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Gabriel Octavio

Pre-AP English 9

Ms. Woelke

11 November 2019

Theme Analysis of “The Masque of the Red Death”

The existential thought of death and has always lurked inside of humankind, expressed in

forms such as art and literature. “The Masque of the Red Death,” by Edgar Allan Poe, illustrates

the court of Prince Prospero gathering in his prestigious manor, locking themselves in and to

revel away their concerns in safety as a sickness, the Red Death, ravages through Prince

Prospero’s kingdom. It isn’t until the midst of the gathering that an unknown masked figure

enters the manor uninvited, proceeding to mysteriously cause the court to fall ill and expire. It’s

through Poe’s usage of figurative language and the symbolic meaning of each character in “The

Masque of the Red Death” that readers learn the inevitable fact that death is inescapable.

The symbolism of the masquerade party at Prince Prospero’s abbey establishes a false

reality to his court as they ultimately try to cheat the Red Death. Prince Prospero’s castle is

described as “amply provisioned,” with precautions that “might bid defiance to contagion,” and

so much so that it would be “[foolish] to grieve, or to think,” (Poe 1). Prospero’s masquerade

party is designed in such a fashion for the revellers to essentially forget the treachery of the

outside world. As they flock to the abbey, they attempt to equally flock away from the Red

Death in desperate attempts to seal themselves away and refuse to accept the fate the Red Death

holds before them. Additionally, the dance itself “provided all

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the appliances of pleasure,” reinforced with the “security within… without the ‘Red Death” (Poe

1). Prospero furthermore attempts to drown away the worries of both himself and his courtiers by

preoccupying them with opulent entertainment and service. His act of establishing this false

reality for his court further reinforces their underlying fear of the Red Death, which was not

present to their knowledge. Prince Prospero’s masquerade party exemplifies the hidden fear of

death as they revel their concerns away.

As the court and Prince Prospero mask their concerns away in the revel, the ebony clock

in the abbey reminds them of the reality they face at each strike of the hour, symbolizing the time

the court has remaining before they must return to reality. For every chime of the clock, “there

was a brief disconcert of the whole gay company” as “the giddiest grew pale,” and the elders

scratched their heads “as if in confused revery or meditation” (Poe 2). At a regular repetition, the

court is taken aback in the midst of the revel, interrupting them and their potential train of

thought. They turn pale, similar to those in dread, or those who long expired, as the clock

reminds them of the purpose of them being there: to hide away from the disease ravaging the

world outside. When the clock strikes again, the masquerade freezes, “and all is silent save the

voice of the clock,” as “the dreams are stiff-frozen as they stand” (Poe 3). Though they are

constantly reminded of the clock’s striking, the courtiers never cease to not freeze at the event.

The comparison of the revellers to stiff and frozen dreams is all reminiscent to that of a deceased

body. Such a comparison can be made, especially with the thoughts of a disease like the Red

Death in the back of their heads. The looming, ebony clock inside of Prince
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Prospero’s abbey gives the court inside a constant reminder of the outside reality that they refuse

to accept or see with each striking hour.

At the stroke of midnight, the masquerade is introduced to a new, uninvited guest,

unidentifiable because of its masked figure, grotesque in appearance, with similarities to that of a

stiffened corpse. It’s descriptions and actions in the story embody the Red Death, a fate that the

revellers feared and attempted to lock themselves away from. Furious at its arrival, Prince

Prospero draws a dagger and chases the figure through the halls of his abbey. When they reach

the seventh room, the figure “turned suddenly and confronted [Prince Prospero],” followed by “a

sharp cry… the dagger [dropping,] gleaming upon the sable carpet, upon which … fell prostrate

in death the Prince Prospero” (Poe 4). In Prospero’s sudden rage, he lashes his anger onto the

figure and, as a result, collapses to the ground lifelessly. It can be inferred that the sudden cry

and Prospero’s unknown death is due to the masked figure, thereby showing the figure being a

literal embodiment of death, specifically the Red Death as Prospero dies due to the

aforementioned reason. As the revellers witness Prospero’s death, they attack in “the wild

courage of despair,” only to be dropped in “the blood-bedewed halls of their revel,” one by one

by the figure, who is “like a thief in the night” (Poe 5). The court, in fear for their lives, fling

themselves onto the figure, but they’re all slaughtered as the halls are dampened in their own

blood. The comparison of the figure to that of a thief as the revellers expire shows the figure as a

reaper of death. Because they fall ill to the Red Death in the presence of the figure, the figure is

the embodiment of the reveller’s fear of death. Despite their attempts to lock themselves
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away from the Red Death, the Red Death still finds a way, reinforcing the fact that death is

inevitable.

Edgar Allan Poe’s “Masque of the Red Death” illustrates the desperate attempts of Prince

Prospero and his courtiers to hide out and escape the Red Death, but ultimately succumb to it

when a physical embodiment of itself invades the abbey they reside in, slaughtering those inside.

It’s through Poe’s symbolism of the masquerade party, ebony clock, and the masked figure that

readers learn his underlying message that death is inevitable.