Masque of the Red Death

2 Pages 485 Words

In the "Masque of the Red Death", Poe uses his imagination
throughout the story (Rogers 43). A plague has devastated the entire
country. It takes only half an hour tofor the course of the disease
to run. At first one feels sharp pains and dizziness. Then one
starts bleeding at the pores. The disease results in death. Prince
Prospero has ordered one thousand lords and ladies to the deep
seclusion of one of his abbeys. The building was built by the Prince
and is filled with his exotic ornaments. It is sealed from the
outside world by a huge wall with iron gates. Inside the building are
dancers, musicians, and everything they need in order to stay secluded
until the plague runs its course. After six months of seclusion, the
Prince decides to hold a masked ball. The ball is held in a suite
with seven rooms. Each room is decorated in a single color. The last
room is decorated in red. Within this room stands a huge clock that
strikes the hour with a heavy clang. The rooms are very crowded for
the ball. At the stroke of midnight, a guest is seen in a costume
of the red death itself and This frightens the other guests. The
Prince is angered at what he believes to be a practical joke. He
orders the stranger seized and hanged from the battlements. Prince
Prospero follows the stranger into the red chamber. It is there that
Prince Prospero falls dead at the feet of the stranger. The others
capture the unknown person in the costume. To their horror they find
there is no living form in the costume. One by one they die until no
one else remains. Death is king of all (Rogers 41).
"The horror abysmal darkness, and absolute helplessness
befalling the victims are described with vivid accuracy in tales such
as 'The Fall of the House of Usher,' 'The Cask of Amontillado,' and
'The Premature Burial' (Perry XI-XII)." In "The Fall of the House of
Usher," the narrator visits his ...