Amelia Kosmal Per 6

Woelke
English
12/2/19
Masque Of The Red Death

Every person has to experience the dreadful realization that their life will

eventually end. Although death is an inevitable event, some rich and powerful people believe

that they can escape this tragic fate. Prince Prospero is an example of one of these people in

Edgar Allen Poe’s​ The Masque of the Red Death​, a “prosperous” prince who believes he can

escape the severe plague raging outside the palace walls by locking himself within it. Prince

Prospero invites his other wealthy friends to escape with him for a masquerade in his palace,

likely to distract themselves from the red death spreading outside. Symbolism can be found in

Poe’s story to reveal an allegory, or a story with a hidden meaning, about the ignorance of

people such as Prince Prospero. In ​Masque of the Red Death​, Poe reveals the allegory that no

one can escape death through the use of symbolism, including Prince Prospero, the various

colored rooms, and the masked man.

Prince Prospero is a wealthy prince with an ornate palace and elaborate style. Such

wealth and extravagance proved to only grant the prince ignorance since Prospero’s selfish

reaction to the plague that tormented his kingdom was to save himself by locking himself in his

palace and throwing a party. However, his attempt to escape the red death proved to backfire

when Prospero and the revellers “acknowledged the presence of the Red Death,” (Poe, 5) as an

intruder in a mask and garments resembling that of the grave. This example illustrates that

Prince Prospero’s kingdom proved not to be safe from the plague after all, despite it being

locked and the revellers being completely healthy. The red death’s appearance to the
masquerade shows that even the rich and powerful can’t escape death and that ignorance has

consequences. Prospero’s failed escape may serve as an important lesson to him that material

items and power serve no advantage when it comes to death as this unfortunate mistake may

lead to the end of his life. Prospero’s failed plan doesn’t end there, though. After chasing this

masked man with a dagger through the various colored rooms in his palace in an attempt to

seize him, his efforts eventually result in Prospero’s demise. As the masked man reached the

sixth apartment which was decorated in shades of velvet, he turned to Prospero and the

prince’s dagger “dropped gleaming upon the sable carpet, upon instantly afterward, fell

prostrate in death the Prince Prospero.” (Poe, 4) This example further proves the allegory that

no one escapes death, as Prince Prospero’s plan to avoid death is clearly shown to have failed.

Prospero even goes as far as to try and attack the red death himself, which leads to his

mysterious death, proving death’s power and inevitability. Prospero’s character represents one

example Poe’s use of symbolism throughout​ The Masque of the Red Death​ representing the

ignorance of wealthy and selfish people.

Death is the predestined outcome of every person’s life, although the thought of mortality

may come as a surprise to such people as Prince Prospero and his revellers. One thing which

may serve as a reminder of this dreadful ending is the apartments in Prince Prospero’s palace

that represent the stages of life. The prince’s palace is another use of symbolism within The

Masque of the Red Death​, as the rooms are arranged from blue to black, each meant to

represent the different stages of life. The first apartment, blue, represents birth and purity and

the last, black, represents death and evil. The last apartment, which is covered with top to

bottom with black ornamentation, has two features it doesn’t share with the rest; it’s windows

are stained a deep blood color and “there stood against the western wall a giant clock of ebony”

(Poe, 2). The entirely black room is the last in the apartments of life and shows that death is the
inevitable final stage of life, and there is no other ending. The ebony clock found in the room of

death is another symbol representing time running out for Prospero and the revellers as they

wait to finally face their inescapable fate. After Prospero faced death when he reached the black

apartment the revellers, too, were shown to have met death themselves. After they realized the

presence of the red death who had reached the extremity of the final black room “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 revellers’ deaths being when the masked man reached the

black room proves its significance in the story and shows that death is a powerful force. Their

deaths further show Poe’s allegory by symbolizing the inevitability of death because of how

mysteriously they died during the masked man’s visit. The various colored rooms in Prospero’s

palace illustrate that each stage of life is unavoidable, including the final stage, death.

Death comes in many forms, but for the unfortunate revellers in Prospero’s masquerade

death came in the form of a masked man. This masked man arrived uninvited to Prospero’s

party “shrouded head to foot in habiliments of the grave” and “dabbled with blood- and his broad

brow, with all the features of the face was besprinkled with the scarlet horror” (Poe, 4) The

masked man’s gruesome appearance shows that he clearly represents someone such as the

Grim Reaper, the embodiment of death himself. His unexpected appearance to Prospero’s

party, however, shows death as being inescapable. Although Prospero and his friends locked

the palace gates and prevented any victims of the red death from entering within the palace

walls, the red death was still able to enter. This proves that nobody is safe from death and that

anyone that would ever doubt death’s ability would be proven wrong. Similarly, death being

described to have “come like a thief in the night” (Poe, 5) further proves this allegory. Death

being described as a thief shows that it “steals” the lives of ignorant people such as the revellers

and Prospero who believe they can outlive death. The masked man serving as a symbol for
death is another perfect example integrated into Poe’s writing that proves that death is

everyone’s inescapable fate.

Prospero’s selfish actions to try and escape death during the plague’s outburst and his

failed attempt to do so proves that death is an unavoidable event. Through Poe’s use of

symbolism in ​masque of the Red Death ​ including Prince Prospero himself, the colored

apartments, and the masked man, this allegory about death’s inevitability is revealed to the

reader. Prospero’s ignorance, the apartment’s significance in the revellers’ deaths and the

masked man’s uninvited appearance remind readers to never try and escape death because

attempting such will certainly lead to their demise.