How Does Poe Use Allusions To Life And Death

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"OF THE TIME THAT FLIES" (POE) Time is eternal and never stopping. Life is finite and death is unescapable. In Edgar Allen Poe's short story "The Masque of the Red Death" time is used as an essential element to show that no one can escape death. Poe uses plenty of allegory in his short story to allude to a time and place without any specifics. The reader is meant to conjure up his or her own time and setting for the story to take place. The allusions to life and death are found throughout the story with the reader having to recognize the meanings. Poe's usage of the coined term "Red Death" is the first reference to a time and place in the short story. He follows up with multiple subtle mentions of denominations of time itself and then the descriptive mention of the gigantic clock of ebony all…show more content…
Poe's short story follows the eccentric behavior of Prince Prospero, who while his country was suffering from the plague of the "Red Death" decides to ensconce one thousand of his closest friends, all of nobility, in a castle to protect themselves from the plague and ultimately death. Prince Prospero holds a masquerade ball of unusual magnificence for all of his friends’. He adorns seven bizarre and elaborate colored rooms that were in the Prince's peculiar tastes. The Prince also requires all attendees to dress in the grotesque. However, the masquerade has one uninvited guest as Death himself decides to attend the party. The author uses all these elements to set up the idea that death is inescapable and that eventually, everyone's time is up. Ironically, this may have been foreshadowing for Poe's
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