What is a critical analysis 'The Masque of the Red Death'?

Answer 1

The Red Death is a made up disease based on a real disease. In the story, Prince Prospero invites a thousand of his friends to live in this grand castle. The Prince, in doing this, is trying to escape death itself. One night, he holds a party throughout the several rooms of the castle, which are: the blue chamber, the purple chamber, the green chamber, the orange chamber, the white chamber, the violet chamber, and the black chamber. Each color represents a stage in life: birth, toddler, childhood, teen years, middle years, senior years and death. Another interpretation is that the rooms represent the seven deadly sins: loth, lust, gluttony, avarice, pride, anger and covetousness. One thing is for sure: the blue room is at the eastern extremity and the black room is at the western extremity because the sun rises in the east and sets in the west; the sun rising can symbolize birth and the sun setting can symbolize death.

In each of the room, everything matches: in the blue chamber, everything is blue, the tapestries, the ornaments, etc. But in the black chamber, the tapestries are black, but the windows do not correspond with the color scheme: they are blood red. No one dares step foot into this room. This is also the location of the large ebony clock. At every hour, it rang very loudly, the sound of which made all of the dancers stop dancing, the musicians stop playing, and everyone froze and stared at the clock with sheer terror. When the clock stopped chiming, everyone went back to their business. The clock can symbolize how much time the party-goers have left in their lives; they are reminded that death is nearing whenever the clock tolls.

The clock tolls at midnight, and suddenly, a figure appears, wearing a mask that resembles someone who has died because of the Red Death. The Prince orders the people to seize the figure, but the guests are frozen with fear. The figure starts to move through all of the rooms until it gets to the western-most room, the black chamber. The Prince gathers up enough courage (which we conclude from the story is something he lacks) to chase the figure. Once in the black chamber, the Prince draws a dagger, but is instantly killed just by looking at the figure. The guests pour into the room, but they too are killed.

Hope this has helped.

Answer 2

"The Masque of the Red Death" by Edgar Allan Poe is a short story that explores themes of mortality and the inevitability of death. The story follows Prince Prospero as he tries to escape the Red Death plaguing his kingdom by isolating himself and his guests in a luxurious abbey. However, the story ultimately highlights the futility of trying to escape death and the inability to control one's own mortality.