - other than an “outside”. (Roth, par. 2). Both of these writers prove that Prospero and his guests did not know what the mummer was because it could have been a multitude of things. Also nobody knew why the mummer was running. As the mummer became more visible to Prospero, he became increasingly angry with the mummer. As the mummer started to