Color Symbolism ~~ The Masque of the Red Death ~~

I recently wrote an essay on the symbolism of the colors in “The Masque of the Red Death”:

In “The Masque of the Red Death”, by Edgar Allan Poe, the colors of the chambers are symbolic as a spectrum, and some of the individual colors are also symbolic. Some of the meanings are more obvious, while others have to be connected with the story and the placement of the rooms to make sense.

For example, black symbolizes death and evil, and scarlet can symbolize blood. Black is often worn to funerals to represent the recent death, and red is the color of blood. Black combined with red, as in the seventh chamber, represents death, and since blood is the “Red Death’s” avatar and seal, it represents death from, specifically, the “Red Death” in “The Masque of the Red Death”. Because of this, the revelers who tried to escape the “Red Death” confront the “Red Death” in this chamber and are all killed by the “Red Death”, as the colors of the chambers suggest.

As a spectrum, the colors—blue, purple, green, orange, white, violet and black—represent the beginning of the day to midnight. Blue and purple represent the darkness of the night before the sun rises, and green flashes can sometimes be observed during sunrises. Sunrises are often orange, and white could represent the blinding sunlight at noon. Violet can represent sunset, and black represents midnight. The rooms also progress from east to west, and the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. According to this interpretation of the colors, the “Red Death” led the prince from dawn to midnight before killing him. Since the Red Death appears at midnight, this might connect death with midnight.

Finally, blue can represent birth and black can symbolize death, the spectrum of colors representing life. The blue room can be associated with birth because it is the westernmost room, where the sun rises, and the easternmost room, where the sun sets, is associated with death and endings. The colors of the black room can also be associated with death. The prince and the other revelers were killed in the black-and-red room, and the prince started chasing the “Red Death” in the blue room, which could suggest birth. Because the party-goers were trying to avoid death, they avoided the black room, which reminded them of death, the thing they were trying to avoid.

The colors and their placements are symbolical. The blue room represents beginnings—birth and the beginning of the day—while the black-and-red room represents endings—death and the end of the day. In the story, Poe showed that death is unavoidable, even though Prince Prospero and his friends went to such measures to achieve it.

[I’ve noticed that some of my coding doesn’t work for some browsers, so if the font size looks unusually large or something like that, I’m sorry. I’m still working on my coding skills.]

Book Review ~~ The Masque of the Red Death ~~

A short while ago, I read the short story “The Masque of the Red Death”, by Edgar Allan Poe. It’s an allegory about death, but the story itself also has a wonderful plot, though it is horrifying, as is customary with Poe’s stories. In the story, Prince Prospero tried to escape from the “Red Death”, a plague that caused an extreme pain and then killed the victim in half an hour, by gathering a thousand of his friends and then secluding them in an abbey of his, providing provisions and all kinds of pleasures, from ballerinas and musicians to buffoons and wine. He parties and ignores the problem of the “Red Death”. However, during one of his parties, the party-goers realize that someone dressed like the “Red Death” is with them, and though his clothing is distinctive, he is not noticed until after midnight, hours after the party starts, in the blue, easternmost room. A commotion is created, all of the revelers trying their best to escape the person, and though the prince commands his courtiers to seize him, they are frightened of him, and do not, so that the prince himself chases the person through the seven chambers of the party. The person then turns to confront and kill the prince, but when the party-goers attempt to unmask him, it turns out that he is a shapeless form, and is in fact the “Red Death”. The “Red Death” is the personification of death, and the story shows that it is impossible to run from death forever. Though horrifying, the story was very interesting, and I enjoyed reading it. I would rate this story 9.7/10 and recommend it to anyone who likes Poe, horror stories, allegorical stories or is simply looking for an interesting short story.

Book Review ~~ Hop-Frog ~~

Today, I read “Hop-Frog,” a short story by Edgar Allan Poe. I really enjoyed reading it and learning about the main character, Hop-Frog. At first, he seems to be just a dwarf, often ridiculed for his gait and race, but still loyal and helpful to the king. However, when the king pushes his “best friend,” Trippetta, for trying to help him, his true nature is revealed. Carefully, he makes preparations for the party, suggesting an outfit for the king and making a few adjustments to the party room to organize his revenge on the king. Poe’s writing was very engaging, and the intricacy of Hop-Frog’s plans were a surprise to me. Although, from his tone when he suggested an outfit, I could guess that he was either trying to spare his friend from further punishment or organize revenge, I didn’t understand what he was trying to do until he was already doing it. I would recommend the story to anyone interested in reading a short story about how an “underdog” can triumph over a bully through cunning plans and rate “Hop-Frog” 9.2/10.

Book Review ~~ The Tell-Tale Heart ~~

Yesterday I read the book “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe. It’s a short, horror story written in first person about a man who seems mad but says he isn’t. I found it a very interesting, if slightly frightening story with a lot of description about the man’s feelings as he kills and hides the body of another man, confessing to the murder because of his own guilt. The author is able to use imagery and description well enough to make me understand how the narrator felt and why he killed the older man who had always been so kind to him. The use of the narrator’s beating heart to capitalize on and show in detail his guilt was also a good tactic in the author’s writing. I thought it was an amazing story and recommend it to anyone interested in horror stories. I would rate it a 9/10.