Gothic Romanticism, Poe, and “The Masque of the Red Death”

Poe and Gothic Romanticism: Allegory

• Objective: students will read “The Masque of the Red Death” in order to compare to other romantics and examine for allegory.

• Warm-up: Define allegory. Copy the following chart to fill out.

AllegoryPerson, Object or Event

Possible Meaning

Possible Lesson of Story

The prince

The abbey

The series of seven rooms

The clock

The stranger

THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH

Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe1809-1849

His Family and Tragic LifeBorn in BostonThe son of traveling actorsLived a tragic and unhappy life

. . . continuedStudied briefly at the University of VirginiaDrinking and gambling difficulties kept him from continuing at UVA

University of Virginia, 1856

. . .continuedReceived an appointment to West Point, but provoked his own dismissalCaused a final separation between himself and step-father

West Point Crest

. . .continuedIn 1836 married his 14 year old cousin, Virginia

Last 12 years of life worked as journalist, editor, and creative writer

Virginia Clemm

. . . continuedLived in poverty stricken conditions most of his life

In 1846 wife died after a long illness

Poe’s home during the 1840’s

Addiction All evidence suggests that Poe was an alcoholic.

Poe also habitually used drugs such as morphine, opium, and laudanum to treat depression and other health conditions. Poe had a weakened nervous system due to a brain lesion and a heart condition.

Laudanum, a highly addictive, opium based medicine, was commonly used to treat headaches and stomach pains in 1800’s.

. . . continuedDied in Baltimore after having been found in a stupor

Died a poor, broken man

Poe’s WorkKnown for:

Tales of mystery and terror stories

Introducing the modern detective story

Just a Few Titles

Short Stories:• The Tell-Tale Heart• The Cask of Amontillado

• The Black Cat, • The Pit and The Pendulum

Poems: • The Raven• Annabel Lee• To Helen• Lenore

“The Masque of the Red Death”

“The Masque of the Red Death”

The Setting The Setting is an abbey, or monastery, converted by the rich Prince Prospero into a private palace and banquet hall.

is an abbey, or monastery, converted by the rich Prince Prospero into a private palace and banquet hall. The time

is the Middle

Ages

The time is the

Middle Ages

The Setting: An abbeyThe Setting: An abbey

The PlagueThe Plague is usually associated with the worst contagion to hit Europe before the 20th century—

the Black Death — which, in the mid-14th century, killed about one-third of the human population.

is usually associated with the worst contagion to hit Europe before the 20th century—

the Black Death — which, in the mid-14th century, killed about one-third of the human population.

The PlagueThe Plague 1347-1351

The PlagueThe Plague came from a bacterium now named Yersinia pestis

came from a bacterium now named Yersinia pestisthat normally lived in the bloodstreams of fleas, which, in turn, lived on rats.

that normally lived in the bloodstreams of fleas, which, in turn, lived on rats.

The PlagueThe Plague

From this symptom camethe disease’scommon names: Black Death, Bubonic Plague.

From this symptom camethe disease’scommon names: Black Death, Bubonic Plague.

infected the lymph nodes, causing black swellings, called buboes.

infected the lymph nodes, causing black swellings, called buboes.

Poe’s version of this illness — the “Red Death” — does not

strictly correspond to bubonic plague. He combines it with

tuberculosis, which killed several family members,and plays up the

bloodiness of the disease. For dramatic

effect, he also shortens the infection’s time span, from years (tuberculosis) or days (bubonic plague) to minutes (Red

Death).

Poe’s version of this illness — the “Red Death” — does not

strictly correspond to bubonic plague. He combines it with

tuberculosis, which killed several family members,and plays up the

bloodiness of the disease. For dramatic

effect, he also shortens the infection’s time span, from years (tuberculosis) or days (bubonic plague) to minutes (Red

Death).

The PlagueThe Plague : Poe’s version : Poe’s version

“… The scarlet stains upon the body and especially upon the face of the victim, were the pest ban which shut him out from the aid and from the sympathy of his fellow-men. And the whole seizure, progress and termination of the disease, were the incidents of half an hour.”

From “The Masque of the Red Death”

“… The scarlet stains upon the body and especially upon the face of the victim, were the pest ban which shut him out from the aid and from the sympathy of his fellow-men. And the whole seizure, progress and termination of the disease, were the incidents of half an hour.”

From “The Masque of the Red Death”

The PlagueThe Plague killed millions, killed millions,

The PlanThe PlanBefore the Red Death arrived, Prospero

Before the Red Death arrived, Prospero planned to be elsewhere — specifically, in his converted abbey, with all that extra room.

planned to be elsewhere — specifically, in his converted abbey, with all that extra room.

The PlanThe Plan

”a thousand hale and light-hearted friends from among the knights and dames of his court.”

”a thousand hale and light-hearted friends from among the knights and dames of his court.”

