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Hokulea Rezentes

Pre-AP English 9

Ms. Woelke

9 November 2018

The Masque of the Red Death Essay

In Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Masque of the Red Death”, Poe writes an allegorical story

showing that the Masked figure and Masquerade can be used for entertainment purposes or to

have a symbolic, deeper meaning. Poe comes off as writing this story as a fun party to escape

from sickness but in the end an intruder comes in. If readers look deeply, you see that the

masked figure represents death and the masquerade represents greed and hope of escaping

fate but there is no escaping death. Poe presents the reader a subtle message through the use

of deeper understanding of symbolism.

In Poe’s allegorical story, he used many symbols to develop a deeper understanding of the

writing. One symbol he used was a fire that represented life. Poe says that “in no one of the

seven apartments was there any lamp or candelabrum” which shows there was no life to bear “a

brazier of fire” (Poe 2). Poe says this to show that life didn’t not exist where light did not cause

the light shows where life is. The light was a symbol that would indicate to the readers if there

still was life in a place or if the Black Death had taken over a certain area. At the end of his

story, Poe also writes “and darkness and decay and the Red death held illimitable dominion

over all” (Poe 5). This shows how after the Black Death struck, the little life still left in the

masquerade all died off. The fire going out at the same time as the Black Death striking shows
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that the light was a way to symbolize to the readers that all life is gone. Poe used this symbol to

help the reader see more clearly the allegorical lesson he was giving off during his story.

Another symbol Poe uses to show a deeper meaning in the story is the masked figure. Poe

writes how the masked figures “vesture was dabbled in blood “ and that all the “features of the

face, was besprinkled with the scarlet horror” (Poe 4). Poe is showing us here how the masked

figure is frightening and unapproachable which doesn’t represent something good. He is not a

welcoming symbol that isn’t even a real life person, just a figure. Poe also writes how the

masked figure had “come like a thief in the night” and how “one by one dropped the revellers in

the blood-bedewed halls of their revel, and died each in the despairing posture of his fall” (Poe

5). The masked figure arriving at the masquerade ball without an invite was a symbolic

representation of the black death coming into the ball and killing everyone who is around. When

this figure walked in, everyone got scared and tried to run away even though there is no

escaping death. The masked figure shows the readers that death is a creature the can’t be

escaped and may come when you least expect it.

One other symbol Poe shows us in his story is the clock. Poe writes that as “the chimes of

the clock yet rang” that the people observed it and even “the giddiest grew pale, and the more

ages and sedate passed their hands over their brows as if an confused revery or meditation”

(Poe 2). Poe writing this shows us how the people heard the clock and stopped in there motion

because of the horrific sound. The clock is symbolic for being the countdown to the people

death so every time the clock chimes, people are nearing their end. Poe later on writes that

“then the music ceased” and that there was “an uneasy cessation of all things as before” (Poe

3). Poe is showing that people got worried when it became midnight and the clock chimed 12
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times. All music stopped and the people became worried because the people knew the worst

was about to happen. The clock is a great way to show the allegorical lesson that is being

shown because the countdown to death leads to the end of the story.

The allegorical lesson being shown in Poe’s “Mask of the Red Death” is that death is

inevitable to escape and you never know when it can happen. Poe paints an amazing picture in

the reader's’ mind of how using simple, everyday things can show a deeper meaning. Light is a

great way to represent the difference between life and death by it on being life and off being

death. The masked figure is good to show that death is scary and a figure that can’t be

escaped. The clock is amazing to show the countdown to your death and when the time strikes,

life is done with. Poe wrote this story to show a deep allegorical lesson and he did a really

amazing job at painting the picture in the reader’s mind through his use of symoblism.