"The Masque of the Red Death," is a story about a prince who abandons his people, and locks himself with his army in a castle to escape the "Red Death." The wise prince thinks the "Red Death" would never be able to reach him. However, in the end, the prince is not able to escape from the "Red Death". The theme of this story is there are no escapes from death; everyone would face death when death comes. In the story, the author implies a lot of symbolisms to express death. The last of seventh room represents the last stage of life, where the walls are painted a deep blood color. And it's the death place of the prince. The gigantic clock of ebony provides a time, the time remains for the life of the guests and the prince, as the clock ticks times away, the death of the them gets closer and closer.
Illustration for Edgar Allan Poe's "The Masque of ...
Illustration by Aubrey Beardsley, 1894–1895
Prince Prospero flees the Red Death. The Masque of...The author's purpose to remain the Red Death as an unknown is to be able to express "The Red Death" as a person or the personification of death. The Red Death illustrates the power of man is always limited, and even the prince himself cannot save his own life. Aside from the theme and symbolism, the author has written an intense story fills with suspense. The foreshadowing of the Red Death, the dark mood, and the battle between Men vs. unknown, brings intensity to the story. Indeed, a story has fine quality in every element.
English: Byam Shaw's illustration for Poe's The Ma...
The Masque of the Red Death (film)
Masque of the Red Death (Ravenloft)