Death in Edgar Allan Poe's Life and The Masque of the Red Death

In “Mask of the Red Death”, Edgar Allan Poe uses setting and symbolism to deliver the theme that no one escapes death. The story follows the naïve and pompous Prince Prospero, and his feeble attempt to escape dying from the Black Plague. As the plague spread through his kingdom, the prince called one thousand of his closest friends to reside within the safety of the castle in order to seclude themselves from the horror and death going on outside. During the last months of their seclusion, the prince decided to hold a masquerade ball in order to amuse his many guests living within the confines of the rather odd castle. The dance takes place in a variety of unusual apartments within the castle, spaced apart so the guests would only see one room at a time. The apartments flowed east to west, each decorated in a different color and theme while following a pattern of blue, purple, green, orange, white, violet and finally ending in black. During the ball, guests enjoyed a dreamlike atmosphere as they danced through the many colored apartments, each of them avoiding the final black room. This final dark patterned room contained a large ebony clock which chimed eerily every hour, causing the party goers to pause their merriment for a few moments of uneasy silence. As midnight drew near, a new guest arrived, sporting a costume more ghastly and morose than any other. The mask he wore resembled that of a plague victim, and his clothes resembled a funeral shroud. Prospero became angry

There are many theories of how Edgar Allan Poe died. One of the theories is alcohol. Poe was a heavy drinker as a young man so it is possible. Another theory is rabies. This is also a possible theory because of the symptoms he had in the hospital.

The death of Edgar Allen Poe is quite the mystery. No one knows what really happened to the failed poet that cold night, while he lay on the street. Many theories suggest that Poe was murdered by one of his many enemies or that he has brain cancer and died on the street. One theory I support is that Poe died from alcohol poisoning, there is quite a bit of evidence that supports Edgar Allen Poe passed from alcohol poisoning such as he became addicted to alcohol after his wife passed, he was found near a pub, and he had brain symptoms that pointed to alcoholism.

Edgar Allan Poe was a brilliant poet who endured an incredibly harrowing life. It seemed as if everyone he became close to would decease before his eyes. His grim life served as inspiration for his work which take on eerie, nightmarish tones and themes, likely because those disturbing subjects are what he knew best. One of his poems greatly influenced by his life was “The Masque of the Red Death”. Some parts of the poem influenced by his life are Prince Prospero, the red death, and the theme of the inevitability of death.

According to the CDC, over 88,000 people die every year due to the excessive use of alcohol in the United States. Now this proves that alcoholism is a very serious and common issue in our country. Poe’s death to this day has been thought of as a great mystery, most believing he died from either alcohol or rabies. According to several sources saying that Poe was sent to the hospital after being to drunk, not being able to tell doctors the names of his family members/where he lived, and the fact that his cat, Caterina, was proven to not have rabies, I believe he died from alcohol.

Death is an inevitable event that will occur in a life. When, how, and where are the beginnings of questions posed about the topic, and the fear of not knowing this leads it to be a taboo subject in many discussions. Edgar Allan Poe defied this sense of taboo and wrote many works centering on the topic of death. It is Edgar Allan Poe’s discussion of death in his works that reveals the innate human perversion of the discussion of death. The reason for his discussion of death may find roots in his personal life.

When the term “isolation” is used, most people think of it as an action performed in solitude. It brings to mind an empty space in which one person resides, far from all others. However, isolation does not always occur in a singular sense. In “The Masque of the Red Death” by Edgar Allan Poe, isolation is used by a large population as a means of safety. In “The Thing Around Your Neck” by Chimananda Ngozi Adichie, isolation occurs among crowds of people and even in the company of someone close to one’s heart. In both aspects, isolation serves to exemplify the broken portions of life. Isolation is a destructive force and as a theme, isolation serves to exemplify a particular viewpoint and worldview while serving as both a cause and effect.

Reviewing various Poe’s characters created by his acknowledgement, the melancholy in his life can be seen vividly with the help of his textual evidence. Edgar Allan Poe’s, “The Masque of the Red Death”, introduces Prince Prospero, the person who believed he could conquer death, and devastation that the “Red Death” had caused to the kingdom, taking away several lives. Prospero denies and tries to conquer death, but instead Red Death conquers him leaving darkness and death’s behind. Similarly, in “Ligeia”, the story is about the love between the narrator and his wife Ligeia who loses her life due to the illness. He describes her beauty, love of language and expresses his love towards her. But after Ligia’s death, narrator remarries Rowena and

sentenced begs for his mercy. The prince upon discovering the ailment of The Red Masque of

In The Masque of the Red Death, Poe shows the signs of the inevitability of death and the measures one will go to avoid it. It is human nature for Prince Prospero to want to protect himself from the red death. He also shows his need for control when he locks the tower. It represented him locking the disease (death) out but also preventing anyone to leave, therefore he was delaying the inevitability of death, hoping for one last ounce of control. In A Rose for Emily, Emily and her father both saw themselves as superiors. As did Prince Prospero when he only let in his rich, and powerful friends in his tower. Both of the characters focused of seclusion, whether it be voluntary or not they all considered themselves higher up. Prospero thought

In Edgar Allan Poe’s story, “Masque of the Red Death”, and Joyce Carol Oates’ story, “Where are You Going, Where Have You Been”, Prince Prospero and Connie are both arrogant characters, but are different when it comes to deciding whether or not to change themselves to save the lives others.

Death is a terrifying prospect for most people; imagine being face to face with it. In Edgar Allan Poe’s “Masque of the Red Death”, the revelers are in this very situation. Prince Prospero’s country is being devastated by the Red Death. A plaque that results in a painful, gruesome, death. Therefore, Prince Prospero being the selfish, uncaring man he is, locked himself and a thousand of his lighthearted friends in his abbey to hide from the Red Death. After 6 months of seclusion Prince Prospero throws a masquerade to celebrate that they were still free of the Red Death. It is at this masquerade that a gruesome mummer appears before Prince Prospero and all the revelers, and death quickly follows. In this short story, Poe personifies death through the mummer who appears like a thief in the night, stealing the lives of Prince Prospero and his court.

Edgar Allan Poe pours out his grief and hopelessness through his poem, To One In Paradise. Poe includes several literary devices, such as imagery, metaphors, and repetition to express his emotions to the reader.

Edgar Allen Poe’s mysterious death intrigues me and so does this article. It starts off as how Joseph W. Walker found Poe in a street gutter. Poe was found in shabby clothes and very bad condition. The rest of the article explains theories about his death. They include murder, rabies, a brain tumor, a beating and more.

Edgar Allen Poe used a variety of different writing techniques that create this bond between the reader and himself as the author. In the short story “The Masque of the Red Death”, Poe uses words to describe the king such as happy and dauntless. The king was fearless bringing him a self-absorbed life away from anything and everything littler than him, leaving him greedy and arrogant.