Ngan Tran Mrs. Palmer World Literature 30 September 2013 Short Story: The Masque of the Red Death “The Masque of the Red Death” is a fictional and scary story written by Edgar Allan Poe, an American author, in 1842. The story takes place in a kingdom in Europe, maybe Italy, long time ago. The Prince Prospero and his friends were having a masked ball in seven magnificent rooms after five or six months hiding in a luxurious castle waiting for the Red Death, a dangerous pestilence that killed many people in his country, to be gone. At midnight, there was a strange guest dress spectrally. When the Prince pursued him to the corner of the seventh room, he died because of the Red Death, and so did other people.
An “Un-Dead” Classic -- Book Review With the majority of today’s popular vampire attention orbiting around Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight, it seems as though an important classic vampire novel has been forgotten. The 1897 classic, titled Dracula, has been assigned to many literary genres over the years. Some, for example, are vampire literature, horror fiction and even a gothic novel. Literary critics have identified several themes, such as the role of women in Victorian culture and folklore. It is important to note though, that Stoker did not invent the vampire, but played a major influence in interpretations since its publication.
To what extent do you think gothic literature is characterised by a fascination with death? Notions of 'death' manifest themselves into gothic texts in numerous ways, throught plot, setting and through both characters perceptions, and reactions to death, thus one interpretation is that gothic literature has become fascinated by death. Death, represents arguably one of the main provokers of human fear. It is the ultimate unknown and stimulates feelings of both horror and terror, the sickening apprehension at the mere thought of death and consequently the dismal realisation.Gothic texts are known for the promise of the sickly addictive combination of both horror and terror, thus it is almost inevitable then, that 'death' too has become an archetypal feature. To an increasingly large extent gothic literature is concerned with and obsession or fascination with death, however some may argue that this notion of death presents merely a sole characteristic of the gothic, and that perhaps there are alternative features that take predominance over it, such as the supernatural.
Emily Bronte's classic gothic novel 'Wuthering Heights' explores pure raw emotion which evokes many different reactions from the audience to whom is reading it. Fear is described as an extreme reverence or awe, towards a supreme power whereas terror could refer to the violence which is committed within the novel. The emotions conveyed through strong and powerful imagery, create a thrilling piece of literature which can connect and engage an audience which spans through generations. From the beginning of the novel the readers are introduced to the grand solitude, that is the house of Wuthering Heights. The description Wuthering being a significant provincial adjective, descriptive of the atmospheric tumult to which its station is exposed in stormy weather" immediately creates the a dark and desolate image which would provoke a sense of fear within 19th century readers.
Faulkner has death in the readers mind by starting out with "When Miss Emily Grierson died, our whole town went to her funeral," (Faulkner) already giving the death theme before the reader knows anything. It hangs over the story the whole time. Because of Poe's writing style, Montressor is seen as a more unstable character than Emily. Throughout "The Cask Of Amontialldo," Montressor gives clues to his victim that he shall soon be punished. It shows that Montressor has put more thought into his murder, making it premeditated.
Ultimately, in both stories, the use of symbolism and diction is fundamental in establishing the theme of death through the insanity of the characters. To begin with, the use of symbols is crucial
In this tragedy by William Shakespeare, multiple deaths occur due to the decisions made by Romeo, Friar Lawrence, and Lord Capulet. Romeo, a protagonist of the play and a member of the Montague family, directly and indirectly caused several deaths throughout the play. For example, Romeo was banished by Prince Escalus for killing Tybalt (3:1:190). He directly killed Tybalt and is partially at fault for
The horror of the plague: An Analysis of “The Masque of the Red Death” In Edgar Allen Poe 1842 short story “The Masque of the Red Death,” A plague destroyed the country, not only was so fatal and horrible but by actually seen how it affected the body, how those dark spots cover the face of the person it look horrible. How the blood will cover their entire bodies, the black sports become darker like the color black little by little it will cover the entire body and have a slowly death. The prince not only did he build a wall, that had an amazing structure so the plague will not be on his way and he could survive. He let his people die, but only half of them were already dead by the time that he builds the wall. H e just invited the most important people Knights, part of his court and some of the people that will work for him on the castle.
The last room is black which represents death, with red panes which is the color of blood. These chambers can be symbolic of the cycle of life. Since there are seven chambers, they can symbolize the seven deadly sins as well. The guests of the masquerade were sinning because they were drinking and partying, while the rest of the world was dying of disease. This is ironic because the party is being held in a church.
A physically horrifying ghost is an essential component of gothic literature. This can be seen through Sir Simon because, “his eyes were as red burning coals… his garments were soiled and ragged… from his wrists and ankles hung heavy manacles and rusty gyves” (42). Sir Simon is a prominent gothic ghost because his eyes like “red burning coals”, seems almost as if they possess a supernatural glow. The words “soiled, ragged and rusty” adds to Sir Simon’s mysteriousness because they indirectly hint that he has been in his current state for quite some time. Details such as “manacles and gyves” perfect his haunting guise because even chains cannot stop him from sin.