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Theme Of Figurative Language In The Masque Of The Red Death

Better Essays

Sarah Laney
Coach Black
1st Period
2 November 2017

“The Masque of the Red Death” Prompt 2

Symbolism is a type of figurative language that many authors use to portray their theme and keep the reader engaged throughout the story. Edgar Allen Poe is known for often putting hidden meanings in his works and he does not disappoint with his short story, “The Masque of the Red Death” with his use of figurative language. Poe uses his writing to get his point across to the audience, all the while entertaining them with an amazing story. In “The Masque of the Red Death” Edgar Allen Poe uses the symbolism of different colors, seven rooms, and the location of the rooms to convey that death is inevitable. Edgar Allen Poe uses the colors of the rooms to show the transition from birth to death. In the short story, Poe uses the colors of the rooms in a certain order to show the progression from birth to death. “...at the eastern extremity was hung... in blue… the second chamber was purple… the third was green… the fourth was furnished and lighted with orange--the fifth with white--the sixth with violet. The seventh apartment was closely shrouded in black velvet…” The first room was blue, the color of water, the beginning of life. The second was purple, symbolising childhood and royalty, children get weighed on hand and foot and are treated like prince and princesses. The third room was green, plants during the summer when they are at full bloom, the peak of life. Orange was the fourth, meaning autumn and fall, when leaves start to fall off of trees and start to die and decline. The fifth room was white, symbolising old age, when people age their hair turns white. The sixth room was violet, another shade of purple, people start to weigh on you again because you have become dependent on others again and you have become rich in other things such as experiences. The very last room was black, the color for funerals, the black meant death. Joseph Rosenblum agrees with the most widely known interpretation of the colors of the rooms. In an essay about the symbolism in “The Masque of the Red Death,” he writes about the meaning behind the colors of the rooms. “blue is the dawning of life. Purple represents

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