Essay On The Masque Of The Red Death

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The Devil and His Many Cloaks The devil cloaks himself in many ways and those cloaks are depicted in many stories, two of which one will discover by reading this piece. The two portrayals one will find consist of a dark being one who is described to appear as if working were fire is prevalent. However, the devil is not always depicted as a being that has personality, but rather he is depicted as a force that holds a shape, yet, is amorphous simultaneously. Self contradiction is the only way to describe what Poe portrays the “Red Death” to be. The “Red Death” has pervaded London and many have fallen prey to it. We see in The Masque of the Red Death the clear parallel to an actual plague that annihilated London around 1665. Poe created a story in which he…show more content…
The Devil and Tom Walker, written during the early 1800s, was designed to depict a story which presents the disposition of an old tale. Washington Irving’s desire was to create an old tale, this is demonstrated by his diction, such as: old stories, and even works well know individuals from his desired time portrayal like, Captain Kidd. The Devil and Tom Walker is set in America around 1727. Unlike Washington Irving, Edgar Allan Poe shaped a story that actually occurred during his existence. However, his inspiration was taken from the Bubonic plague “black death” which razed England during the early 1400s. These two stories take place during two very different times and two very different settings. In Washington Irving’s story he depicts an individual in New England who decides his own fate. The Devil and Tom Walker is also set in a swamp, unlike the Masque of the Red Death which is set in Paris. The city in Poe’s story is detrimentally attacked by a disease called the “red death.” This attacks all the people of the city rather than one individual, unlike Washington Irving’s
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