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Isabella Badillo

Ms. Woelke

Pre-AP English

08 November 2018

Masque of Red Death Allegory

In the short story “The Masque of Red Death” by the well-known writer, Edgar Allan

Poe, tells the story of an elegant masque thrown in the midst of the sixteen hundredth epidemic,

the bubonic plague. The host of the grand event created this environment When a mysterious

figure interrupts the event the masqueraders find the plague is inescapable. Throughout the story,

Poe uses symbols representing life and death. From the setting to the characters, there is

symbolic meaning in most all of these elements. In “The Masque of the Red Death”, Poe

demonstrates the allegorical lesson that death is inevitable.

The character, Prince Prospero, symbolizes those who are incompetent to face the reality of

death. Prince Prospero believes “ The external world can take care of itself” and threw an event

full of pleasure “there were buffoons, there were improvisatori, there were ballet-dancers, there

were musicians, there was beauty, there was wine” and the prince believed this joyous event

could be celebrated peacefully with the “security within. Without the ‘Red Death’”(Poe,1). This

comes to show Prospero held an event extravagant to distract himself from the plague and death

which he assumes is no threat to himself due to the fact that he rid the abbey of all disease. Those

who are afraid of death may distract themselves from thinking of death or do anything in their

power to prevent death from attacking them. When the mysterious figure appeared prince

Prospero ordered a masquerader to seize the figure, but with the whole room frozen in silence the
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prince, “maddening with rage and the shame of his own momentary cowardice” took the matter

into his own hands and “rushed through the six chambers” with none of the still frozen party

goers following, the prince “bore aloft a drawn dagger and had approached, in rapid impetuosity”

at the figure (Poe 4). Therefore, elucidating the impression that Prince Prospero is trying to rid

this possible threat of death. This compares to a person who is reluctant to face death for one

would look death in the face with bravery and attempt to conquer it.

Another example of symbolism expressing the allegory of death is inescapable, is the clock

which represents the time one has left to live. When the clock strikes “ the giddiest grew pale”

and the older partygoers “passed their hands over their brows as if in a confused reverie or

meditation”. This demonstrates the clock makes the guests feel anxious and nervous. The feeling

of close death would make anyone nervous and fearful, similar to the feeling the masqueraders

have when the clock chimes. When the “ebony clock went out” it was caused by the death of all

the party goers and the “last of the gay”. The clock seized the ringing implying the

masqueraders’ time is up. Comparing this to the time left for one to live, it shows that the last

chime of the clock was when they all died showing the clock was counting down the hours until

they all die. Time never stops passing and as time goes on in one’s life they become closer to

death which may cause the feelings of anxiety and fearful for the known death that may soon be

arriving.

Lastly, the masked figure which represents the inevitable void of death. After the prince’s

failed attempt of killing the masked figure the revellers “seiz[ed] the mummer, whose tall figure

stood erect and motionless” only to find the figure was “untenanted by any tangible form”(Poe

5). This illustrates, the masked figure was not human and was untouchable. Much like death,
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Poe uses the “Motionless” often times used to describe a corpse which is closely related to death.

Furthermore, the figure was not tangible similar to how death is untouchable, it’s not something

one can see or touch. After the masqueraders attempt to capture the masked figure they dropped

“in the blood-bedewed halls of their revel and died each in a despairing posture of his fall” and in

the Abby “Death held illimitable dominion over all”(Poe 5). This expresses the masked figure's

presence was the cause of the death of these revelers. The guests believed they were safe from

death but in the end, there was no way to escape it, similarly in life where death is an inescapable

event. One can try to prevent it but there is no true way of stopping it.

In the end, these elements of the story help create the allegory of inescapable death. The

Prince, who was arrogant enough to believe he could conquer death. The clock shows time until

death never stops ticking even if you are trying to prevent it. The masked figure which

conquered the prince showing that even though Prospero thought he had escaped death he was

not successful in doing so because death has no limit control to anyone. Therefore, the allegory

of death being inescapable can be expressed in Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Masque of the Red

Death”.