Symbolism in The Masque of The Red Death
The Masque of the Red Death is a glaringly nightmarish and symbolic tale of the inevitability of death. By some it is described as “a tragedy in the purest classical sense of the word” ("Explanation of: The Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allan Poe."). Edgar Allen Poe used symbolism to reveal the true nature of the characters and themes of the story. In The Masque of the Red Death, Edgar Allan Poe uses the intense symbolism of the seven chambers to establish the idea that death is inevitable no matter how important one is in society.
Some believe that “red death” was actually tuberculosis because some of the symptoms that Poe used to describe the red death or the same symptoms of tuberculosis. Poe …show more content…
The actual colors of the rooms were great examples of symbolism. Blue stood for heaven and truth, purple for sorrow and suffering, green for nature and hope for eternal life, orange for strength and endurance, white for dark blood, and black for death or grief. The black room had a lot of different symbolism. Inside the black room the was the ebony clock, "Every sense is engaged, as the rooms change color and the monstrous clock counts down the minutes of life left to the characters-and perhaps to the readers"("Explanation of: The Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allan Poe."). The clock seemed to count down the time until people died, because for every time the clock tolled, someone died. "...a 'giant clock of ebony, ' whose choking imposes a stop-start movement on the festive company and whose 'life ' goes out with the last of the company". Here Poe was making a reference to the heart and the watch in "The Tell-Tale Heart"(Roth). The way the Poe used the clock in the black room was very similar to the way in which he used the watch and the heart in his other short story The Tell-Tale Heart.
It was Poe’s use of symbolism that really shaped the story. His use of the symbolism in the seven rooms that Poe established the idea that death is inevitable no matter how important you are in society. The rooms he used symbolized the death of Prince Prospero, his guests, and perhaps Poe himself, or even his readers. For death is inevitable, even for the best of
The Masque of the Red Death is a glaringly nightmarish and symbolic tale of the inevitability of death. By some it is described as “a tragedy in the purest classical sense of the word” ("Explanation of: The Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allan Poe."). Edgar Allen Poe used symbolism to reveal the true nature of the characters and themes of the story. In The Masque of the Red Death, Edgar Allan Poe uses the intense symbolism of the seven chambers to establish the idea that death is inevitable no matter how important one is in society.
Some believe that “red death” was actually tuberculosis because some of the symptoms that Poe used to describe the red death or the same symptoms of tuberculosis. Poe …show more content…
The actual colors of the rooms were great examples of symbolism. Blue stood for heaven and truth, purple for sorrow and suffering, green for nature and hope for eternal life, orange for strength and endurance, white for dark blood, and black for death or grief. The black room had a lot of different symbolism. Inside the black room the was the ebony clock, "Every sense is engaged, as the rooms change color and the monstrous clock counts down the minutes of life left to the characters-and perhaps to the readers"("Explanation of: The Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allan Poe."). The clock seemed to count down the time until people died, because for every time the clock tolled, someone died. "...a 'giant clock of ebony, ' whose choking imposes a stop-start movement on the festive company and whose 'life ' goes out with the last of the company". Here Poe was making a reference to the heart and the watch in "The Tell-Tale Heart"(Roth). The way the Poe used the clock in the black room was very similar to the way in which he used the watch and the heart in his other short story The Tell-Tale Heart.
It was Poe’s use of symbolism that really shaped the story. His use of the symbolism in the seven rooms that Poe established the idea that death is inevitable no matter how important you are in society. The rooms he used symbolized the death of Prince Prospero, his guests, and perhaps Poe himself, or even his readers. For death is inevitable, even for the best of