Red Masque Of The Red Death Essay

Words: 675
Pages: 3

In the short story “The Red Masque of the Red Death,” Poe writes about the evil that comes along to the Prince and his people. Prince Prospero invited people to stay in his abbey to be secluded from the disease that roams through the kingdom. This will start off as a great plan because no one can come through the great iron gates, but death will always follow. Poe’s hidden message is no matter how hard you try to get away death isn’t too far behind. A hint that Poe gives in the short story was the clock. He emphasizes the clock for every time it strikes the hour. Poe states, “When the minute hand made the circuit of the face, and the hour was to be stricken, there came from the brazen lungs of the clock as sound of which was clear and deep and exceedingly musical…” (457). The meaning behind it is to give the hint of something big and bold will be happening soon. That is why when the clock strikes, it gives off such a loud and deep musical. Edgar Poe also describes how the musicians and people in the abbey notice the clock. He explains, “There was a disconcert of the whole …show more content…
The red death is portrayed almost as humanly as anyone at the event. It is written, “There were many individuals in the crowd who had found leisure to become aware of the presence of a masked figure which had arrested the attention of no single individual before,” (Poe 459). The red death was in the crowd the whole time, but no one noticed it until people became much more aware of its company. Even though the figure was wearing the mask like everyone else present, it caught the attention of everyone, especially Prince Prospero. He commanded someone to capture the dark figure, but no one dared By the end of the night everyone was dead. Ending the story was, “And Darkness and Decay and the Red Death held illimitable dominion over all,” (Poe 461). It gave the red death the character of a king who is able to put himself above