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THE SYMBOLS AND ALLEGORY AS CRUCIAL KEYS TO REVEAL THE THEME IN EDGAR ALLAN POE’S

“THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH”

AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra

in English Letters

By

MARTHA DANI HESTIANAWATI

Student Number: 044214003

ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS FACULTY OF LETTERS

SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA

2010

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LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTINGAN

AKADEMIS Yang bertanda tangan di bawah ini, saya mahasiswa Universitas Sanata Dharma: Nama : Martha Dani Hestianawati Nomor Mahasiswa : 044214003 Demi pengembangan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah saya yang berjudul:

THE SYMBOLS AND ALLEGORY AS CRUCIAL KEYS TO REVEAL THE THEME IN EDGAR ALLAN POE’S

“THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH” beserta perangkat yang diperlukan (bila ada). Dengan demikian saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma hak untuk menyimpan, mengalihkan dalam bentuk media lain, mengelolanya dalam bentuk pangkalan data, mendistribusikan secara terbatas, dan mempublikasikannya di Internet atau media lain untuk kepentingan akademis tanpa perlu meminta ijin dari saya maupun memberikan royalti kepada saya selama tetap mencantumkan nama saya sebagai penulis. Demikian pernyataan ini yang saya buat dengan sebenarnya. Dibuat di Yogyakarta Pada tanggal: 31 Maret 2010 Yang menyatakan

(Martha Dani Hestianawati)

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Gaily I lived as ease and nature taught,

And spent my little life without a thought,

And am amazed that Death, that tyrant grim,

Should think of me, who never thought of him.

~René Francois Regnier

Because I could not stop for Death,

He kindly stopped for me.

The Carriage held but just ourselves

And Immortality

~Emily Dickinson

You can be a king or a street sweeper,

but everybody dances with the Grim Reaper.

~Robert Alton Harris

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I dedicated this undergraduate thesis to:

My Father, My Mother, and My Sister

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank my Lord, Mother Mary, and my Guardian Angel,

who always gives me strength and blessing to finish this undergraduate thesis.

Their love make me believe that I am not alone to finish my undergraduate thesis

as my last duty in Sanata Dharma University.

My big gratefulness is addressed to Maria Ananta, S.S., M.Ed., as my

advisor, for her guidance, patience, suggestions and corrections in the process of

writing this undergraduate thesis. Mostly by her guidance, I understand what to do

in preparing and finishing my undergraduate thesis. My gratitude also goes to my

co-advisor, Elisa Dwi Wardani, S.S., M.Hum., for her critical correction, and all

of the lectures and staff of English Letters Department for the betterment of it.

I also would like to give my special gratitude to my beloved family: my

father, Tarsisius Mulyadi who always gives me support to finish this

undergraduate thesis, my mother, Bernadeta Monica Sudarwati who always

prays for me and gives me courage in my life, my sister and brother, Veronica

Deni Ambarwati and Stephanus Wempi Gunarto who always give me spirit

and advice to finish this thesis, my cuties nephew, Gerrard Pilar Arkana

Gunarto, who always cheer me up with his attitude.

My deepest thank is also addressed to my partner: Miss Hernawaty and

Miss Ajeng, for the support, motivations, and tips.

My sweet thanks are directed to all my friends, Rico for his computer and

printer, my pretty ladies: Cacayank, Elin’kecil’, Amel, Dytha sista, Intan, the great

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of ‘04ers: Eka ‘brilliant’, Ririn, Astrid, Lisis, Novi, Siska ‘lengan ayam’, Sheila,

Dede, Cory, Adisti, Lutfi, Tiny, Dita ‘ndut’, Indri, Rani, Jati, Sony, the

Brotherhood family: Titatiut, Bang Ison, Peme, Hoping Nank, Rizki, Edward,

Jojo, Siswanto, Patrick, Ucok ‘kribo’, and all my friends who have given me

wonderful moments in my life. I thank them for accepting me just the way I am.

They are the best I have ever had in my lifetime.

I am also grateful to my starlight, Alexander Febi Arisandi who always

be there for me. His love, spirit, guidance, motivated and patience make me know

the beauty of life. I thank him for loving me just the way I am. I always believe

that we still have a time to share in the future.

I thank all my friends who belong to English Letters study program 2004,

Sanata Dharma University whom I cannot mention one by one down here. May

God give blessing to all of them.

Martha Dani Hestianawati

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE ......................................................................................................... i APPROVAL PAGE .............................................................................................. ii ACCEPTANCE PAGE ........................................................................................ iii MOTTO PAGE .................................................................................................... vi DEDICATION PAGE ......................................................................................... vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................... viii TABLE OF CONTENTS ....................................................................................... x ABSTRACT ......................................................................................................... xii ABSTRAK .......................................................................................................... xiii CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ......................................................................... 1 A. Background of the Study ..................................................................................... 1 B. Problem Formulation ........................................................................................... 3 C. Objectives of the Study ....................................................................................... 3 D. Definition of Terms ............................................................................................. 3 CHAPTER II: THEORETICAL REVIEW ........................................................ 5 A. Review of Related Studies .................................................................................. 5 B. Review of Related Theories ................................................................................ 8

1. Theory of Symbol .......................................................................................... 8 2. Theory of Allegory ....................................................................................... 11 3. Theory of Theme .......................................................................................... 13

