Group 2 members: Janine Andrea Buhain Year and Section: BSE-3BE

Francis John Molina

Mary Christine Joy Rendon
Ma. Rebecca Ann Torres

A Reader-Response of The Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allan Poe

One of the masterpieces of Edgar Allan Poe is the short story “The Masque of the
Red Death” which is about recounting of a plague, a terrible disease called the Red
Death. It has long been struck the country. The disease is incredibly fatal, horribly
gruesome in which one individual is dead within thirty minutes after being infected. The
plot depicts Prince Prospero's efforts to hide in his abbey in order to avoid a deadly
disease known as the Red Death. He, like many other aristocratic nobles, hosts a
masquerade party in his abbey's seven chambers, each of which is adorned in a different
color. In the midst of their revelry, a mysterious man dressed as a Red Death victim
comes and proceeds through each room. After encountering this stranger, Prospero dies.
The disease is known as the Red Death since victims begin to bleed from all of their
pores, in addition to experiencing dizziness and sharp pains. Stains on the
diseased bodies, particularly on their faces, make them immediately identifiable.
Throughout this story there are many elements in which imagery and symbolism play a
major part of the theme of death.