Edgar Allan Poe was one of America 's greatest writers. He is considered the father of horror. Poe wrote many intriguing poems and short stories throughout his life. Most of Poe’s stories are allegories and contain many symbols. An allegory is a narrative in which characters and settings stand for abstract ideas or moral qualities. A symbol is a person, place, or event that stands for itself and for something beyond itself. One of Poe 's most famous short stories is “The Masque of the Red Death.” Today the symbolism and meaning of it are still passionately debated among scholars and critics. The true meaning of “The Masque of the Red Death” can be found in the many symbols used by Poe in this ingenious work. Poe uses allegory and symbolism to represent the inevitability of death.
Poe uses symbolism in the names he uses in his story. In the beginning of the story Poe introduces a deadly disease known as the “Red Death”. “The ‘Red Death’ had long devastated the country. No pestilence had ever been so fatal, or so hideous. The scarlet stains upon the body and especially upon the face of the victim were the pest ban which shut him out from the aid and from the sympathy of his fellow-men” (420). The “Red Death” has symptoms very similar to those of tuberculosis, a sickness that caused the victim to cough blood and killed many of those dear to Poe. People who had ingested tuberculosis were often barricaded inside their own houses where they could not have contact with the outside world. Another symbolic name is Prince Prospero, which is the tragic figure in this story. The word “Prospero” in Italian and Spanish means prospering or to prosper. He represents the wealthy, upper class citizens. This is very ironic because Prospero dies a tragic death at the end. In the story Prospero tries to escape death by shutting himself up in his castle. Despite his efforts to escape it, the “Red Death” still manages to kill him. Poe uses Prospero’s death to prove that death does not discriminate between the poor and the wealthy. Symbolism was also used in the setting of “The Masque of the Red Death.” The rooms of the abbey are symbolic. …show more content…
Each of the rooms has a stained glass window of a different color. “These windows were of stained glass whose color varied in accordance with the prevailing hue of the decorations of the chamber into which it opened. That at the eastern extremity was hung, for example, in blue --and vividly blue were its windows” (421). When addressed together the colors could represent a prism and therefore could represent a set of stages, which supports the interpretation that the story is an allegory for life. Some may reject this interpretation due to the fact that the colors of the rooms do not occur in the same order as they do in a prism. This could be Poe’s attempt at associating particular colors with a specific stage of life. While all the colors mentioned in the story all have a meaning behind them; red has a much deeper interpretation. Red is the color of the seventh and final room. It symbolizes death and blood. Poe alludes to its meaning in this quote, “But in the western or black chamber the effect of the fire-light that streamed upon the dark hangings through the
Poe uses symbolism in the names he uses in his story. In the beginning of the story Poe introduces a deadly disease known as the “Red Death”. “The ‘Red Death’ had long devastated the country. No pestilence had ever been so fatal, or so hideous. The scarlet stains upon the body and especially upon the face of the victim were the pest ban which shut him out from the aid and from the sympathy of his fellow-men” (420). The “Red Death” has symptoms very similar to those of tuberculosis, a sickness that caused the victim to cough blood and killed many of those dear to Poe. People who had ingested tuberculosis were often barricaded inside their own houses where they could not have contact with the outside world. Another symbolic name is Prince Prospero, which is the tragic figure in this story. The word “Prospero” in Italian and Spanish means prospering or to prosper. He represents the wealthy, upper class citizens. This is very ironic because Prospero dies a tragic death at the end. In the story Prospero tries to escape death by shutting himself up in his castle. Despite his efforts to escape it, the “Red Death” still manages to kill him. Poe uses Prospero’s death to prove that death does not discriminate between the poor and the wealthy. Symbolism was also used in the setting of “The Masque of the Red Death.” The rooms of the abbey are symbolic. …show more content…
Each of the rooms has a stained glass window of a different color. “These windows were of stained glass whose color varied in accordance with the prevailing hue of the decorations of the chamber into which it opened. That at the eastern extremity was hung, for example, in blue --and vividly blue were its windows” (421). When addressed together the colors could represent a prism and therefore could represent a set of stages, which supports the interpretation that the story is an allegory for life. Some may reject this interpretation due to the fact that the colors of the rooms do not occur in the same order as they do in a prism. This could be Poe’s attempt at associating particular colors with a specific stage of life. While all the colors mentioned in the story all have a meaning behind them; red has a much deeper interpretation. Red is the color of the seventh and final room. It symbolizes death and blood. Poe alludes to its meaning in this quote, “But in the western or black chamber the effect of the fire-light that streamed upon the dark hangings through the