C. Theoretical Framework ..................................................................................... 15 CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY ................................................................... 17 A. Object of the Study ............................................................................................ 17 B. Approach of the Study ....................................................................................... 18 C. Method of the Study .......................................................................................... 20 CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS ............................................................................... 22 A. Symbols in “The Masque of the Red Death” .................................................... 22

1. Prince Prospero ............................................................................................ 22 2. The Red Death ............................................................................................. 24 3. The Revellers ............................................................................................... 26 4. The Castle’s Chambers ................................................................................ 28 5. The Clock ..................................................................................................... 30

B. Allegory in “The Masque of the Red Death” .................................................... 32 1. The Allegory of Human Life and Death ...................................................... 33 2. The Allegory of Human’s Powerlessness in front of Death ........................ 36

C. How the Symbols and Allegory Reveal the Theme of “The Masque of the Red Death” ............................................................................ 40

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CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION ........................................................................... 46 BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................... 52 APPENDICES ...................................................................................................... 54 Appendix 1: Summary of the Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Masque of the Red Death” .......................................................................................... 54 Appendix 2: Information of the Edgar Allan Poe’s Life Background ............. 55

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ABSTRACT MARTHA DANI HESTIANAWATI (2010). The Symbols and Allegory as Crucial Keys to Reveal the Theme in Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Masque of the Red Death”. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University.

This study analyzes the symbols and allegory that reveal the theme in Edgar

Allan Poe’s short story entitled “The Masque of the Red Death”. There are three problems discussed in this study, namely what symbols exist in the story, what allegory exists in the story, and how the symbols and allegory reveal the theme in the story.

This study uses theories by, Harmon, Perrine, and Stanton to analyze the symbols in the story, theories by Carrez, Literary dictionary, and Jacobs to analyze the allegory in the story, and theories by Jaffe, Scott and Stanton to analyze how the theme is revealed.

Library research method is used as the method of this study, because the data are obtained from written sources. Formalistic approach is used as the approach of this study because this approach focuses on recurring elements in many literary works, including symbols, allegory, theme, actions, and characters. This approach is suitable because the elements analyzed in this story, such as symbols and theme related to death, have recurred in other literary works.

There are three findings in this study. Firstly, this story contains some symbols, namely Prince Prospero, the Red Death, the revellers, the chambers in the castle, and the clock. Prince Prospero symbolizes prosperity or wealth, The Red Death symbolizes death, the revellers symbolize human feelings, The chambers symbolize life progression, and the clock symbolizes human’s limited time. Secondly, the symbols in this story form some allegories, namely the allegory of human life and death and the allegory of humans’ powerlessness to evade death. These allegories are presented in two levels of meaning, the literal and allegorical. In the literal level, Prince Prospero and the revellers move from the eastern chamber to the western chamber in the end. They fear the last chamber, including the chimes from the clock in that chamber. They try to avoid or fight the Red Death, and believe they can avoid the Red Death with their advantaged position. In the allegorical level, humans with all their possessions and characteristics make a journey from birth, or the dawn of their life, to death, or the dusk of their life. They fear death, including thoughts or discussions about death. They try to avoid or fight against death and believe they can avoid death through wealth, technology, science, and so on.

Thirdly, as the prominent literary devices, the symbols and allegory reveal the theme in the story in relation to the elements, such as characters, setting, plot, and conflict. The symbols are strongly related to the characters and setting, while the allegory is strongly related to the plot and conflict. The symbols provide the main concept of death, while the allegory assigns the nature or quality to the concept, namely the inevitable and indiscriminate nature of death. Together, the symbols and allegory reveal the theme of the story, namely that “Death is inevitable and indiscriminate”.

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ABSTRAK MARTHA DANI HESTIANAWATI (2010). The Symbols and Allegory as Crucial Keys to Reveal the Theme in Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Masque of the Red Death”. Yogyakarta: Jurusan Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma.

Studi ini menganalisa simbol dan alegori yang mengungkapkan tema dari

cerita pendek karya Edgar Allan Poe berjudul “The Masque of the Red Death”. Tiga permasalahan dibahas dalam studi ini, yaitu simbol-simbol apa yang terdapat dalam cerita ini, alegori apa yang terdapat dalam cerita ini, dan bagaimana simbol dan alegori tersebut mengungkap tema cerita ini.

Studi ini menggunakan teori dari Harmon, Perrine, dan Stanton untuk menganalisa simbol-simbol dalam cerita ini, teori dari Carrez, Literary dictionary, dan Jacobs untuk menganalisa alegori, serta teori dari Jaffe, Scott dan Stanton untuk menganalisa bagaimana terbentuknya tema cerita.

Metode riset pustaka digunakan dalam studi ini, karena data diperoleh dari sumber-sumber tertulis. Pendekatan Formalistic digunakan dalam studi ini, mengingat pendekatan ini berpusat pada unsur-unsur yang kerap muncul dalam berbagai karya sastra, termasuk simbol, alegori, tema, tindakan, dan tokoh. Pendekatan ini sesuai karena unsur-unsur yang dianalisa dalam cerita ini, misalnya simbol dan tema yang berkaitan dengan kematian, telah sering muncul dalam karya-karya sastra sebelumnya.

