Gothic Literature by Poe Essay

In the "Masque of the Red Death," the first sentence, "The Red Death had long devastated the country," sets the tone for the whole story. Poe describes the horrors of the disease, stressing the redness of the blood and the scarlet stains. The disease kills so quickly that one can die within thirty minutes of being infected with the disease. To create a frightening effect

Throughout the gothic horror short story, “The Masque of the Red Death”, Edgar Allan Poe illustrates the struggle of an egotistical prince who refuses to face the inevitable reality of death. Through the downfall of the protagonist, Poe establishes the idea that the inability to face reality often leads to the destruction of the mind. The downfall of the Prince is emphasized by Poe’s use of characterization, setting, and symbolism.

The narrator goes into the house and notices how creepy it is. He sees Roderick looking very sick. Roderick explains that he thinks something is wrong with the house. Roderick’s sister, who the narrator never knew about, has died and Roderick buries her in the tombs of the house. The both begin hearing noises one night. Roderick believes they buried his sister alive and she’s trying to escape. His sister appears behind the door and the narrator realizes that they are twins. She goes after him and Roderick dies from fear. The narrator runs from the house and watches it crumble to the ground. “I have before spoken as extending from the roof of the building, in a zigzag direction, from the base,” (Poe 1127).

The narrator describes the abbey in which he is hiding in from the plague. "There was no light of any kind emanating from lamp or candle within the suite of chambers. But in the corridors that followed the suite, there stood, opposite to each window, a heavy tripod, bearing a brazier of fire, that projected its rays through the tinted glass and so glaringly illumined the room." The details of the room create an effect upon the reader letting him visualize the areas surrounding the

Everyone fears their own death, thus why some people will do anything to escape it. In Edgar Allan Poe's short story, “The Masque of the Red Death”, this fear is experienced by all. In the story, a prince named Prospero and his people try to elude the Red Death through seclusion and isolation in the prince's abbey. However, no walls can stop death since it is unavoidable and inescapable. Throughout the story, Poe uses symbols such as the rooms, the masked figure, and the clock to convey the theme that no one can escape death.

Lastly, the isolated room that the narrator stays in is a symbol. The room symbolizes a safe haven, giving the main character time to write and process many

Gothic literature contains many thematic elements such as horror, death, and even at times romanticism. This type of literature incorporates various different elements, in order to evoke the emotions of terror. There are many authors who are extremely talented and are still remembered and read in classrooms today. These are authors like Edgar Allan Poe, best known for his mysterious poems and short stories, Richard Matheson and Horacio Quiroga, who have all incorporated psychological problems and violence themes in their short stories in order to fascinate the readers and add suspense to the story. These three gothic authors correlate the themes of violence and the psychological/ mental issues in order to depict anticipation and terror

Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Masque of the Red Death” deals with the theme of death, and does deal with this topic in a literal form in the presence of the Red Death within the country in which this story takes place at the time. However, the theme of death is most heavily portrayed in the form of symbolism to represent this idea throughout the story.

Another symbolic element of death is the ebony clock. Poe writes "that there stood against the western wall a gigantic clock of ebony" (p. 158). The clock is to show how time keeps ticking bringing you closer to death with every second that passes, and every hour the bell tolls.

However, the Red Death is the greater force and finds its’ way in. Throughout the story characteristics of gothic literature are clearly evident. “The Masque of the Red Death” is representative of psychological forces including a sense of isolation, and powerlessness in the face of a greater force. When Prince Prospero realizes half of the

"The Masque of the Red Death," by Edgar Allan Poe is a gothic fiction story that reminds us there is no escape from death. In this story, a disease called the "Red Death" spreads rapidly, gruesomely killing its victims. The prince of the land, Prospero, plans to barricade himself and his guests at his abbey. A while later the prince throws a party with uniquely colored rooms. An unusual guest appears and eventually kills everyone after revealing himself as the red death. "The Masque of the Red Death," features Poe's literary skills as he utilizes symbolism, imagery, and irony.

The name Edgar Allen Poe causes images of murders and sick women who return from the dead to come to mind. Since 1827 his works have been printed and purchased including literary classics such as “The Raven,” “The Cask of Amontillado” and “The Fall of the House of Usher.” A common theme in almost all of Poe's works is the fear of what they don’t know. In “Masque of the Red Death” he shows the ignorance in people's fear of something as inevitable as death by using symbolism and imagery.

Edgar Allan Poe was a writer who believed every single word contained meaning and in his own words expressed this idea in brevity only he is capable, "…there should be no word written, of which tendency, direct or indirect, is not to the one pre-established design." (Poe 244). To this effect, Poe drenches his works in symbolism and allegory. Especially in shorter works, Poe assigns meaning to the smallest object, explicitly deriving exurbanite significance within concise descriptions. "The Masque of the Red Death" tells the story of a Prince Prospero who along with his one thousand friends sought a haven from the plague that was ravishing their country. They lived together in the prince's luxurious abbey with all the amenities and

Edgar Allen Poe struck literary gold and constructed a masterpiece that will be immortalized as a classic in his short story “The Masque of the Red Death.” However, Poe originally published this masterpiece under the title “The Mask of the Red Death. A Fantasy.” Poe made his way into the May 1842 issue of a Philadelphia literary magazine called Graham’s Magazine. He later published a slightly revised version of his short story and gave it the name that we all know today, “The Masque of the Red Death.” This version was then published in the July 1845 issue of The Broadway Journal. “The Masque of the Red Death” went on to become one of the most famous gothic short stories of all time (The Masque of the Red Death Introduction). Poe creates such a successful story by utilizing symbolism, integrating major themes, and portraying an artist-hero character.

The Gothic literature movement began in the late 19th century and was a derivative of the Romantic Movement. Writers of the Gothic Genre were focused on drawing on the emotions of the reader and creating an atmosphere of suspense, mystery, terror and dread. The writers also emphasized the supernatural, and how horror can be present in many everyday situations. Gothic texts also place emphasis on emotions such as agitation, hysteria, mystery, venerability, suspense and panic. Many Gothic texts are based in places that are decaying, deserted, abandoned, isolated or that have a have a history of death, war and family feuds. The short story The Adventure of the Speckled