Symbolism In The Masque Of The Red Death

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Symbolism is defined as an object representing a deeper meaning. Many authors use symbolism in their literature, as Edgar Allan Poe has in “The Masque of the Red Death”. The strange illness, dubbed the “Red Death”, has been spreading quickly in the kingdom of Prince Prospero. Out of fear and greed the Prince chooses a small group of people to live with him inside of his castle and wait out the illness. The prince is known for throwing elaborate balls for his guests, but when a masquerade ball is thrown, an unwelcome guest arrives. Leading the prince into the gruesome seventh apartment, covered in black velvet and embellished with blood red window panes. The prince chases the masked figure and dies at the hand of his own dagger. The symbols can be simple to detect but difficult to understand, however some of the clearest symbols are the ebony clock, the seven apartments and the masked figure.…show more content…
The seven apartments are the course of life. Seven apartments, each for a stage of life, each their own symbolic colour. Some of the symptoms caused by the “Red Death” are dizziness, seizures and profuse bleeding at the pores. The masked figure symbolizes the Red Death by wearing a mask, showing vividly the most appalling symptom, bleeding at the pores. It is a cruel reminder of those left to die and ironic that the Prince himself dies trying to evict the figure from the castle. Symbolism is extremely prominent in “The Masque of the Red Death” and contributes greatly to the theme, abandonment can lead to dire consequences, it is shown most in the ebony clock, the seven apartments and the masked
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