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Understanding the Symbolism of The Masque of the Red Death Edgar Allan Poe s story The Mask of the Red Death, is a complicated and upsetting story that shows a factual side of human denial. The story contains vast and extensive descriptions in telling the story of Prospero s masquerade, held in his secluded and bizarre castle. This tale has great symbolic content, representing the period of the Black Death or the bubonic plague of the Middle Ages, as well as the cholera epidemics that ravaged Philadelphia and Baltimore s in the 1790 s, when Poe still lived. (poe decoder). The story uses Prospero, people, location, lighting, colors, numbers, and a clock, as symbols that represent the period of the reign of the Red Death.
These symbols are used to depict the theme of the story, Human Happiness seeks to wall out the threat of death, (poe decoder). However there is no escaping death. Prince Prospero s name is a representation of happiness, good fortune, or prosperity. Prospero is a depiction of the wealthy society, turning away from the less fortunate and ill, dying civilization.
The prince has created a Magallon 3 world of his own predilection, with masked figures that reflect his own guiding taste. (poe decoder). Prospero s surroundings and followers were so much made from his own imagination, that Poe often refers to them as a multitude of dreams. That is how the wealthy society would turn away from the misery surrounding them, shutting themselves away in a world of prosperity but of lies and fantasy. The story takes place in seven strangely, arranged and linked rooms. The number seven is significant for it reminds the reader of past history of how the world was thought to consist of seven stages. An individual s life has seven stages.
The ancient world had seven wonders. There are seven deadly sins. Therefore the allegorical, meaning of the seven rooms would be the seven stages of life, through which Prospero pursues the mask of the red death ending in the seventh room when he dies. The tripod of fire that lights the apartments, instead chandeliers or lamps, demonstrates how death would soon dim the Prospero s palace. Fire only burns for a temporary period of time just as how life is also temporary. The rooms were illuminated from east to west, reminding us of the impression of the sun rising in the east and setting in the west.
In that Magallon 4 direction is how the rooms would also grow dim, signifying how darkness is in some way related to death. Color has always been used as different symbols or archetypes through endless stories. The seven rooms were each represented by different colors, perhaps each showing an image of the different moods or happenings of an individual s life. However it is hard to explain each and every color for many colors can have different meanings or denotations.
Perhaps the easiest color to describe is the one of the seventh room. The seventh room is where the lighting does not correspond and it is of a scarlet, deep blood red color. Poe links the colors red and black to death and time. (poe decoder) In this room is where the death of Prospero occurs. The gigantic clock of ebony is another symbol of immense importance in the story. It s pendulum swung to and fro with a dull, heavy, monotonous clang; and when the minute hand made the circuit, it was observed that the giddiest turned pale, and the more aged and sedate passed their hands over their brows as if in confused reverie or meditation. The ebony clock is a reminder to Prince Prospero and his guests of and their Magallon 5 remaining time before death.
And consequently when the red masque brings death with him, was with the last twelve clangs of the clock. The story ends showing the unsuccessful attempts of Prince Prospero, of avoiding the epidemic, because death will eventually and in time conquer all whom oppose. His ultimate enemy was his refusal of accepting death as it comes. Poe is successful in illustrating the significance of language and symbolism to envision death. The Masque of the Red Death s mastery of this helped bring the story to life and Prospero s Masquerade.
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Research essay sample on Masque Of The Red Death Prince Prospero
