Masque of the Red Death, Unmasqued

Poe was born on January 19, 1809. His mother was an actress, and his father abandoned him. When his mother died, Poe moved to the residence of John Allan. After a few years Poe registered at the University of Virginia. He mastered the art of Gothic fiction. His story’s can be categorized as “Dark” mostly focusing on death and taking place at night (Milne 233). Tamerlane and Other Poems is such a rare book that a single copy has been sold for about 200,000.00 Poe’s death is rather a mystery; some people say it was a brain lesion while others say it was a heart attack and others his drinking problem.
In One of Poe’s story’s “The Masque of the Red Death”, Poe implies that no one can really escape death. The story begins with a disease striking some far away country. A prince who did not want to get the disease builds a HUGE wall that surrounds hi’s palace and he invited a thousand friends from hi’s court and entertained them so that they wouldn’t think of the disease that’s raging in the country. And one day he holds this masquerade/masked ball and it was held in seven different rooms, the first room was blue, the second was purple the third one was green the forth one was orange the fifth was white the sixth was violet and the final room was black with a deep red glass stained window also the black chamber had a Clock made of ebony and when the clock struck everyone froze. they keep on partying until they see this masked figure just standing there, he was tall and very skinny he was dressed from head to foot in a red garment hi’s mask resembled the head of a corpse, hi’s clothing were stained with blood. When the prince saw him he commanded his friends to arrest him, so he could hang him at dawn, but his friends were too scared. The figure started coming closer to the prince, well, the prince panicked drew a dagger and rushed towards the figure, and the figure drew back, they went from chamber to chamber until they both ended up in the black room, there the prince fell dead upon the floor. His friends who were very angry rushed to seize him, but when they got a hold of him, there was nothing in the garments, and one by one they feel dead to the floor. There fore in the story “The Masque of the Red Death” by E.A. Poe, Poe implies that no one can escape death. “While this story is literally about a pestilence called the Red Death it can be read at an allegorical level as a tale about man’s fear of his own mortality” (Milne235). First, death is a part of life. In time, everyone will die. Finally, once the apocalypse occurs, everything will die. No one can ever truly escape death.
Death is very common these days, but people are still afraid to die, People just don’t realize that death is part of life. You can die of old age or like in the story you can die from a deadly disease. “The ‘Red Death’ had long devastated the country” (Poe, Pg1).In the story Prince Prospero and his ‘thousand friends’ seal themselves into an abbey of his castle in an attempt to ‘defy contagion’ and escape the clutches of the Red Death.” (Milne235). They try and seal themselves in the secluded palace with all the pleasures of life and regularity to forget about what was going on outside with all the death and horrors of the disease. They celebrated every day and were entertained so they won’t think of anything bad or depressing. But as we know life doesn’t work that way for most of us somehow the disease got into the castle and made his way to the ball room when the attention fell upon the ‘masked figure’ everyone was silent, probably realizing who that figure was. The prince ordered them to seize him but they didn’t respond, so he took matters to his own hands. And the Prince ended up dead.
We think we have a lot of time on our hands, but do we really? Every day every hour every month and every year is measured by a certain amount of time. In the story when the clock strikes twelve everyone freezes, time seams to stop after a few minutes they start celebrating again. It’s just something about that clock that frightens everyone, it’s as if they think their time of gaiety will end and everything will end. The sound of the pendulum hitting the walls in the clock reminds the guests of their own mortality and that ‘their time is coming’. (milne236). “…there came from the brazen lungs of the clock a sound which was clear and loud and deep and exceedingly musical, but of so peculiar a note and emphasis that, at each lapse of an hour, the musicians of the orchestra were constrained to pause, momentarily, in their performance, to hearken to the sound; and thus the Walters perforce ceased their evolutions; and there was a brief disconcert of the whole gay company; and, while the chimes of the clock yet rang, it was observed that the giddiest grew pale…” (Poe pg.2) so in time everyone would eventually die in the story.
People often talk about the apocalypse and that one day the earth will come to an end everyone and everything will be destroyed and nearly no one would survive. And it’s true in a way, nothing can continue forever. And it’s only natural that the earth will rebel against humans in one way or another. Think about what we are doing to the earth these days, pollution, cutting down trees, and destroying the atmosphere little by little. “The use of language in ‘the masque of the red Death’ as well as the nature of the tale, brings to mind a biblical story with apocalyptic implications.” (milne237). And it is truly reminds of something from the bible, but in the story unlike the pestilence sent by god which is the force of good, the pestilence is something sinister sent by the devil or a dark force of some sort. “And Darkness and Decay and the Red Death held illimitable dominion over all” (4) this signifies that the darkness will eventually fall upon us all and we will cease to exist upon this earth. In the end no one can truly escape death. “This story is a prime example of Poe’s Gothic horror fiction.” (Milne232). Eventually death will come upon us all and there is no way to escape the end.
Poe, Edgar Allan “The Masque of the Red Death”. Litfinder. Thompson Gale, 2007. ACCESS PA Power Lib. 20 Dec 2007 infortrack./. “The Masque of the Red Death”. Short stories for students. Ed Kathleen Wilson. Vol. 8. Detroit: Gale 2000. James Southall Wilson. “Poe’s Life”. Poe Museum. Council Rock HS South Lib., Holland, PA. 1/ 8/2008 /poeslife/.