Symbols in "The Masque of the Red Death"

Edgar Allan Poe's "The Masque of the Red Death" should be studied at many levels: (1) the literal level – theliteral level is a study of the events that actually take place in the story; (2) an allegorical level - an allegory is a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one.The hidden meaning is created through objects, characters, and events are symbolic of something grander in scale. In order tounderstand the story allegorically, one needs a firm understanding of symbols in "The Masque of the RedDeath."

How do the following symbols tie into the story? We will work in small groups to find the answers to the fourissues below.

Group 1: What do the colors of the rooms signify? List the colors from the story and what they signify foreach room.

Group 2: Read Shakespeare’s seven ages of man. Which stages go with which rooms and why?

Group 3: Review the seven deadly sins. Explain why these sins have significance to the story.

Group 4: Review the symbols listed and explain why these symbols have significance to the story.

Shakespeare’s Seven Ages of Man (from As You Like It, 2. 7. 139-167)

Jacques:

All the world's a stage,

And all the men and women merely players;

They have their exits and their entrances,

And one man in his time plays many parts,

His acts being seven ages. At first, the infant,

Mewling and puking* in the nurse's arms.

Then the whining schoolboy, with his satchel

And shining morning face, creeping like snail

Unwillingly to school. And then the lover,

Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad

Made to his mistress' eyebrow. Then a soldier,

Full of strange oaths and bearded like the pard*,

Jealous in honour, sudden and quick in quarrel,

Seeking the bubble reputation

Even in the canon's mouth. And then the justice,

In fair round belly with good capon* lined,

With eyes severe and beard of formal cut,

Full of wise saws* and modern instances;

And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts

Into the lean and slipperedpantaloon*

With spectacles on nose and pouch on side;

His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide

For his shrunk shank, and his big manly voice,

Turning again toward childish treble, pipes

And whistles in his* sound. Last scene of all,

That ends this strange eventful history,

Is second childishness and mere oblivion,

Sans* teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.

Another Masque Interpretation: Prospero in The Tempest

Prospero is the protagonist of William Shakespeare’s play, The Tempest. He is a wizard/magician who was betrayed by his brother and exiled on a remote island. Still, before Prospero landed on the island, his devotion to the study of magic got him into big trouble. While Prospero's nose was buried in his extensive library, his snaky brother managed to steal his title ("Duke of Milan") and get him thrown out of Italy. So, before Prospero was physically isolated on the isle, he did a pretty good job of isolating himself socially by making his "art" (magic) his number one priority. Hmm ... Is Shakespeare trying to tell us something about the dangers of letting one's devotion to mastering his craft consume him? Another interpretation of "The Masque of the Red Death" is as a symbol of Prospero's indulgence in the seven deadly sins:

  1. Pride/Vanity - Pride is the excessive belief in one's own abilities, similar to vanity, which is settingone's heart on things of little value.
  2. Envy – Envy is a state of being jealous of someone else for what they possess (material wealth, physicalor personal qualities).
  3. Gluttony - Gluttony is the act of consuming more than one is required (usually food and drink).
  4. Lust - Lust is an excessive craving for the pleasures of the body, usually associated with sex. The era inwhich Poe wrote prohibited the explicit or implicit description of sex, but what do you think was goingon at an anything goes party?
  5. Wrath—Synonym: anger (usually leading to vengeance)
  6. Greed - An excessive desire to acquire or possess more than what one needs or deserves, especially withrespect to material wealth
  7. Sloth - Sloth is the absence of work. Synonym: laziness

Other Symbols in “The Masque of the Red Death”

What might these items mean on a symbolic level as they pertain to the short story?

  1. The abbey
  2. The guests
  3. The music
  4. The ebony clock
  5. The prince
  6. The masquerade
  7. The ebony clock
  8. The uninvited guest
  9. The tripods with flames
  10. “He had come like a thief in the night.” Biblical allusion: “the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.” Refers to Judgment Day.

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Short Constructed Response (everyone): Respond to the following ideas in a well-written paragraph (10-12 sentences) that uses textual evidence to support your claim.

PROMPT:

What lesson/lessons do you think Poe wants us to learn from “The Masque of the Red Death”? How do the symbols he uses help to teach that lesson?

SCR is due on Monday, 12/1 by 10:30 p.m. (MST)

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