Poem Analysis: The Red Room

Words: 536
Pages: 3

From the very beginning of “The Red Room” the speaker lets us believe that this is a ghost story. He makes us think that there is a ghost that is haunting a room. The old people that he is speaking to also make us think that there is a ghost haunting the Red Room and that is why they refuse to go into the room themselves. They make sure to tell the speaker that if he does go into the room, that it will be because it is his own choice even though and not theirs, even though they’ve warned him.

The speaker decides that he is going to ignore the advice of the old people, and not let their fear get to him and cause him to be afraid. He even thinks that they’re a bit “ghostly” themselves because of their age and the way they’re dressed. He has come to this house specifically to see for himself what this Red Room is all about and he is not going to let anyone talk him out of it. However, when he starts to head toward the room, fear starts to creep in, even though he tries to brush it off.
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At one point he even stops to listen because he thinks he’s heard footsteps behind him. The moving shadows and the creepy sounds start to get his imagination going. Some of the shadows look like figures that might be hiding and getting ready to jump when he goes by. Fear has started without him really admitting to it, especially because it goes away when he realizes that what he’s seeing ends up being a statue on a