Symbolism in “The Masque of the Red Death”
Edgar Allan Poe is An American master of Gothic Horror. Poe is famous for many of his horrific stories, for example “The Masque of the Red Death”. This horrific story is about a disease called the Red Death that plagues the setting of the story killing these victims quickly and gruesomely. The main Character Prospero, the prince, decides he wants to lock his gates to prevent him and his palace from catching this disease. Later, after several months he throws a fancy masquerade ball; as part of the celebration he then decides to decorate all seven of the rooms in his house. Symbol one, the first room was blue meaning birth of life. Which a human being comes into life, seventh room in the house meaning …show more content…
Running the rooms down from East to West. It is very ironic because the sun rises from the east and sets in the west. In the story it states that Prospero follows the mysterious guest through all seven rooms symbolizing the human journey from birth to death. The blue eastern chamber symbolizes the first stage of life, and also the awareness Prospero gains of the Red Death. Poe explains that the seventh room is what guests fear to go in just like humans fearing death. The rooms are arranged in such a way “that vision embraced but little more than one at a time”. The same way that life only provides us with a short glimpse into the …show more content…
The loud ringing of the bells remind the guest of deaths final judgement. Every time the clock rings by the hour is a reminder of time passing by. The clock is death, waiting, watching and reminding the guest that they cannot escape it. The clock is in the seventh room this is also ironic because the seventh room means death; ending of life. Poe writes, "And the life of the ebony clock went out with that of the last of the gay.” It ticks and tocks to count what precious time the guest have left in their lives.
The third Symbolism is the Red Death itself, a disease that kills everyone in this story. The story shows us that you cannot escape death and how Prospero tries to single-handedly take down the Red Death himself only ends in the result of him dying. The obvious outcome. Prospero tries to lock death out of his house only makes it worse, because death enters his house on its own when willing and
Edgar Allan Poe is An American master of Gothic Horror. Poe is famous for many of his horrific stories, for example “The Masque of the Red Death”. This horrific story is about a disease called the Red Death that plagues the setting of the story killing these victims quickly and gruesomely. The main Character Prospero, the prince, decides he wants to lock his gates to prevent him and his palace from catching this disease. Later, after several months he throws a fancy masquerade ball; as part of the celebration he then decides to decorate all seven of the rooms in his house. Symbol one, the first room was blue meaning birth of life. Which a human being comes into life, seventh room in the house meaning …show more content…
Running the rooms down from East to West. It is very ironic because the sun rises from the east and sets in the west. In the story it states that Prospero follows the mysterious guest through all seven rooms symbolizing the human journey from birth to death. The blue eastern chamber symbolizes the first stage of life, and also the awareness Prospero gains of the Red Death. Poe explains that the seventh room is what guests fear to go in just like humans fearing death. The rooms are arranged in such a way “that vision embraced but little more than one at a time”. The same way that life only provides us with a short glimpse into the …show more content…
The loud ringing of the bells remind the guest of deaths final judgement. Every time the clock rings by the hour is a reminder of time passing by. The clock is death, waiting, watching and reminding the guest that they cannot escape it. The clock is in the seventh room this is also ironic because the seventh room means death; ending of life. Poe writes, "And the life of the ebony clock went out with that of the last of the gay.” It ticks and tocks to count what precious time the guest have left in their lives.
The third Symbolism is the Red Death itself, a disease that kills everyone in this story. The story shows us that you cannot escape death and how Prospero tries to single-handedly take down the Red Death himself only ends in the result of him dying. The obvious outcome. Prospero tries to lock death out of his house only makes it worse, because death enters his house on its own when willing and