Studi ini menghasilkan tiga jawaban. Pertama, terdapat beberapa simbol dalam cerita ini, yaitu Prince Prospero, Red Death, para pengunjung pesta, ruang-ruang di kastil, dan jam besar. Prince Prospero melambangkan kemakmuran atau kekayaan, Red Death melambangkan kematian, pengunjung pesta melambangkan perasaan manusia, ruang-ruang di kastil melambangkan perjalanan hidup, dan jam melambangkan waktu manusia yang terbatas. Kedua, simbol-simbol dalam cerita ini membentuk alegori, yakni alegori tentang hidup-mati manusia dan alegori tentang ketidakberdayaan manusia dalam menghadapi kematian. Alegori-alegori tersebut ditampilkan dalam dua tingkatan makna, yakni tingkatan harafiah atau makna yang ditampilkan simbol-simbol di atas, dan tingkatan allegorical atau makna yang tercermin dari interaksi simbol-simbol tersebut. Ketiga, simbol dan alegori mengungkap tema cerita ini tak lepas dari unsur-unsur lain seperti tokoh, setting, plot, dan konflik yang terkandung dalam unsur simbol dan alegori. Simbol dalam cerita ini erat berhubungan dengan unsur tokoh dan setting, sedangkan alegori erat berhubungan dengan unsur plot dan konflik. Simbol tersebut memunculkan konsep utama yakni kematian, sedangkan alegori memberikan sifat pada konsep tersebut, yakni sifat kematian yang tidak pandang bulu dan tak dapat dihindari. Simbol dan alegori bekerja bersama dalam mengungkap tema cerita ini, yaitu “Kematian adalah tidak pandang bulu dan tak dapat dihindari.”

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CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

A. Background of the Study

Discussing what the story is about means discussing the theme of the story. If

the readers are able to get the theme of the story, they will discover the meaning of

the story. In order to achieve a deep understanding about the theme, it is important to

pay attention to the elements of fiction that build the story. As stated by Van de Laar

and Scoonderwoerd in An Approach to English Literature, the novel or short story is

made up of seven elements known as the intrinsic elements; they are story or plot,

characters, delineation of character, dialogue, time and place, style and the novelist’s

philosophy of life (1969:163).

Among the seven elements which make up the short story, the writer finds

two important literary devices as crucial keys to reveal the theme in “The Masque of

the Red Death” by Edgar Allan Poe. They are symbols and allegory. Symbols and

allegory are closely related to one another. Furthermore, these devices help the writer

to find the details related to story. They help the writer to explore and understand the

story. The relation between the symbols and allegory may help the writer to formulate

the theme of a short story.

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The literary work that will be analyzed in this thesis is “The Masque of The

Red Death”, a short story by Edgar Allan Poe. This work is chosen because the

author seems to want to say something about his work. Also, in the writer’s opinion,

Poe creates a very interesting short story and offers something important to learn. An

article describes that “The Masque of the Red Death” affirms the futility of man in his

elaborate attempts to deny and confront his own mortality

(http//www.bookrags.com/studyguide-masquereddeath/). Poe presents the symbols

and allegory to the readers through the events occurring in the story and the situation

as well. The clear symbols and the allegory in “The Masque of the Red Death” make

the story enjoyable to read, and arouse the readers’ fear and curiosity until the end of

the story. Those two elements enclose the whole story into an organized story which

has a theme. The theme can be identified by paying attention to some literary devices

of fiction, such as symbols and allegory that appeared in the story. Stanton in An

Introduction to Fiction states that although these devices cannot carry the theme by

themselves, they can help to define and emphasize the theme, and they can support a

tentative interpretation (1965: 22). Thus, the writer sees that the symbols and allegory

of this story may give some clues to find the theme of the story.

This study aims to analyze the symbols and allegory in “The Masque of the

Red Death”. In doing the analysis, the writer would like to focus the study on how the

symbols and allegory convey the theme of the story. Therefore, the writer pays

attention to the two literary devices, namely symbols and allegory, and then analyzes

them, so those devices will lead to an understanding of the story’s theme.

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B. Problem Formulation

Based on the background of the study, the writer tries to formulate the

following problems to be discussed in this study.

1. What are the symbols existing in the story?

2. What is the allegory existing in the story?

3. How do the relationship of the symbols and allegory reveal the theme of the

story?

C. Objectives of the Study

This study, in general is intended to analyze the do the symbols and allegory

in the revelation of the theme in “The Masque of the Red Death”. Specifically, it has

three objectives: first, the writer wants to find out the symbols the story; second, the

writer wants to analyze what the allegory in the story, and third, the writer wants to

analyze the relationship of symbols and allegory in revealing the theme in “The

Masque of the Red Death”.

D. Definition of Terms

In this study, it is important to know the terms used here because the terms are

significant for the study. They are:

1. Symbol

In her book, Literature Structure, Sound and Sense, Perrine says “a literary

symbol is something that means more than what it is. It is an object, a person,

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a situation, an action, or some other item that has a literal meaning in the story

but suggests or represents other meaning as well” (1974: 211).

2. Allegory

According to Edgar V. Roberts and Henry E. Jacobs, in An Introduction to

Reading and Writing, allegory is a complete and self-sufficient narrative, but

it also signifies another series or level of events or conditions of life as

expressed in a habit of thought, a philosophy, or a religion (1987: 281).

3. Theme

Norton, in The Impact of Literature-Based Reading, states that “theme is the

underlying idea that ties the plot, conflict, characters, and setting together into

a meaningful whole. Consequently, the theme or themes should apply to all

the major characters and events in the story. The theme is also a statement that

the author wants to convey about life or society” (1992: 28).

