In the genre of gothic literature, two American authors, Edgar Allan Poe and William Faulkner are best known for their stories. And both authors excel at creating gothic settings to draw attention to problems in life. Even though Poe and Faulkner lived years apart, their skill in creating stories filled with symbolism is clear. In “The Masque of the Red Death” by Poe, and “A Rose for Emily” by Faulkner, the similarities in their writing are plain using death in both plots. Poe's tale, “The Masque of the Red Death”, has many symbols for life and death. The first is the plague that is ravaging the country, killing thousands. This plague, named the Red Death, caused bleeding from the pores the victims suffer. In the abbey in which Prince Prospero
Edgar Allan Poe’s use of symbolism in “The Masque of the Red Death” creates a
Throughout the gothic horror short story, “The Masque of the Red Death”, Edgar Allan Poe illustrates the struggle of an egotistical prince who refuses to face the inevitable reality of death. Through the downfall of the protagonist, Poe establishes the idea that the inability to face reality often leads to the destruction of the mind. The downfall of the Prince is emphasized by Poe’s use of characterization, setting, and symbolism.
In both “Masque of the Red Death” and “Annabel Lee” by Edgar Allan Poe, the author uses specific elements to express meaning and to develop a theme. He is portraying the idea that neither love nor death has a limit, no matter what we want to imagine. We have no control of either, especially death. In “The Masque of The Red Death” Poe makes the inference that death is inevitable or inescapable. In “Annabel Lee” he uses the power of two character’s love to show that death is not preventable no matter what you do. Also, he shows that love never vanishes even after death. In both selections, Poe uses rhetorical devices such as parallelism, symbolism, and imagery to draw the reader into the story.
The story “A Rose For Emily” by William Faulkner and the poem “Annabel Lee” By Edgar Allan Poe are famous pieces of literature that draw many similarities. “A Rose For Emily” is in the point of view of the townspeople after Miss Emily Grierson has died. Emily has always been a subject of gossip in the town and all her secrets are soon unfolded. The Narrator is the main character of “Annabel Lee” whose story begins as he tells a tale of his lover Annabel Lee’s death, which is said to be caused by the jealousy of angels. While these stories may seem very different, both pieces are forms of gothic literature, and share themes like Alienation and Loneliness after death.
The story “Masque of The Red Death” and “Annabel Lee” by Edgar Allan Poe are very high quality and Mischievous books. Throughout each page both stories had many connections regarding love, life, and many emotional outlooks about life. Annabel Lee and Masque of Red death both implied that there isn’t a boundary that can separate true love which was established from the dreadful events that happened in the texts. Edgar Allan Poe expressed a series of connections between the two texts which gave each text a large quantity of similarities which included Love, life, and casualty.
Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Masque of the Red Death” deals with the theme of death, and does deal with this topic in a literal form in the presence of the Red Death within the country in which this story takes place at the time. However, the theme of death is most heavily portrayed in the form of symbolism to represent this idea throughout the story.
Poe often gives memory the power to keep the dead alive. Which in the short story Poe distorts the aspect of death. By creating a memory as the trigger that reawakens death Poe reveals the theme of the story; that no matter the person's social class death comes for us all. In Edgar Allan Poe’s short story “The Masque of the Red Death” he uses literary elements such as allusion, symbolism, and allegory to convey that death is inevitable.
Edgar Allan Poe is a famous well known writer known for his dark and gothic horror stories such as “The Tell-Tale Heart” and many others. The well-known author had a rough life which dealt with a lot of death, so most of his stories revolve around this idea. In “The Cask of Amontillado” and “The Masque of the Red Death” Poe uses similar themes or darkness to convey tone and conflict throughout the story. His writing style is dark and revolves around one main concept: death. Edgar Allan Poe uses diction and syntax, setting and conflict, and characterization in his writing style to develop his stories.
“No pestilence had ever been so fatal, or so hideous. Blood was its Avatar and its seal--the redness and horror of blood” (Poe 446). Edgar Allan Poe is well-known for his gothic elements, bizarre plots, and chilling tones. The short story The Masque of The Red Death by Poe is no different. In the story the kingdom has been long devastated by the horrific “red death”, and their leader is failing to help them. Poe’s short story is strong in various uses of symbolism; thus, leading to the theme that death is inevitable.
When it comes to reading literature the most challenging yet important task is to understand the purpose of the author's writing. In Romantic era literature understanding the emotions and thoughts that are created in the reader's mind are essential to gaining a clear message that the writer is trying to send. In Edgar Allen Poe’s short story “The Masque of the Red Death” the narrator immediately introduces the “Red Death”; a disease that has been spreading throughout Prince Prospero’s country; killing his people within half an hour of contracting the disease. Throughout the story the author continuously uses diction and syntax to create suspense and evoke a grim tone to the reader. In the “Masque of The Red Death” Poe produces fearful imagery in the reader's mind through creating a supernatural presence in the setting.
Death is an important theme in Edgar Allan Poe’s short stories, “The Pit and the Pendulum” and “The Masque of the Red Death”.
Edgar Allan Poe is a famous american author who wrote many poems and short stories. His stories almost always have a deeper meaning behind them. In the short story “The Masque of the Red Death” Edgar Allan Poe uses a mixture of stylistic elements such as symbolism, diction, figurative language, and imagery to scare the audience, show how being selfish is problematic, and point out the inevitability of death.
A fascinating short storyteller of all times, Edgar Allen Poe has taken us through the mysterious adventure of “The Masque of the Red Death”. A lot of critics complement Edgar Poe’s work, which is known for being very obscure, strange and puzzling stories of all times. Clearly “The Masque of the red Death” falls into the same gothic category for Poe as it has the same taste. An irrational out breaker ends kills many people, so the elites and the kings are very worried and terrified in this short story. Death had come to everybody everywhere without looking at socioeconomic status.
The fourth and final gothic element Edgar Allan Poe uses in Masque of the Red Death, is the air of mystery and suspense. Poe does this by creating a gloomy setting and entering a ghost that creates mystery because the readers cannot see his face or know what he is or what he is up to. Poe describes him as, “The figure was tall and gaunt, and shrouded from head to foot in the habiliments of the grave.” There is many ways Poe shows the mystery and suspense, Poe also uses a lot of death and blood to create a mystery because the reader doesn’t know who is going to die next, neither does the characters in the story.
As a gothic writer, Edgar Allan Poe created horror using gloom as his weapon. Hidden within the suspenseful story of “The Masque of Red Death” is an allegorical tale of how individuals deal with the fear of death as time passes. Frantic activities and pleasures (as represented by Prince Prospero and his guests) seek to wall out the threat of death. However, the story reminds the reader that death comes “like a thief in the night”(Poe 3), and even those who seek peace and safety shall not escape. Poe uses symbolism to illustrate that man cannot hide from his own mortality.