Literary Criticism: The Masque Of The Red Death By: Edgar Allan Poe

The main character is Prince Prospero , a nobleman who represents arrogance, he firmly believes that  he is the only man on the planet earth to defy the disease, he doesn’t care about the others.

He is also a lover of luxury, he hasn’t compassion for the villagers who are dying of pestilence.

He decides to isolate himself and noble friends inside his fortified abbey.

He believes that the red death can be defeated through entertainment and extravagance, a symbol of human blindness to fate.

His fervent belief that he is immune to death shatters when he sees a figure in a red robe, chasing him to the seventh room where he will die.

The prince's guests firmly believe that with power and money, they are masters of their own destiny; they are arrogant and insensitive to the deaths of others. With the arrival of the Red Death, they will understand that death is inevitable.

The Red Death represents the inevitability of death, and the powerlessness of human beings in the face of it.

The ebony clock represents that time takes its course, and no one can escape their destiny.

This ebony clock, with its mysterious quality, life in the abbey stops every hour; after the chime, life reignites.

After the visit of the Red Death, it falls silent forever, like the immense braziers intent on illuminating the seven rooms.

The abbey walls represent the illusion of escaping one's destiny.

The seven colored rooms represent the various stages of life, from birth to death.

The ebony clock represents that time is inexorable; it counts the minutes that separate us from death.

 

Upon reaching the seventh room, Prince Prospero will try to unmask the man in red.

This represents his arrogance; he thinks he is capable of defeating death.

The final message is: "like a thief in the night" (the death)