Analysis of The Masque of the Read Death

Hi everyone,

Here is my analysis thus far of Edgar Allan Poe's The Masque of the Red Death. Certainly, this first post of mine is not perfect at all. It may be pretty far from where it needs to be. But that is okay, each time I log in and add to my posts, my analysis will progress to get better. Anyway, I am not completely finished for this week's post so far, so wait until tonight and tomorrow morning- for when I will wake up and I start to get to business on   "perfecting" my blog and posts.
So.....here is my first attempt, I promise more and probably better will be arriving very soon!

1. Describe the internal and external workings of the Protagonist (Prince Prospero).

         From annotating this text, there are many ways for one to classify the workings of the Protagonist, Prince Prospero. As a wealthy man, Prince Prospero takes great pride in himself and his great fortune. In the beginning of the story, the narrator quotes that the “Prince Prospero was happy and dauntless and sagacious.” Ultimately, it is his excessive self-indulgence that creates Prince Prospero to be ignorant of the effects of the Red Death. Even though he knows there is a rise in the deadly disease spreading, the prince believes internally that he is immune to the evil fate of the Red Death. It is not until towards the end of the story, when one sees his emotions and realizations of the Red Death. At that moment the narrator tells, “he was seen to be convulsed, in the first moment with a strong shudder either of terror or distaste; but, in the next, his brow was reddened with rage” (Poe  260). Overall, the tone of text, which concentrates primarily on the protagonist, changes from the beginning to the end.
Towards the end of the text, the arrogance of the Prince gets the best of him and so consequently, he is affected and meets his demise. Internally, one can sense that the Prince clearly contains no worries about himself of his fate. However, externally, he voluntarily alienates himself from his revelers and society.  One could depict that the protagonist must have a little fear for his fate because of his extreme intentions of alienation. As the revelers are invited to the party, one does not see Prince Prospero interact with any of them. This analysis clue one to see that there is a distant relationship between the Prince and his revelers.

2. Why does Prince Prospero voluntarily isolate himself?          

            Ultimately Prince Prospero isolates himself voluntarily in the text. The focus of this action is to exclude him from society, so he is able to avoid the Red Death and his demise. In his deep seclusion, his self-absorption creates him to perceive that his self overshadows society and the plague. Prince Prospero decides to host a masquerade ball in order to hid is identity and slight fear from the Red Death. This extravagant fete allows himself to become even more absorbed into his character, even though in the end he encounters what he has tried to escape.      

3. Who does Prince Prospero invite to his great fete?

            For his great fete, Prince Prospero invites all of his greatest revelers. With this, the Prince uses his own revelers ask a mask to isolate himself from society and the Red Death. Upon his strategy, Prospero is able to devour himself at his great fete. The great fete contains the theme of a masquerade, where every attendee must wear a mask to cover his face. However, this symbolizes Prospero’s plan for everyone’s identity to be secretive towards the Red Death.                

4. Describe Prince Prospero's great fete and the physical description of each of the seven apartments (chambers).

            In Prospero’s great feat can be described as a magnificent structure presented with eccentric and august taste. In the entire voluptuous scene, there are seven chamber in total in the palace. The layout of the entire palace is described to be quite bizarre, as it does not reflect an average residential layout during this time. The narrator quotes each chamber as, “To the right and left, in the middle of each wall, a tall and narrow Gothic window looked out upon a closed corridor which pursued the windings of the suite. These windows were of stained glass whose color varied in accordance with the prevailing hue of the decorations of the chamber into which it opened” (Poe 257).  On the east extremity of the chambers the first chamber, is blue and so where its windows painted with such a vivid hue. The second chamber was purple, which contained purple ornaments and tapestries, as well as its panes were purple also. The third chamber is described to be green throughout as its casements are green throughout too. So on, the fourth is lighted with orange, the fifth is white, and the sixth is violet. 
However, the last chamber was considered to be the most powerful and different chamber out of all. The narrator describes, “The seventh apartment was closely shrouded in black velvet tapestries that hung all over the ceiling and down the walls, failing in heavy folds upon a carpet of the same material and hue. But in this chamber only, the color of the windows failed to correspond with the decorations. The panes here were scarlet-a deep blood color” (Poe  257). The seventh chamber is portrayed as a deep darkening mysterious room, as it is decorated all in unison unlike the rest of the chambers.
 Moreover, what sets this chamber from the rest is the giant ebony clock that is against the western wall. This clock signifies the speed of time, as it is pressed against the western side, the clock and its time tracks the life of one where it symbolizes the last few ticking moments of one’s life on Earth.

5. Who is the villain and how does he represent the "repressed emotions" of Prince Prospero?

            In Gothic literature, the villain encompasses more power and control than the protagonist. In this story, the villain is the Red Death, as it contains more power over the actions of Prince Prospero. The protagonist in Gothic literature always can see a mirror image of himself within the villain. The Masque of the Red Death portrays Prospero as he is trying to represent his mortality. When Prospero meets the Red Death in the seventh chamber, he realizes that his repressed emotions are contained in his enemy, the Red Death. 

So, that is it for today, and more revisions and additions will be coming in the next day or two for sure! 

Have a great day, and remember I am your ultimate deception...

Love, 

Allison