2. 1. Why does the Prince retreat to his abbey? Prince Prospero retreats to his abbey in an attempt to avoid death. – The “Red Death” is a plague in the story that kills its victim with half an hour. – The sign of the disease is profuse bleeding from the pores, especially the face.

3. 2. Why did the courtiers seal off the entries and exits? The courtiers seal the gates so that no one with the contagious plague can enter, as well as to prevent anyone from leaving in a moment of weakness. FYI: A courtier is someone who attends the court of a king or other member of royalty. They are generally of the noble class.

4. 3.Why were there seven rooms of different colors? There are seven rooms of different colors because the prince wanted to create an elaborate setting for the masked party.

5. 4. What could the colors symbolize together? The imperial suite of various colored rooms might symbolize the different stages of life.

6. 5. What color is the first room? Where is it located in the abbey? What might this room symbolize? The first room is blue, and it is located in the eastern extremity of the imperial suite of rooms. It might symbolize birth and beginnings.

7. 6. What color(s) is the last room? Where is it located in the abbey? What could it symbolize? The last room is decorated in black and has a stained glass window of “a deep blood color.” It is located in the western end of the suite of rooms, and is meant to symbolize death.

8. 7. Why do the guests avoid entering the seventh room? The guests avoid entering the seventh room because fire that shown through the red stained glass window into the black room created a “ghastly” and grim effect upon the face of whomever went into the room. As the night continues, it grows even darker and more grim, causing fear in the revelers. In other words, the strange light made them look dark and scary, and possibly death-like.

9. 8.Why is there an eerie clock in the black- colored room? The black clock in the black room marks the passage of time. It reminds the guests of the brevity of life, and that sooner or later all will die.

10. 9. Why might some think Prince Prospero is mad? He has eccentric (strange) tastes and decorates his abbey in a bizarre way: grand towers, dark corridors, sharp turns from room to room, and (of course!) symbolic colors with ornate details. He throws an elaborate masked ball while people outside of his castle are dying of the Red Death.

11. 10. Why does the music stop when the chimes of the clock ring? The music stops with the chiming because the crowd is uncertain and fearful. They have a sense that something dreadful is coming. They pause briefly, but then they continue on with the party once the moment of uncertainty passes.

12. 11. Where does the masked stranger come from? Who is he? The masked stranger has always been among the guests—he is Death. Though they do not want to acknowledge his presence, they cannot escape him, even in the party of the sealed abbey.

13. 12. Why are the partygoers hesitant to approach the masked figure? The guests seem to sense that he is dangerous and should be feared. Symbolically, since he is Death, he cannot be stopped. We all must die at some point.

14. 13.Why is the Prince angry with the stranger’s presence? Prince Prospero is upset that he could not keep reality at bay after all. He, and all the revelers, must face human mortality.

15. 14. Edgar Allan Poe wrote Gothic fiction during what century? Poe wrote during the nineteenth century, from the 1820s until his death at age forty.

16. 15. Poe was part of a group of writers from (country) called the. 15. Poe was part of a group of writers from America called the Dark Romantics.