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CHAPTER II

THEORETICAL REVIEW

A. Review of Related Studies

In order to understand Edgar Allan Poe’s work, “The Masque of the Red

Death”, the writer needs to know what the other writers think about this literary work.

Because “The Masque of the Red Death” is a quite a popular literary work, there have

been many studies, criticisms or research conducted about it. In this part, the writer

tries to paraphrase some of the studies and criticisms about Poe’s “The Masque of the

Red Death” by Liz Brent, Martha Womack, Phillip Van Doren Stern, Patrick Cheney,

G. R. Thompson, and other sources from the internet.

According to Liz Brent, Poe is considered one of the early masters of Gothic

fiction. The term gothic was originally borrowed from architecture, but refers to a

style of literature that developed in the late eighteenth century and throughout the

nineteenth century, particularly in England. Gothic fiction is a genre of fiction which

is characterized by a dark, macabre atmosphere, and focuses on themes of death,

horror, madness and the supernatural (http://www.bookrags.com/studyguide-

masquereddeath/). It is related to David R. Dudley’s statement below.

Poe is known as a gothic writer. He created horror using gloom as his weapon. Hidden within the suspenseful story of “The Masque of the Red Death” is an

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allegorical tale of how individuals deal with the fear of death as time passes (http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/html).

Martha Womack in her article about “The Masque of the Red Death”

discusses about the influence of the historical as well as current condition around Poe

when he was writing the story, especially related to plague or epidemics, as shown in

this quotation: “In writing a story of this nature, Poe would have considered such

historical examples as the Black Death or the bubonic plague of the Middle Ages as

well as the cholera epidemics that ravaged Philadelphia in the 1790's and Baltimore

in his own lifetime. However, in this story, the plague takes the unusual form of a red

death rather than a black one so that blood, the very substance of life, now becomes

the mark of death” (www.poedecoder.com/Qrisse/poeref.html).

Supporting Womack’s explanation, the story of “The Masque of the Red

Death” is considered related to Poe’s own experience. During Poe’s lifetime,

tuberculosis was a very common disease, characterized most notably by the symptom

of coughing up blood. As Poe’s mother, stepmother, and wife, who were three of the

most important women in Poe’s life, died of tuberculosis, it could be speculated that

the “Red Death” in the story was inspired by his own experience of losing his loved

ones who suffered from tuberculosis. “The Masque of the Red Death” displays his

mastery of the short story form, exhibits his ability to convey mood through concrete

detail, and expresses his psychological deterioration during the final years of his life,

observing the historical and personal tragedies he was experiencing at that time

(http://www.bookrags.com/studyguide-masquereddeath/)

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Phillip Van Doren Stern in The Portable Edgar Allan Poe states that Poe

argued that allegory was an inferior literary form because it is designed to evoke

interest in both the narrative and the abstract ideas for which the narrative stands,

which distracts the reader from the singleness of effect that Poe most valued in

literature (1977: 245).

As the critic Patrick Cheney has pointed out in his article, “Poe’s Use of the

Tempest and The Bible in The Masque of the Red Death”, the final paragraph of the

story take on a biblical tone, as “the language, rhythm and allusion are unmistakably

Biblical” (1983:34). Most notably, the closing sentence of the story evokes

apocalyptic images of complete devastation: “And Darkness and Decay and the Red

Death held illimitable dominion over all” (1983:34). However, Cheney argues that

unlike the Bible, where God always ultimately triumphs, in Poe’s story it is the forces

of evil, namely “Darkness and Decay and the Red Death” that ultimately triumph,

which suggest an unholy trinity winning out over light and goodness and life

(1983:34).

G. R. Thompson, in The Dictionary of Literary Biography, has pointed out

that Poe was “the master of interior monologue of a profoundly disturbed mind”.

“The Masque of the Red Death” may certainly be read on a psychological level as just

such an “interior monologue,” the delusional nightmare of a madman. He states,

Poe’s ideal for the short story “aimed at an almost subliminal effect through a

carefully pre-designed and unified pattern.” Poe’s own stories certainly achieved this

ideal in that, as Thompson explains, they “exhibit an architectural symmetry and

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proportion and careful integration of details of setting, plot, and character into an

indivisible whole.”

According to Thompson, “The vogue of Poe in France continues today with

Poe’s works holding special fascination for the structuralist, post-structuralist, and

deconstructionist cliques of avant-garde criticism.” Interestingly, however, Poe,

although a favorite among readers, is not necessarily considered to be a central figure

in the tradition of English and American writers (1979: 249-97).

There are some criticisms concerning the symbols and allegory or theme of

Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Masque of the Red Death”. However, those criticisms do not

give further analysis; they only state comment or opinion about Poe’s work in “The

Masque of the Red Death”. The writer wants to develop the analysis about the

symbols and the allegory that are found in the short story and how the relationship

between the symbols and allegory reveal the theme of the story. It is different from

the previous analysis because the writer does not want to analyze each of them but

tend to analyze the contribution of the symbols and the allegory to reveal the theme.

This thesis would be a further discussion about the contribution of the symbols and

allegory toward the revelation of the theme in “The Masque of the Red Death”.

