The short story “The Masque of the Red Death” by Edgar Allan Poe tells the tale of a mysterious plague that ravages a country’s population. The symptoms of it are terrifying, and death is rapid. However, Prince Prospero decides to lock himself and other nobles in the abbey, which does not help him escape the Red Death. In the story, Poe creates horror and suspense by underscoring dreadful symptoms and the inevitability of the Red Death for all people affected by the disease.
The author depicts red death as a highly contagious disease that brings unbearable suffering to the infected. Poe describes the symptoms, “There were sharp pains and sudden dizziness, and then profuse bleeding at the pores, with dissolution” (p. 3). He adds that the victims were covered in red stains and died extremely rapidly.
Prince Prospero and other nobles confined themselves to the abbey in an attempt to escape the Red Death. Poe depicts their festivities and masquerade as they are not aware that the disease is inevitable for them as well. Although Prince Prospero is convinced that the Red Death affects only the poor, the disease appears in the abbey.
Prince Prospero falls dead, “and Darkness and Decay and the Red Death held illimitable dominion over all” (p. 10). Therefore, Poe presents a universal horror as the disease brings suffering and cannot be escaped. It first infects and kills the population and then moves to confined areas to take the lives of all the people, regardless of their status.
Poe creates suspense and horror by depicting the Red Death as an inevitable and rapid end for all people. Prince Prospero hopes that distancing himself from it can help him escape death and outlive the plague. However, the locked doors of the abbey do not protect him from the Red Death. Therefore, the universal presence and power of the plague rendered all the people’s efforts ineffective. Death has complete control of their lives, and there is nothing that can be done to change it.
Reference
Poe, E. A. (1842). The Masque of the Red Death. José Menéndez.