Charlotte Myers Myers 1

IB English 2

20 May 2023

“The Masque of the Red Death” Symbol Analysis

“The Masque of the Red Death,” a short story written by Edgar Allen Poe, portrays the

futility of the attempts of mankind to avoid their inevitable mortality. Despite the efforts of the

protagonist, Prince Prospero, to shield himself from the plague decimating his kingdom, known

as the Red Death, he ultimately succumbs to the death he sought to escape. The story functions

as an allegory to convey a universal message: death is inevitable, and any attempts to escape it

are futile. To develop this allegory, Poe utilizes three pivotal symbols: the masquerade, which

symbolizes humanity’s intense fear of death; the clock, representative of the constant passage of

time; and the hallways, a symbol of the inevitable path from life to death. Through these

symbols, Poe criticizes humanity's ubiquitous fear of death, which he characterizes as both

irrational and unproductive.

The masquerade is an essential symbol in the development of Poe’s allegory which

conveys humanity’s intense and irrational fear of death. The guests at the masquerade are

comforted by the luxuries of the masquerade, believing that because “there were musicians, there

was Beauty, there was wine… and security within,” that they would remain safe from the Plague

(Poe 1). Poe creates a sharp juxtaposition between this inner environment of the masquerade

with the outside, stating simply that “without was the ‘Red Death’” (Poe 1). The contrast in the

length of the descriptions between the inner and outer worlds emphasizes the guests’ fixation on

the masquerade, which they use to avoid confronting the reality of the Plague. In this way, the

masquerade represents an artificial world constructed by the guests to engage in self-deception,

denying that they too are vulnerable to the horrors of the Red Death. The guests are certain that
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the masquerade serves as a boundary between them and the outside- that there could be no

connection between such extravagance in the masquerade and the suffering of the external world

devastated by the Red Death. For instance, the guests felt that “it was folly to grieve, or to think”

while at the masquerade (Poe 1). The guests’ choice to maintain the delusion rather than think

about the outside world highlights the true function of the masquerade: to repress their growing

fears of death. Poe also describes the guests at the masquerade as a “multitude of dreams, ”

crafting a metaphor which characterizes the guests as surreal and disconnected from reality (Poe

3). This idea is further developed as Poe describes the guests as “phantasms,” suggesting that the

guests have become supernatural and thus inhuman (Poe 3). This characterization implies that

the guests' actions at the masquerade have separated them from essential human nature. In other

words, the guests' attempt to elude death through material means only comforts their

imaginations, but does not affect the reality of their fate.

Secondly, the clock contributes to the allegory by representing the relentless passage of

time. During the festive masquerade, the chime of the clock every hour caused disruptions to the

guests’ enjoyment, forcing the orchestra to “pause” and the waltzers to “cease their evolutions.”

(Poe 2). The contrast between the vibrant descriptions of the masquerade with the silence and

stillness induced by the clock emphasizes the powerful reminder that the clock offers: despite the

guests’ efforts to delude themselves, time continues to pass- a warning that death grows closer at

every moment. Thus, in conjunction with the symbolism of the masquerade, the clock

demonstrates that death cannot be stopped, or even permanently forgotten, as it remains a

fundamental force in life. The chiming of the clock also heralds the arrival of the Red Death in

the masquerade, as when “the last echoes of the last chime” dissipate, many guests became

aware of “a masked figure” who resembled “stiffened corpse” (Poe 3). The comparison of the
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masked figure to a corpse highlights the guests’ intense awareness of death, which is linked to

the passage of time represented by the clock. In this way, the clock is used as a symbol for the

continual passage of time, which is inextricably tied to humanity’s fear of mortality. The guests’

attempts to evade death are ultimately futile, overpowered by the passage of time and the death

which accompanies it. Thus, Poe uses the clock to assert that human life is inherently finite, a

fact which humans try- and fail - to avoid through distractions represented by the masquerade.

Finally, the hallways found in the abbey play a crucial role in presenting Poe’s allegory,

symbolizing the inevitable transition from life to death. The hallways are used to symbolize the

stages of human life from birth to death, which is conveyed through the color symbolism of the

apartments. The first apartment is decorated in blue- a color associated with birth- whereas the

final apartment is defined by black and scarlet, which are associated with death; the apartments

are connected via the hallways, thus representing the path of human life. The structure of the

hallways also develops the guests’ refusal to accept their impending deaths. In most palaces the

“suites form a long and straight vista” such that one can see through the entire hallway; however,

in Prince Prospero’s palace, “the apartments were so irregularly disposed” that it was only

possible to see one at a time (Poe 2). The contrast between the typical layout and Prospero’s

palace emphasizes the continued denial of the guests to recognize their own mortality, as they

choose to shield themselves from visualizing the stages of life that lie in front of them- instead

focusing only on their current stage. In addition, the hallways represent the lack of autonomy

humans possess in matters of life and death. Between the rooms “there was a sharp turn at every

twenty or thirty yards, and at each turn a novel effect” (Poe 2). This visual imagery of the

labyrinthine hallways suggests that humans have minimal choice in the journey through the

stages of life, but rather are helplessly directed through them. In this way, Poe emphasizes that
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the forces of life and death are more powerful than any human desire to contain them, and

consequently that the guests’ attempts to escape death are futile.

“The Masque of the Red Death” is a powerful allegory which criticizes human attempts

to deny or escape death. Three symbols are key in this message; the masquerade represents our

desire to distance ourselves from our inevitable death, the clock depicts the relentless progression

of time, and the hallways of the palace reflect the futility of trying to avoid death. In essence,

“The Masque of the Red Death” is a story designed to examine one of mankind’s greatest

instincts- our fear of mortality. However, rather than present a fatalistic message, Poe’s allegory

can be interpreted as a positive, liberating perspective on death. Through symbolism which

emphasizes the inevitability of death, Poe encourages readers to stop avoiding or denying the

presence of death, but rather embrace it as a vital component of human life.