The Masque of the Red Death PDF

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Summary

complete course hero content in pdf with outlines and summaries of character, themes, and symbols. he narrator changes from third person to first person in the
story. There are conflicting views of who the narrator is,
including the Red Death, a divine being, the mad Prince
Prospe...

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The Masque of the Red Death Study Guide by Course Hero

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There is a shift from past to present tense in the middle of the text. Poe switches to present tense in the middle of a paragraph and then back again to past tense in the next paragraph.

j Book Basics .................................................................................................1 ABOUT THE TITLE d In Context .....................................................................................................1 a Author Biography .....................................................................................3 h Characters ..................................................................................................4

Edgar Allan Poe first named the short story "The Mask of the Red Death: A Fantasy" and published it in 1842 in Graham's Magazine. Poe renamed it "The Masque of the Red Death" in 1845. A mask is a face covering that is used for a disguise, while a masque is a verse drama with singing and dancing. In

k Plot Summary .............................................................................................7 c Plot Analysis ...............................................................................................8 g Quotes .........................................................................................................12

the story the word "masque" refers to an uninvited guest at a masquerade ball who is found to be death personified, or the Red Death. There was also an epidemic called the Red Death that caused red stains on the body from bleeding pores, along with pain and dizziness.

m Themes .......................................................................................................14

j Book Basics

d In Context Poe is known as a prolific writer of the Gothic fiction genre.

AUTHOR

"The Masque of the Red Death" is a Gothic fantasy that has

Edgar Allan Poe

elements of horrific imagery of blood and death in a medieval setting. The story describes a disease named the Red Death.

YEAR PUBLISHED

People who contracted it had "scarlet stains upon the body

1842

and especially upon the face." This disease killed those who

GENRE Fiction, Horror

came into contact with it. Nobody was safe. Poe lost family members to tuberculosis. These experiences may have prompted him to write the tale.

PERSPECTIVE AND NARRATOR The narrator changes from third person to first person in the story. There are conflicting views of who the narrator is,

Gothic Fiction

including the Red Death, a divine being, the mad Prince Prospero, or some unknown masqued person at the ball. This

Gothic fiction involves the supernatural or the possibility of it.

ambiguity regarding the untrustworthy narrator adds to the

The genre often portrays the discovery of mysterious items

mystery and horror of Poe's Gothic short story.

and eerie, decrepit buildings. Horace Walpole (1717–97) was an English writer who was the first to use the word "Gothic" in a

TENSE

title in The Castle of Otranto: A Gothic Story in 1764. Gothic

The Masque of the Red Death Study Guide

In Context 2

fiction became the most popular genre in the late 18th and 19th

nightmarish imagery, and symbolism. It embodies many of the

centuries. Poe developed the genre to convey fear and

Gothic writing tactics and fits perfectly into the Gothic fiction

suspense and to heighten the atmosphere.

genre.

Poe made great contributions to Gothic fiction. He began crafting it to convey horror. He combined the traditions of Gothic fiction, such as themes of medieval castles, aristocratic fraud, unscrupulousness, and American literature. He added his dark life experiences and focused on nothingness, death, evil, and the supernatural. Poe explores the idea that the soul is the originator of horror through first-person narration, suspense, exaggeration of the setting, symbols, and endings without closure.

Medieval Setting Poe does not name the town or country in the setting of "The Masque of the Red Death." One of the main characters is Prince Prospero. The presence of royalty and a castellated abbey suggests a feudal type of governing system in Europe. Poe uses the term "improvisatori," which comes from the Italian improvisatore that refers to an entertainer who improvises

Conveying fear is a key ingredient in Gothic fiction. Poe uses

verse. This suggests that the setting is in Italy or a nearby

suspense, passion, or terror at unexpected moments to

country. The improvisatori entertains Prospero's thousand

express fear. Poe wrote in first person in all of his novels, but

friends in the abbey.

