1. “The Masque of the red death”
By Edgar A. Poe

4. Characters Prince Prospero > (Protagonist)
The name Prospero is an allusion to a Shakespearean character from “The Tempest” who lost his Dukedom

5. What do we know about Prospero?

6. Who or what is the antagonist in this story?
The Red Death

7. Setting Fairy-tale setting (no specific time)
Prince Prospero’s kingdom – his castle
7 room suite
Colored rooms with matching colored window treatments
Not in a straight row – built using sharp angles
Illuminated by torches in adjacent corridors
The black room (7th room) has a crimson window treatment and an ebony clock

8. Symbolism
Poe often creates ominous, eerie settings that become symbolic
Prospero’s seven room suite is specifically set in sharp angles
Can you think of what this could be symbolic of?

9. What about the seventh room?
And why do you think everyone stops dancing when the clock strikes? How is the clock symbolic?

11. The rooms come to represent the Seven Phases of Life, or the Seven Ages of Man
This is also an allusion to Shakespeare (Shakespeare has a poem titled “The Seven Ages of Man”)
oetry/Shakespeare-TheSeven.html

12. The number 7 as always been associated with the supernatural
The rooms progress from east to west like sunrise (birth) and sunset (death)

13. The entire setting is symbolic – it creates an ominous tone which helps create foreshadowing and suspense
The setting also helps convey the theme -
The buildings design helps express the idea that death is inevitable

14. Allegory: A piece of literature that can be interpreted on two levels – having both a literal and a symbolic meaning
Some readers argue that “The Masque of the Red Death” is allegorical because so many things are symbolic.
After watching the short animated film clip, get with a partner and finish the “Masque” questions.