In the face of death, societal position and temporal affairs are of ill importance, for every soul will face eternal slumber. This, Price Prospero, was oblivious to or in denial of. Prospero, in his final attempt to escape a gruesome fate, sealed himself and his rich counterparts inside of his gaudy castle. There he hosted parties equipped with plentiful food, extravagant costumes, and fantastic music, but as these parties went on, the red death consumed all who resided outside the castle walls. One party, in particular, a masquerade, took place in a stretch of seven, oddly shaped, variously colored rooms by Prospero’s design. The last of the seven was colored black and in it stood a large ebony clock which emitted an eerie chime each hour,
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Symbolism appeared all throughout “Masque of the Red Death”. For example, Prince Prospero’s oddly shaped, vividly colored rooms raise questions in many readers as to what it symbolizes. Zapf says, “ In a Parodistic reversal of the Biblical Act of Creation, the seven differently colored rooms…. are composed in the form of a symbolic teleology of human life…,” (Zapf, par. 7). Zapf deduced that the room’s colors and order were arranged in that way creating a reversed adaption of the seven days of creation. He believes that the first room resembles life or new life and that last room death. In that order, the rooms go from life to death as the Seven Days of Creation went from death to life. The teachers at the Edgar Allan Poe museum describe his techniques by stating, “Poe quickly and effectively foreshadows the gruesome conclusion of the story with a minimum of unnecessary detail,” (“Poe’s Techniques” para. 1). In “Masque of the Red Death” Poe used the clock to foreshadow the end of the story. The ebony clock served as a timer, ticking down until the last of the party goers were dead. Each hourly toll is a presage to the crowd’s imminent …show more content…
In the final line of the story Poe writes, “ And darkness and decay and the Red Death held illimitable dominion over all,” (Para. 14). Despite Prospero’s best efforts, to bypass the Read Death, it was all in vain. The final line of the story brought to light the motif that no one can escape death. No matter how Rich or powerful one is, they are still only human. Adding onto Poe’s point Mucha and Schoenberg elucidated, “Time is one of the prominent themes in “The Masque of the Red Death,” and the clock in the seventh room serves as the most overt symbol of the passing of time and inevitability of death,” (Mucha Schoenberg Par. 3). Mucha and Schoenberg Identify the ebony clock as the most apparent symbol regarding passing time. They believe that it’s hourly tolls emphasize death’s soon arrival. The clock serves as a reminder that there is a power much greater than Prospero and the other nobles and that power will take precedence over
Symbolism appeared all throughout “Masque of the Red Death”. For example, Prince Prospero’s oddly shaped, vividly colored rooms raise questions in many readers as to what it symbolizes. Zapf says, “ In a Parodistic reversal of the Biblical Act of Creation, the seven differently colored rooms…. are composed in the form of a symbolic teleology of human life…,” (Zapf, par. 7). Zapf deduced that the room’s colors and order were arranged in that way creating a reversed adaption of the seven days of creation. He believes that the first room resembles life or new life and that last room death. In that order, the rooms go from life to death as the Seven Days of Creation went from death to life. The teachers at the Edgar Allan Poe museum describe his techniques by stating, “Poe quickly and effectively foreshadows the gruesome conclusion of the story with a minimum of unnecessary detail,” (“Poe’s Techniques” para. 1). In “Masque of the Red Death” Poe used the clock to foreshadow the end of the story. The ebony clock served as a timer, ticking down until the last of the party goers were dead. Each hourly toll is a presage to the crowd’s imminent …show more content…
In the final line of the story Poe writes, “ And darkness and decay and the Red Death held illimitable dominion over all,” (Para. 14). Despite Prospero’s best efforts, to bypass the Read Death, it was all in vain. The final line of the story brought to light the motif that no one can escape death. No matter how Rich or powerful one is, they are still only human. Adding onto Poe’s point Mucha and Schoenberg elucidated, “Time is one of the prominent themes in “The Masque of the Red Death,” and the clock in the seventh room serves as the most overt symbol of the passing of time and inevitability of death,” (Mucha Schoenberg Par. 3). Mucha and Schoenberg Identify the ebony clock as the most apparent symbol regarding passing time. They believe that it’s hourly tolls emphasize death’s soon arrival. The clock serves as a reminder that there is a power much greater than Prospero and the other nobles and that power will take precedence over