American writers before him used third person. Using the firstperson narrator allowed his readers to experience the chilling stories firsthand and imagine themselves in the plot to

The Red Death Epidemic

experience the feelings of fright and anxiety. This made the stories seem more vivid and real. Examples of Poe's short

The story describes the Red Death epidemic which is a

stories that expressed fear are "The Black Cat" (1843) and

disease that affects a large number of people in a region. Poe

"The Cask of Amontillado" (1846).

describes that "blood was its avatar and its seal—the redness and the horror of blood." Nobody was immune to the Red

Another strategy he used to express horror was to utilize

Death, which highlights the pompousness of Prospero and his

symbolism, a technique that uses images to indicate a broader

guests in "The Mask of the Red Death" for thinking they can

meaning. It also helps the audience read between the lines.

escape it.

The use of symbolism became a feature in Poe's works. He became a trailblazer in Symbolism Literature as well as an

The Black Death could be the model for Poe's Red Death. The

influencer of French Symbolism. Charles Baudelaire (1821–67)

symptoms of the Black Death disease started as a small tumor

was a chief French Symbolist who translated Poe's work into

on the neck, groin, or armpit, and then the person died a

French. These translations inspired later French Symbolist

horrific, painful death. The Black Death killed half of Europe's

poets. Poe's short story "The Fall of the House of Usher"

population and a fifth of the global population. However, the

(1839) is full of symbolism as the house itself is a symbol of

description that Poe gives matches the clinical features of

terror.

filovirus hemorrhagic fevers, which include Ebola and Marburg. In Europe these fever outbreaks are unlikely but possible. Poe

Suspense is an additional literary technique of Gothic

would not have known about Ebola or Marburg in 1840, so the

literature. Readers experience suspense when they expect

Black Death is more likely the model for the Red Death.

something bad to happen and cannot intervene to stop it from happening. There are two types of suspense, known and unknown. Known suspense provides clues for the reader to predict what comes next. Unknown suspense allows for a

Tuberculosis

partial understanding of the situation. An example of a

The Red Death might have been modeled after a disease from

suspenseful short story is "The Tell-Tale Heart" (1843). Poe

Poe's life and his personal experience. Poe's mother, foster

builds tension throughout the story over whether the narrator

mother, wife, and possibly his brother died of tuberculosis.

will kill a man and if he will be caught.

Tuberculosis mainly affects the lungs. It is spread through tiny

Poe's "The Masque of the Red Death" has a horrific setting, Copyright © 2020 Course Hero, Inc.

droplets from coughing and sneezing. Symptoms include

The Masque of the Red Death Study Guide

Author Biography 3

persistent coughing, coughing up blood, chest pain, fatigue,

reconciled with John Allan. Poe did well in his academics, but

fever, and chills.

his relationship with Allan remained strained. Allan remarried without telling Poe and cut him out of the family inheritance.

Poe took care of his wife Virginia when she had tuberculosis

Poe wanted to leave West Point after seven months but could

and, as tuberculosis can cause a person to spit up blood from

not do so without consent from Allan. He committed 66

the lungs or bronchial tubes, he would need to clean blood

offenses in the month of January to get himself dismissed for

from her face. The line "the scarlet stains upon the face" for

gross neglect of duties and disobedience to orders.

those who succumbed to the Red Death would have been similar to what Virginia experienced.

Experiences and Fame

a Author Biography

Poe moved in with his Aunt Maria Clemm (1790–1871) in Richmond, Virginia, and pursued his writing career after leaving West Point. In 1835 Poe joined the staff of the Southern

Early Life Edgar Poe was born on January 19, 1809, in Boston, Massachusetts, to David Poe, Jr. (1784–11) and Elizabeth Arnold Poe (1787–11). His parents' profession was acting. David left Elizabeth and the children a month before Elizabeth died from tuberculosis. Poe was taken in as a ward by John Allan (1779–34) and Francis Allan (1784–29). John Allan was a successful tobacco merchant. The Allans took legal guardianship of Poe when he was three but never formally adopted him. Poe was separated from his brother William Poe