B. Review of Related Theories

1. Theory of Symbol

Stanton, Abrams, Roberts and Jacobs, Holman and Harmon, and Stanton give

some definitions about symbols in literary works. According to Stanton in An

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Introduction to Fiction, “the symbols may be anything from an egg to the story’s

setting, a single object, a repeated type of object, a physical substance, a shape, a

gesture, a color, a sound, a fragrance. They may represent a facet of a human

personality, the indifference of nature to man’s suffering, futility, ambition, human

responsibility, the romanticism of youth” (1965:31). Stanton classifies symbols as

one of the literary devices, along with style, tone, and irony. Literary devices are “the

author’s methods of selecting and arranging the details of a story so as to create

meaningful patterns”, with the purpose “to enable the reader to see the facts through

the author’s eyes, to see what the facts mean, and thus to share the imagined

experience” (1965: 23).

Stanton’s theory is supported by Abrams’ statement about symbols, that “they

are an irreplaceable literary device” (1985: 207), as well as Abrams’ definition about

symbol, which is shown in the quotation below.

In the broadest sense a symbol is anything which signifies something; in this sense all words are symbols. In discussing literature, however, the term "symbol" is applied only to a word or phrase that signifies an object or event which in its turn signifies something, or has a range of reference, beyond itself (1985: 207).

According to Roberts and Jacobs in An Introduction to Reading and Writing,

symbol in literature pulls or draws together a specific thing with ideas, values,

persons, or ways of life. A symbol might also be regarded as a substitute for the

elements being signifies. In short stories and other types of literature, a symbol is

usually a person, thing, place, action, situation, or even thought. The symbol points

beyond itself to greater and more complex meaning. When a symbol is introduced,

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like a key opening lock, it signifies a specific combination of attitudes, a sustained

constancy of meaning, and the potential for wide-ranging application (1987: 279).

While Stanton classifies symbol as one of the “literary devices”, Roberts and Jacobs

classifies symbol and allegory as one of the “writer’s tools”, along with narration,

style, point of view, description, dialogue, commentary, tone, and irony (1987: 65-

69). Roberts and Jacobs define “writer’s tools” as the “modes of presentation”, with

which the authors may create their stories (1987: 65).

According to Holman and Harmon in A Handbook to Literature, symbol is a

word or objects that stands for another word or object. The object or word may or

may not be visible or easily seen by the eye (1983:151). Laurence Perrine in

Literature Structure, Sound and Sense also support the theory of symbol. It is said

that “a literary symbol is something that means more than what it is. It is an object, a

person, a situation, an action, or some other item that has a literal meaning in the

story but suggests or represents other meaning as well” (1974:211). Perrine gives a

very simple illustration of symbol that can be found in the name of symbolism. In a

story, the author may choose names for the characters that serve not only to label

them but also to suggest something about them.

In An Introduction to Fiction, Stanton further explains that symbolism in

fiction has three usual effects, depending upon how it is used. First, a symbol that

appears during an important moment of the story underlines the significance of that

moment. Second, a symbol repeated several times reminds us of some constant

element in the story’s world. And third, a symbol that recurs in varying contexts helps

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to define or clarify the theme. The same symbol may function in three ways. The

method of interpreting symbols, which are noting the symbol’s connotations,

comparing it to its context, comparing its context to another can be useful, but no

“method” can replace close attention and thought (1965:32-33). In addition, the

meaning of a symbolic character is complex, multiple, and ambiguous. In both

allegory and symbolism the characters, setting, and plot represent something larger

than themselves (Stanton, 1965:62).

2. Theory of Allegory

Abrams defines allegory as “a narrative fiction in which the agents and

actions, and sometimes the setting as well, are contrived to make coherent sense on

the ‘literal,’ or primary, level of signification, and at the same time to signify a

second, correlated order of agents, concepts, and events” (1985: 4). Meanwhile, Dr.

Stephanie Carrez gives the following definition about allegory in her paper delivered

at the conference of the Nathaniel Hawthorne Society.

An allegory only aims at indicating a second level of meaning; it provides a link between an object and an abstract meaning. The two elements remain distinct and the object's sole function is to suggest the secondary meaning. An allegory therefore represents an idea that could be expressed in abstract words, which the interpretation of allegory is finite. As a consequence, an allegory addresses the intellection of the reader and has one clear meaning (http://www.hawthorneinsalem.org/page/12218/).

According to the Literary Dictionary, allegory is a story or visual image with

a second distinct meaning partially hidden behind its literal or visible meaning, it

involves a continuous parallel between two (or more) levels of meaning in a story, so

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that its persons and events correspond to their equivalents in a system of ideas or a

chain of events external to the tale (http://www.literarydictionary.com/allegory/).

According to Stanton in An Introduction to Fiction, an allegory is a

dramatization of an implied complex statement about politics, religion, morality, or

another organized subject. According to one common distinction, in allegory there is

a “one-to-one” correspondence between each character and his significance, an

allegorical character represents a conventional abstraction, a principle or group or

state of mind whose name and qualities we already know. Stanton also states that the

purpose of allegory is to cause us to act, by reminding us of a truth we know but are

unwilling or unable to recognize. Allegory conveys its meaning chiefly through such

externals as names, physical appearances, and physical relationship (1965:61-62).

According to Roberts and Jacobs in An Introduction to Reading and Writing,

allegory is a complete and self-sufficient narrative, but it also signifies another series

or level of events or conditions of life as expressed in a habit of thought, a

philosophy, or a religion (1987:281). Roberts and Jacobs classifies symbol and

allegory as one of the “writer’s tools”, along with narration, style, point of view,

description, dialogue, commentary, tone, and irony (1987: 65-69). Roberts and Jacobs

define “writer’s tools” as the “modes of presentation”, with which the authors may

create their stories (1987: 65).

