1. The Masque of the Red Death
Edgar Allan Poe
Page 389

2. Complete the following literary terms:
1. Setting –
Prince Prospero’s extensive and magnificent abbey.

3. 2. Irony page 390 p.1
Why is it ironic that Prince Prospero is happy?
The devastation of the Red Death had taken its toll on half of his population.
Would you say the prince is “brave and wise”?

4. 3. Characterization – (Prince) page 390 p.1
What kind of a leader is the prince?
He cares little for his people, puts himself and his cronies before others…

5. 4. Setting and Mood page 391
What is special about the rooms in which the party is held? How do the rooms add to the mood of the story?
Instead of being laid out in a straight line, they are irregularly arranged. To move from one room to another, a person has to make twists and turns. In addition, each room is only one color and a different color from the others. The strange arrangement and bizarre color scheme of the rooms adds to the strange and disturbing mood.

6. 5. Characterization page 392 (Prince)
Some people think the prince is mad, but his friends say he’s not. What do you think at this point in the story?

7. 6. Symbol page 392 (the clock)
The clock is important. How do people react to its chimes? What happens when the clock chimes?
The people feel uneasy when the clock chimes. When the clock chimes, everything stops.

8. 6. (continued)
What do the chimes symbolize?
Death is near, life is passing….

9. 7. Foreshadowing p. 393 (end of 1st p.)
What clues does the author give that something is about to happen?
The author seems to be indicating that someone or something is now in the seventh room, the room where no one goes.

10. 8. Symbol – the “Red Death” costume
What does the appearance of the red death costume symbolize?

11. 9. Personification –
Red Death – page 394 last p.
How is the red death personified?
Clock – page 392 first column
page 394 last p.
How is the clock personified?

12. 10. Simile –
page 394 last p.
“He had come like a thief in the night…”
What does this simile add to the mood?

13. 11. Vivid verbs –
List 8 vivid verbs from the story. What do they add to the story?
12. Descriptive Adjectives –
List 8 descriptive adjectives. What do they add to the story?

14. 13. Theme –
“You cannot temp fate.”
“ You cannot run away or avoid the inevitable.”
“No one is beyond death.”
“Death is the great leveler of the classes.”