The PlanThe Plan

... then the doors could be

welded shut,

and the abbey could

becomea fortress

…

... then the doors could be

welded shut,

and the abbey could

becomea fortress

…

The MasqueradeThe Masquerade

So the guests prepared their costumes ...

So the guests prepared their costumes ...

“There were much glare and glitter and

piquancy and phantasm …

The MasqueradeThe Masquerade

“… There was much of the beautiful, much of the wanton,

…”

The MasqueradeThe Masquerade

... and the ball began. And it was a success — up to a point, anyway — ... and the ball began. And it was a success — up to a point, anyway —

Literary Term: Allusion Reference to a famous historical or literary figure or event

Best sources are literature, history, Greek mythology, and the Bible

Serves to explain or clarify or enhance whatever subject

Literary Term: Gothic Elements

Supernatural horrors and an atmosphere of unknown terror pervades the action

High emotion, sentimentalism, but also pronounced anger, surprise, and especially terror

Use of words indicating fear, mystery: apparition, devil, ghost, haunted, terror, fright, fainting

Literary Term: Symbol

Something that is itself and yet also represents something else

Universal symbols embodying universally recognizable meanings

Invested symbols give symbolic meaning by the way an author uses them in a literary work

Symbols are very common in Poe’s work, and in Gothic Romanticism.

Allegory: A Story Behind a Story

• An allegory is a narrative that is really a double story. One story takes place on the surface. Under the surface the story’s characters and events represent abstract ideas or states of being, things like love or freedom, evil or goodness, hell or heaven.

• To work, an allegory must operate on two levels. On the level of pure storytelling, an allegory must hold our attention. Its characters must seem believable and interesting enough for us to care about them. On the allegorical level the ideas in the story must be accessible to us. As you read, you should find that the allegorical level of the story gradually begins to strike you.

See if you find that Poe’s story of arrogance and death hooks you on both levels.

The Masque of the Red Death: Background

• Poe’s fictional Red Death is probably based on the Black Death, which swept fourteenth-century Europe and Asia, killing as many as two thirds of the population in some regions in less than twenty years. Poe calls the plague “the Red Death” because victims oozed blood from painful sores. In this story a fourteenth-century prince gives a costume party, or masque, to try to forget about the epidemic raging all around him.

The Black Death• This particular type of plague was the bubonic plague, which is caused by a bacteria that lived in rats and other rodents. Human beings were infected through bites from the fleas that lived on these rats. The symptoms associated with plague are bubos, which are painful swellings of the lymph nodes. These typically appear in the armpits, legs, neck, or groin. If left untreated, plague victims die within two to four days. Victims of this disease suffered swelling in the armpit and groin, as well as bleeding in the lungs. Victims also suffered a very high fever, delirium, and prostration.

Summary• Poe’s tale of an eccentric nobleman and the Red Death ravaging his land can be read both as a chilling ghost story and as an allegory representing human folly and the inevitability of death. (In other words, you cannot hide from death regardless how much money you have.)

Comprehension Check1. Why does Prince Prospero close himself and his

courtiers off in the abbey? 2. Why does the masked figure’s presence cause

such a sensation?3. What happens to the prince and the revellers?

Summary

• Prince Prospero invites a thousand lords and ladies to escape death by living luxuriously in his castle until the pestilence passes.

• To entertain his guests Prospero hosts a masquerade party that takes place in seven halls, each a different color.

Summary• At the stroke of midnight, a tall figure in a blood-splattered burial costume appears.

• Prospero demands that his friends seize the intruder, but everyone is frozen with fear as the stranger slowly walks through the rooms.

• Finally, Prospero rushes after him into the black seventh room.

Summary• When the intruder turns, the host falls dead.

• The revelers then grab the stranger but find the costume empty.

• All soon die of the Red Death.

Comments“No matter how beautiful the castle, how luxuriant the clothing, or how rich the food, no mortal, not even a prince, can escape death. ”

Symbolism• What symbols do you see in this story?

The Seven Rooms• Blue- East, windows the same color• Purple- windows the same color• Green- windows the same color• Orange- windows the same color• White- windows the same color• Violet- windows the same color• Black- West, blood-red windows

Other Symbols & Meanings1. The Ebony Clock2. The Masquerade Ball

1. wearing masks, anonymous… could represent everyone

3. Plague (The Red Death)4. The Uninvited Guest

The Seven Rooms: What do they symbolize?• Where does the sun rise/set?

• East & West

• Which color symbolizes death?• Black

• A day can represent a person’s life…• Sunrise is birth• Sunset(or night) is death

The Ebony Clock:What does it mean?• Time… running out?

• Mortality – time running out eventually ending in death

Tempus Fugit!

The Uninvited Guest?• A representation of death (specifically The Red Death) that comes to kill Prince Prospero and the rest of the nobles.

Theme?

• No one, no matter how rich or powerful, can escape the slow march of time…and ultimately death.