According to Holman and Harmon’s A Handbook to Literature, allegory is a

narrative that serves as an extended metaphor. Allegories are written in the form of

fables, parables, poems, stories, and almost any other style or genre. The main

13

purpose of an allegory is to tell a story that has characters, a setting, as well as other

types of symbols that have both literal and figurative meanings. The difference

between an allegory and a symbol is that an allegory is a complete narrative that

conveys abstract ideas to get a point across, while a symbol is a representation of an

idea or concept that can have a different meaning throughout a literary work

(1983:145).

3. Theory of Theme

Stanton, Norton, Jaffe, and Scott give some definitions about theme in literary

works. Stanton in An Introduction to Fiction defines theme as the “meaning of a story

which specifically accounts for the largest number of its elements in the simplest

way” (1965: 21). Meanwhile, Norton in The Impact of Literature-Based Reading

defines theme as “the underlying idea that ties the plot, conflict, characters, and

setting together into a meaningful whole”, and “a statement that the author wants to

convey about life or society” (1992: 28). Adrian Jaffe and Virgil Scott in The Studies

in the Short Story, states that theme can be defined as “the generalization, stated or

implied, that lies behind the narration at a specific situation involving specific

individuals” (1968:8).

According to Jaffe and Scott, it sounds not so easy to find a theme in a piece

of fiction. They state that the theme has several characteristics and principles. As the

first principle, the idea of theme should not be equated with that of moral. They say

that sometimes a reader thinks that a theme is a kind of an object lesson that has

14

something to do with behavior. The fact is that although sometimes fiction deals with

it, many other stories do not deal with moral. As the second principle, the theme

cannot be stated into a principle or general truth like “honestly is the best policy”

because human experience is more complex than that (1968:9).

Jaffe and Scott also give an approach to discover theme in a story. The role of

the reader is very great in determining the theme of a work, but general subject, tone

and other elements in the work sets limits to the reader’s freedom to interpret. For

instance, they suggest the reader to pay attention at the characters. Then the readers

should think about the situation where the characters live and how the characters

respond to the situation. At last, the reader should see what happens to the characters

as a result. A theme may be stated from the result. These factors are not absolute to

all thematic stories, but it will work for many stories and should be considered

(1968:10). It means that theme is created on purpose since the character in fiction is

treated like human beings that live in the same world, share similar emotions, react in

similar ways to similar situation, and face common problem. They state that

everything in a literary work can be called as the theme, but the theme is the most

important thing that takes toward something in the literary work.

In addition, according to Stanton, since everything in the story should help to

convey the theme, we must look closely at any events, characters, or objects that

seem irrelevant to the main line of action. Finally, we look for literary devices, such

as symbolism, irony, and so on. Although these devices cannot carry the theme by

15

themselves, they can help to define and emphasize the theme, and they can support a

tentative interpretation (1965:21-22).

In this study, the allegory and the symbol that represents the other meaning, as

well as the literal meaning, reveals or conveys the theme of this short story.

C. Theoretical Framework

There are three theories that are applied in order to answer the problem

formulated in this study. First, the writer applies the theory of symbol by Carrez,

Harmon, Perrine, Jacobs, and Stanton to answer the first question in the problem

formulation. The theory of symbol is used to analyze the symbols in “The Masque of

the Red Death” and their meanings.

Then, the writer applies the theory of allegory by Carrez, The Literary

Dictionary, Stanton, Jacobs, and Harmon to identify the element of allegory in the

story and the meaning of the allegory. The theory of allegory is used to answer the

second question in the problem formulation about the allegory in the story.

Finally, the writer applies Stanton, Norton, Jaffe, and Scott’s theory of theme

in order to find the theme. To analyze it, the writer will use all details that she has

already had in order to find the relation of the symbol and allegory to reveal the

theme of the story. In analyzing these relationships, the writer will use explanation

about the relationships of symbol and allegory to the theme. It also will be applied to

answer the third question in the problem formulation.

16

In addition, to analyze the short story in this study, the writer chooses to apply

one of the text oriented approaches, namely the Formalistic approach. This approach

is suitable to analyze the text by examining literary devices such as symbolism and

allegory in order to reveal the theme in “The Masque of the Red Death”.

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CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY

A. Object of the Study

The object of this study is a short story entitled “The Masque of the Red

Death” by Edgar Allan Poe. This short story is taken from the book entitled Tales of

Edgar Allan Poe, which was published by Random House in 1944. The book consists

of 562 pages, while the short story “The Masque of the Red Death” itself consists of

seven pages, from page 380 to 387.

“The Masque of the Red Death” was first published in 1842. In the original

publication, the title was given the English spelling of “mask” yet it was changed to

“masque” in 1845 (Jacobus, 1996: 72-76). “The Masque of the Red Death” is

regarded as a literary work from the genre of gothic fiction, which is characterized by

a dark, macabre atmosphere, focusing on themes of death, horror, madness and the

supernatural (http://www.bookrags.com/studyguide-masquereddeath/).

This story is set in a fictional unidentified country a long time ago. The

country is ravaged by a deadly plague called The Red Death. It is called The Red

Death because people who suffer from this disease show the stains of blood,

especially on their face. This disease can infect and kill people in the very short time

of half an hour, so it is very dangerous. Prince Prospero and a thousand of his friends

18

go away and isolate themselves in the abbey of a castle in order to avoid the plague.

