Objective: students will read “The Masque of the Red Death” in order to compare to other romantics and examine for allegory.

Warm-up: Define allegory (462) and copy the chart to fill out after you read.

AllegoryPerson, Object Symbol or Event

Meaning in story

Symbolic Meaning

The prince

The abbey

The series of seven rooms

The clock

The stranger

The Masque of the Red Death

Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe1809-1849

His Family and Tragic Life

Born in Boston The son of traveling actors Lived a tragic and unhappy life

Tragic and Unhappy Life Mother died of

tuberculosis when Poe was one

Father deserted him at the age of two

Adopted by Mr. and Mrs. John Allan

Had constant disagreements with his step-father

John Allan

. . . continued Studied briefly at the University of Virginia Drinking and gambling difficulties kept him

from continuing at UVA

University of Virginia, 1856

. . .continued Received an appointment to

West Point, but provoked his own dismissal

Caused a final separation between himself and step-father

West Point Crest

. . .continuedIn 1836 married his

14 year old cousin, Virginia

Last 12 years of life worked as journalist, editor, and creative writer

Virginia Clemm

. . . continued Lived in poverty

stricken conditions most of his life

In 1846 wife died after a long illness Poe’s home during the

1840’s

Addiction All evidence suggests

that Poe was an alcoholic.

Poe also habitually used drugs such as morphine, opium, and laudanum to treat depression and other health conditions. Poe had a weakened

nervous system due to a brain lesion and a heart condition.

Laudanum, a highly addictive, opium based medicine, was commonly used to treat headaches and stomach pains in 1800’s.

. . . continuedDied in Baltimore

after having been found in a drunken stupor

Died a poor man

Poe’s WorkKnown for:

Tales of mystery and terror stories

Introducing the modern detective story

Short Stories: The Tell-Tale

Heart The Cask of

Amontillado The Black Cat, The Pit and The

Pendulum

Just a Few Titles

Poems: The Raven Annabel Lee To Helen Lenore

“The Masque of the Red Death”

“The Masque of the Red Death”

The Setting: An abbeyThe Setting: An abbey

The Setting The Setting is an abbey, or monastery, converted by the rich Prince Prospero into a private palace and banquet hall.

is an abbey, or monastery, converted by the rich Prince Prospero into a private palace and banquet hall.

The time is the

Middle Ages

The time is the

Middle Ages

The Setting: An abbeyThe Setting: An abbey

The Setting: An abbeyThe Setting: An abbey

The PlagueThe Plague is usually associated with the worst contagion to hit Europe before the 20th century—

the Black Death

— which, in the mid-14th century, killed roughly one-third of the continent’s population.

is usually associated with the worst contagion to hit Europe before the 20th century—

the Black Death

— which, in the mid-14th century, killed roughly one-third of the continent’s population.

The PlagueThe Plague

Its spread: 1347-1351

The PlagueThe Plague came from a bacterium now named Yersinia pestis

came from a bacterium now named Yersinia pestisthat normally lived in the bloodstreams of fleas, which, in turn, lived on black rats.

that normally lived in the bloodstreams of fleas, which, in turn, lived on black rats.

The PlagueThe Plague

When therats died,the fleas had to find new homes — humans — and a new food supply —human blood. When fleas bit people, they passed along the bacteria — the same pestis that had killed the rats.

When therats died,the fleas had to find new homes — humans — and a new food supply —human blood. When fleas bit people, they passed along the bacteria — the same pestis that had killed the rats.

The PlagueThe Plague in human hosts (such as this modern victim)

in human hosts (such as this modern victim)

From this symptom camethe disease’scommon names: Black Death and Bubonic

Plague.

From this symptom camethe disease’scommon names: Black Death and Bubonic

Plague.

infected the lymph nodes, causing black swellings, called buboes.

infected the lymph nodes, causing black swellings, called buboes.

The PlagueThe Plague Poe’s version of this illness — the “Red Death” — does

not strictly correspond to bubonic plague. He

combines it with tuberculosis, which killed several family members,

and plays up thebloodiness of the disease.

For dramaticeffect, he also shortens the infection’s time span, from

years (tuberculosis) or days (bubonic plague) to minutes

(Red Death).

Poe’s version of this illness — the “Red Death” — does

not strictly correspond to bubonic plague. He

combines it with tuberculosis, which killed several family members,

and plays up thebloodiness of the disease.

For dramaticeffect, he also shortens the infection’s time span, from

years (tuberculosis) or days (bubonic plague) to minutes

(Red Death).

The PlagueThe Plague in the Middle Ages had no effective cure. Doctors tried to treat it by lancing the buboes.

in the Middle Ages had no effective cure. Doctors tried to treat it by lancing the buboes.

The PlagueThe Plague , either way, killed millions, , either way, killed millions,

The PlanThe Plan

Before the Red Death arrived, Prospero Before the Red Death arrived, Prospero planned to be elsewhere — specifically, in his converted abbey, with all that extra room.

planned to be elsewhere — specifically, in his converted abbey, with all that extra room.

The PlanThe Plan

”a thousand hale and light-hearted friends from among the knights and dames of his court.”