Literary Messenger as an editor. He married his 13-year-old cousin Virginia Clemm (1822–1847) in 1836 and continued to live with his aunt. Poe wrote scathing reviews as part of his duties at the paper. Those abrasive critiques gained Poe a reputation as a vicious critic and earned him the moniker of "Tomahawk Man." That reputation led to his eventual dismissal from his post as editor. Some scholars speculate that alcohol abuse played a part in his departure. Poe drank alcohol before he spoke in front of large groups. This behavior made many believe that he was a drug addict, but according to medical records, he had a brain lesion.

(1807–1831) and sister Rosalie Poe (1810–74) when the Allans

Poe continued his writing career and published some of his

took him to their home in Richmond, Virginia. The Allans then

best work. He moved to Philadelphia with his wife and his aunt

moved their family to England in June of 1815. Poe attended

in 1838. Poe wrote one novel called The Narrative of Arthur

various boarding schools in England until the family returned to

Gordon Pym (1838). It was a sea adventure with elements of

America in June of 1820. He lived with the Allans in Richmond

the supernatural. Herman Melville's (1819–91) chapter "The

for the remainder of his childhood. In 1826 Poe attended the

Whiteness of the Whale" in Moby Dick (1851) echoes Poe's

University of Virginia but dropped out because of gambling

ending that describes the creepy whiteness. Poe became the

debts.

co-editor of Burton's Gentleman's Magazine in Philadelphia in 1839. While writing his monthly feature for the magazine, he

Military Life

published "The Fall of the House of Usher" (1839) and Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque (1840). He then edited Graham's Lady's and Gentleman's Magazine in which his detective story

Poe's relationship with the Allans continued to decline because of arguments over financial matters. He wanted to write, but the Allans wanted him to pursue a career in business. Poe left the Allans in 1827 and enlisted in the United States Army. He was promoted to Regimental Sergeant Major when Francis Allan contracted tuberculosis and died. Poe continued to write during this time and published Tamerlane and Other Poems (1827) and Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane, and Minor (1829). Poe was admitted to West Point on July 1, 1830, after he

called "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" (1841) was printed. Poe wrote some of his best work while at Graham's, including "The Masque of the Red Death" (1842). However, he left the magazine in 1842 while Virginia coped with a pulmonary disorder, and he struggled with alcoholism. He published the "Tell-Tale Heart" (1843) in the Pioneer. That same year he won $100 for "The Gold Bug" (1843), which was published in the Philadelphia Dollar Newspaper. Poe moved to New York City in 1844 and published a news story in The New York Sun about a hot air balloon journey across the Atlantic Ocean that was an

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The Masque of the Red Death Study Guide

attention-grabbing hoax.

Characters 4

Marilyn Manson (b. 1969), use lines from his poetry in their song lyrics.

In 1845 Poe published his best-known poem "The Raven" (1845) and started a conflict with Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Music and writing aren't the only arts genres that have

(1807–82). As a staff member for the New York Mirror, he

borrowed from Poe. The poem "The Raven" was the focus of

received national fame for "The Raven." Poe made assertions

the animated television show The Simpsons. On a Halloween

in a critique that Longfellow was a plagiarist. Poe soon found

themed episode of The Simpsons, Lisa Simpson reads the

himself under attack. In the New York Mirror, someone claiming

poem to her brother Bart and sister Maggie. The cartoon

to be a friend of Longfellow's named Outis defended

version has Bart transforming into a bird repeating

Longfellow and shared that "The Raven" was similar to an

"nevermore." The city of Baltimore is Poe's resting place and

anonymous poem called "The Bird of the Dream." Poe's critical

the home of an NFL team. The team's owners held a voting

literary exchanges with Longfellow became known as the

contest to pick a name, and the citizens of Baltimore voted to

"Longfellow War."

name the team The Ravens.

