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“The Masque of the red death”

“The Masque of the red death”. By Edgar A. Poe. Characters. Prince Prospero > (Protagonist). The name Prospero is an allusion to a Shakespearean character from “The Tempest” who lost his Dukedom. What do we know about Prospero?. Who or what is the antagonist in this story? The Red Death.

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“The Masque of the red death”

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  1. “The Masque of the red death” By Edgar A. Poe

  2. Characters • Prince Prospero > (Protagonist) The name Prospero is an allusion to a Shakespearean character from “The Tempest” who lost his Dukedom

  3. What do we know about Prospero?

  4. Who or what is the antagonist in this story? • The Red Death

  5. Setting • Fairy-tale setting (no specific time) • Prince Prospero’s kingdom – his castle • 7 room suite • Colored rooms with matching colored window treatments • Not in a straight row – built using sharp angles • Illuminated by torches in adjacent corridors • The black room (7th room) has a crimson window treatment and an ebony clock

  6. Symbolism • Poe often creates ominous, eerie settings that become symbolic • Prospero’s seven room suite is specifically set in sharp angles • Can you think of what this could be symbolic of?

  7. What about the seventh room? • And why do you think everyone stops dancing when the clock strikes? How is the clock symbolic?

  8. The rooms come to represent the Seven Phases of Life, or the Seven Ages of Man • This is also an allusion to Shakespeare (Shakespeare has a poem titled “The Seven Ages of Man”) • http://www.ac.wwu.edu/~stephan/webstuff/poetry/Shakespeare-TheSeven.html

  9. The number 7 as always been associated with the supernatural • The rooms progress from east to west like sunrise (birth) and sunset (death)

  10. The entire setting is symbolic – it creates an ominous tone which helps create foreshadowing and suspense • The setting also helps convey the theme - • The buildings design helps express the idea that death is inevitable

  11. Allegory: A piece of literature that can be interpreted on two levels – having both a literal and a symbolic meaning • Some readers argue that “The Masque of the Red Death” is allegorical because so many things are symbolic. • As we read the next story pay attention to objects that become symbolic.

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