They bring all the provisions they need so they could live lavishly in the castle until

the plague goes away. They close the castle gate to anyone, not caring that the plague

is killing the common people outside. One day, they make a luxurious costume ball to

distract themselves from the suffering and death outside. The Red Death, disguised as

a costumed guest, somehow enters and kills everyone there. The story is narrated in a

manner which gives it the quality of a myth, allegory or fairy tale, exploring themes

of man's fear of death, sin, madness, and the end of the world.

B. Approach of the Study

Formalist approach is used as the approach of this study. Guerin in A

Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature describes the formalist approach as an

approach which involves “close reading” or “intensive reading” (2005: 93-94). While

“intensive reading” itself is described as the mode of reading which obliges the

readers to have “a sensitivity to the words of the text and all their denotative and

connotative values and implications” and “to look for structural relationships and

patterns – not just in the words and their relationships, but also in larger units” (2005:

94). This description is supported by Rivkin and Ryan in Literary Theory. They

describe the formalist approach as the approach that analyzes the components of

literature, the important devices and modes of operation in literature.

More specifically, the Formalists were interested in analyzing literature into its component parts and in describing its principal devices and modes of

19

operation. This analysis took two main forms in the two major genres of prose narrative and poetry (Rivkin and Ryan, 2004: 4). One of the components that are examined in the formalist approach’s

intensive reading is symbol, which is related to the connotative values and

implications of a word. If the readers pay attention to recurring components such as

symbols, images, or colors through their intensive reading, those components may

help the readers understand more about the literary work. This idea is strongly

supported by Guerin’s statement in the quotation below.

Now we can note that some of these words are deeply connotative also, or perhaps they name objects that have symbolic value, and as we probe the connotations and symbols they take on associations, or develop patterns that somehow have relevance within themselves and to other patterns. Images emerge as more and more important, perhaps insistently forcing themselves to the fore. We note that certain images, or colors, or references to time – a host of possibilities in our human experience – keep coming up. Some of these may contribute to the setting of the work, its actual place and time, or more subtly, its ambience. Bit by formal bit, we think we begin to see a theme emerging from the work (Guerin, 2005: 94-95). Therefore, this approach is the suitable approach to analyze the topic in this

study because in this study, the writer does a close reading or an intensive reading by

paying attention to the words, images, and colors which keep coming up as discussed

by Guerin in the quotation above, their connotative values and implications, as well

as the relationship between those recurring patterns. Such intensive reading process is

done in order to find the symbols and allegory in this short story, and then to draw the

theme that emerges from this story.

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C. Method of the Study

To complete the analysis, the study used library research method to collect the

data. The data consisted of primary data and secondary data. The primary data was

the short story by Edgar Allan Poe, “The Masque of the Red Death”, while the

secondary data were taken from many other sources that were closely related to the

study, such as internet and books.

The secondary data consist of books of literary theories and New Criticism;

such as Guerin’s A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature, Geoffrey Leech,

in his A Linguistic Guide to English Poetry; Holman and Harmon’s A Handbook to

Literature; Laurence Perrine in Literature Structure, Sound and Sense; Robert

Stanton in An Introduction to Fiction; Roberts and Jacobs in An Introduction to

Reading and Writing; Jerome Beaty and J Paul Hunter in New Worlds of Literature;

Adrian Jaffe and Virgil Scott’s The Studies in the Short Story; Phillip Van Doren

Stern, in The Portable Edgar Allan Poe; Patrick Cheney in his article, “Poe’s Use of

the Tempest and The Bible in The Masque of the Red Death”; G. R. Thompson, in

The Dictionary of Literary Biography; and also some sources from the internet.

There were four steps that were applied in analyzing this short story. The first

step was doing a thorough reading of the story several times to understand the story

and the subject to be analyzed, while focusing on the intrinsic elements of the story.

The study observed that the symbol and allegory in the short story have close relation

to reveal the theme. The second step was referring to some references related to

Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Masque of the Red Death” and theories of literature focusing

21

on symbol, allegory and also the theme. The third step was analyzing the story. In this

step, the writer answered the problems in the problem formulation using the

references related to the study. The writer also applied the Formalistic criticism as the

approach of the study. The last step was drawing a conclusion based on the findings

of the analysis.

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CHAPTER IV

ANALYSIS

A. Symbols in “The Masque of the Red Death”

This part answers the first problem formulation by discussing the symbols

which can be found in Poe’s “The Masque of the Red Death”. Holman and

Harmon define a symbol as a word or objects that stands for another word or

object (1983:151). Meanwhile, Perrine describes a literary symbol as “an object, a

person, a situation, an action, or some other item that has a literal meaning in the

story but suggests or represents other meaning as well” (1974:211). Based on the

definitions above, a symbol can be presented through a character, object, place,

action, or situation. In “The Masque of the Red Death”, the prominent symbols

emerge in Prince Prospero, the Red Death, the revellers, the chambers in the

castle, and the clock.

1. Prince Prospero

Prince Prospero is the central character of “The Masque of the Red

Death”. In this story, he is presented as an insensitive person. This characteristic is

shown through his disregard to other people’s suffering. Despite the plague of the

Red Death which rages throughout his country, the Prince ignores the people’s

suffering. He invites a thousand friends from his court to isolate themselves in an

23

abbey of his castle. Instead of helping the people, the Prince uses his wealth and

position only to protect himself and his friends.