”a thousand hale and light-hearted friends from among the knights and dames of his court.”

The PlanThe Plan

... then the doors could be

welded shut,

and the abbey could

becomea fortress

…

... then the doors could be

welded shut,

and the abbey could

becomea fortress

…

The MasqueradeThe Masquerade

So the guests prepared their costumes ...

So the guests prepared their costumes ...

“There were much glare and glitter and

piquancy and phantasm …

The MasqueradeThe Masquerade

Literary Term: Allusion Reference to a famous historical or

literary figure or event Best sources are literature, history,

Greek mythology, and the Bible Serves to explain or clarify or enhance

whatever subject

Literary Term: Gothic Supernatural horrors and an

atmosphere of unknown terror pervades the action

High emotion, sentimentalism, but also pronounced anger, surprise, and especially terror

Use of words indicating fear, mystery: apparition, devil, ghost, haunted, terror, fright, fainting

Literary Term: Symbol

Something that is itself and yet also represents something else

Universal symbols embodying universally recognizable meanings

Invested symbols give symbolic meaning by the way an author uses them in a literary work

Symbols are very common in literature

Allegory: A Story Behind a Story

An allegory is a narrative that is really a double story. One story takes place on the surface. Under the surface the story’s characters and events represent abstract ideas or states of being, things like love or freedom, evil or goodness, hell or heaven.

To work, an allegory must operate on two levels. On the level of pure storytelling, an allegory must hold our attention. Its characters must seem believable and interesting enough for us to care about them. On the allegorical level the ideas in the story must be accessible to us. As you read, you should find that the allegorical level of the story gradually begins to strike you.

See if you find that Poe’s story of arrogance and death hooks you on both levels.

The Masque of the Red Death:

Background Poe’s fictional Red

Death is probably based on the Black Death, which swept fourteenth-century Europe and Asia, killing as many as two thirds of the population in some regions in less than twenty years. Poe calls the plague “the Red Death” because victims oozed blood from painful sores. In this story a fourteenth-century prince gives a costume party, or masque, to try to forget about the epidemic raging all around him.

The Black Death This particular type of plague

was the bubonic plague, which is caused by a bacteria that lived in rats and other rodents. Human beings were infected through bites from the fleas that lived on these rats. The symptoms associated with plague are bubos, which are painful swellings of the lymph nodes. These typically appear in the armpits, legs, neck, or groin. If left untreated, plague victims die within two to four days. Victims of this disease suffered swelling in the armpit and groin, as well as bleeding in the lungs. Victims also suffered a very high fever, delirium, and prostration.

Summary Poe’s tale of an

eccentric nobleman and the Red Death ravaging his land can be read both as a chilling ghost story and as an allegory representing human folly and the inevitability of death. (In other words, you cannot hide from death regardless how much money you have.)

Comprehension Check

1. Why does Prince Prospero close himself and his courtiers off in the abbey?

2. Why does the masked figure’s presence cause such a sensation?

3. What happens to the prince and the revellers?

Summary Prince Prospero invites a thousand lords

and ladies to escape death by living luxuriously in his castle until the pestilence passes.

To entertain his guests Prospero hosts a masquerade party that takes place in seven halls, each a different color.

Summary At the stroke of midnight,

a tall figure in a blood-splattered burial costume appears.

Prospero demands that his friends seize the intruder, but everyone is frozen with fear as the stranger slowly walks through the rooms.

Finally, Prospero rushes after him into the black seventh room.

SummaryWhen the intruder

turns, the host falls dead.

The revelers then grab the stranger but find the costume empty.

All soon die of the Red Death.

Comments The allegorical meaning of the story is found in such details as

Prospero’s name (Prospero means prosperous) Unfortunately, the Red Death attacks the rich and poor alike

The stranger’s appearance (Dressed like the Grim Reaper or Death) The arrangement of the seven halls

The rooms of the palace, lined up in a series, allegorically represent the stages of life.

Their colors, particularly the black (death) and red (blood) of the westernmost room with its ebony clock marking the inevitable passage of time.

“No matter how beautiful the castle, how luxuriant the clothing, or how rich the food, no mortal, not even a prince, can escape death. “

-Sparknotes.com

Symbols

Symbols are people, places, events, or things that stand for ideas larger than themselves.

Symbolism

What symbols do you see in this story?List at least three symbols

The Seven Rooms

Blue- East, windows the same colorPurple- windows the same colorGreen- windows the same colorOrange- windows the same colorWhite- windows the same colorViolet- windows the same colorBlack- West, blood-red windows

Other Symbols & Meanings

1. The Ebony Clock2. The Masquerade Ball

1. wearing masks, anonymous… could represent everyone

3. Plague(The Red Death)4. The Uninvited Guest

The Seven Rooms: What do they symbolize?

Where does the sun rise/set?East & West

Which color symbolizes death?Black

A day can represent a person’s life…Sunrise is birthSunset(or night) is death

The Ebony Clock:What does it mean?

Time… running out?Mortality – time running out eventually

ending in death

The Uninvited Guest?

A representation of death (specifically The Red Death) that comes to kill Prince Prospero and the rest of the nobles.

Theme?

Death, disease, the passage of time