After Virginia died of tuberculosis at age 24 in 1847, Poe courted several women. Poe was briefly engaged to the wealthy widow Sarah Helen Whitman (1803–78) in Providence,

h Characters

Rhode Island, in 1848. He also had a close friendship with Sarah Anna Lewis (1824–80) who supported him financially in exchange for polishing her prose. He returned to Richmond in

The Red Death

1849 where he reunited with the widow Elmira Royster (1810–88), and they became engaged. Poe wrote his final poem "Annabel Lee" in 1849. He left Richmond in September 1849 for Baltimore and died on October 7, 1949. His cause of death is unclear, but drinking or heart failure were possible causes. Poe was buried in the

The Red Death is death personified. He is not deterred by the walls meant to save Prince Prospero and his guests. He wears clothing from the grave spattered in blood. He shows up to the masquerade ball at midnight, slowly building suspense with his lurking figure waiting to bring death to the partygoers.

Baltimore Westminster Presbyterian churchyard.

Prince Prospero Relevance and Influence Poe's influence can be seen in many other writers during and after his lifetime. He is known as the "architect of the modern short story" and one of the initiators of the 19th-century

Prince Prospero has a bold yet bizarre personality. He believes that he has the power to escape death. His wealth allows him to wield power and do as he pleases, which is why he hosts a party and attempts to lock out the Red Death.

European "art for art's sake" movement. Poe's technique allowed readers to experience scary situations through the protagonist in a first-person narration. This was mirrored by

The narrator

fellow horror writers Ambrose Bierce (1842–1914), an American journalist, and American author H.P. Lovecraft (1890–1937).

The narrator's identity is not clear. The ambiguity of who is telling the story adds to the suspense and increasingly tense

Poe's impact still resonates today in novels and song lyrics. Poe tended to focus on horror, fear, and sorrow in his writing. Stephen King (b. 1947), a contemporary psychological thriller writer, openly recognizes Poe as a trailblazer of this genre. In contemporary music, Stevie Nicks (b. 1966) used the poem "Annabel Lee" in her song lyrics. Many contemporary artists and groups, such as Panic! At The Disco, Symphony X, and

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mood as the story progresses.

The Masque of the Red Death Study Guide

Characters 5

Character Map

Main Character

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The Masque of the Red Death Study Guide

Other Major Character Minor Character

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Characters 6

The Masque of the Red Death Study Guide

Full Character List

Plot Summary 7

The Masquerade Ball and Decor During the fifth or sixth month of seclusion while the disease is

Character

Description

The Red Death

The Red Death is death personified.

Prince Prospero

Prince Prospero is trying to escape the Red Death. He owns a castellated abbey and throws a masquerade ball.

still devastating populations abroad, Prince Prospero hosts a masquerade ball. Music from an orchestra greets the masked guests who then waltz the night away. The sumptuous ballroom is divided into seven "apartments" or rooms. A stained glass Gothic window is in each. The decorations in the room correspond to the color of the window. The first room is blue, the second is purple, the third is green, the fourth is orange, the fifth is white, and the sixth is violet. The seventh has a red

The narrator

The narrator tells the tale of Prince Prospero and the Red Death.

The thousand friends

The thousand friends are courtiers and friends who come to live in the abbey to escape the Red Death.

stained glass window, but it is decorated in black velvet tapestries. There are no lamps or candles in the seven rooms. The only light emanates from the stained glass windows, where a brazier of fire is lit behind it. The seventh room is "ghastly" with the blood-red light filtering from the stained glass window on the black decor. Very few guests even attempt to visit this room. A huge ebony clock stands on the western wall. It marks the time with a loud "clang." The dancers

k Plot Summary The Disease

stop and nervousness ensues as the night progresses.

The Host The narrator describes Prince Prospero as a wealthy prince

The narrator describes a grisly disease calle...