But the Prince Prospero was happy and dauntless and sagacious. When his dominions were half depopulated, he summoned to his presence a thousand hale and light-hearted friends from among the knights and dames of his court, and with these retired to the deep seclusion of one of his castellated abbeys (Poe, 1944: 380) To distract himself and his friends from the death and suffering outside

their walls, the prince provides his guests with all the necessary provisions,

pleasure, and even holds a masquerade ball after the fifth or sixth month.

Prince Prospero is also described as a person with extravagant and bizarre

taste. It is shown through his interior design in his castellated abbey, which

consists of multi-colored chambers, various decorations and furniture shapes. The

light comes from “a heavy tripod, bearing a brazier of fire that protected its rays

through the tinted glass and so glaringly illumined the room” instead of lamps or

candles. His taste is so extravagant and bizarre that people think he is mad.

The tastes of the duke were peculiar. He had a fine eye for colors and effects. He disregarded the decora of mere fashion. His plans were bold and fiery, and his conceptions glowed with barbaric lustre. There are some who would have thought him mad (Poe, 1944: 383). As a symbol, Prince Prospero suggests or represents other meaning. As

stated by Perrine, symbolism can be conveyed through the character’s name

(1974: 211). Prince Prospero symbolizes financial prosperity or wealth. Firstly,

his abbey is described as “an extensive and magnificent structure” with finely

decorated chambers. To build and decorate such an abbey surely requires

enormous wealth. Secondly, Prospero’s wealth is so enormous that he can easily

afford to support one thousand of his friends and hundreds of servants. He does

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not only provide basic necessities such as food, clothes, and shelter for his

thousand of friends, but he also provides “all the appliances of pleasure” and

holds parties “of the most unusual magnificence”.

The prince had provided all the appliances of pleasure. There were buffoons, there were improvisatori, there were ballet-dancers, there were musicians, there was Beauty, there was wine. All these and security were within. Without was the “Red Death” (1944: 380-381). With his name and ability to build such a luxurious abbey, to provide

necessities and pleasure for such a big number of people, Prince Prospero

represents the power of wealth or prosperity.

2. The Red Death

In “The Masque of the Red Death”, the Red Death is described in two

forms. Firstly, the Red Death is described as a terrible plague or disease, which is

ravaging the country. The victims of the Red Death felt dreadful pains in their

body, bleed profusely from their body and face, and die within a very short time

after contracting the disease.

THE "Red Death" had long devastated the country. No pestilence had ever been so fatal, or so hideous. Blood was its Avatar and its seal --the redness and the horror of blood. There were sharp pains, and sudden dizziness, and then profuse bleeding at the pores, with dissolution. 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 (1944: 380). This plague is very infectious and spreads very rampantly. As a proof,

Prince Prospero’s dominions are described as “half depopulated”, which means

that this plague has killed at least half of the people in the dominions.

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Secondly, the Red Death is described as a character or figure that brings

the plague. It appears mysteriously at Prince Prospero’s ball; nobody knows when

it comes or where it comes from. Since all the revellers wear fancy costumes, at

first nobody notices it. After midnight, the Red Death’s presence starts to arouse

reaction from all people, namely “a buzz, or murmur, expressive of

disapprobation and surprise --then, finally, of terror, of horror, and of disgust”

(1944: 385). They give such reaction because of the Red Death’s scary

appearance.

The figure was tall and gaunt, and shrouded from head to foot in the habiliments of the grave. The mask which concealed the visage was made so nearly to resemble the countenance of a stiffened corpse that the closest scrutiny must have had difficulty in detecting the cheat. His vesture was dabbled in blood --and his broad brow, with all the features of the face, was besprinkled with the scarlet horror (1944: 385). As a symbol, the Red Death represents other meaning. As stated by

Perrine, symbolism can be conveyed through the character’s name (1974: 211).

Furthermore, Stanton states that “personal description almost always helps us both

to visualize the person and to understand his characters” (1965: 18). From the

name itself, it can be easily seen that the Red Death symbolizes death. The

description of the Red Death’s figure further supports this symbolism by

conveying the fatal, painful, horrifying nature of death. Furthermore, when the

guests seize the mask off the figure, they find that there is no “tangible form”

beneath the corpselike costume (1944: 387). Also, as described below, the figure

had crept into the sealed abbey “like a thief in the night”.

And now was acknowledged the presence of the Red Death. He had come like a thief in the night (1944: 387).

26

The phrase “like a thief in the night” reminds the readers of a passage

about Judgment Day from the Bible, which says “For yourselves know perfectly

that the Day of the Lord so cometh like a thief in the night.” (1 Thessalonians

5:2). The descriptions above show that death has no shape and comes

unexpectedly without warning.

3. The Revellers

The revellers refer to the people who take part in the “gay and magnificent

revel” or party held by Prince Prospero. The revellers consist of Prince Prospero’s

friends, servants and entertainers. While the deadly plague ravages his country,

Prince Prospero invites “a thousand hale and light hearted friends from among the

knights and dames of his court” to escape the plague by hiding in the abbey with

him (1944: 380). Prince Prospero also takes servants, buffoons, improvisatori,

ballet-dancers, and musicians to serve and entertain himself and his friends. While

there is no mention of any individual character among the Prince’s friends,

servants, and entertainers, they all share a collective role as characters in the story.

In the fifth or sixth month of their seclusion, Prince Prospero “entertained

his thousand friends at a masked ball of the most unusual magnificence” (1944:

381). With the magnificent food, drink, music, and decoration provided by Prince

Prospero for the party, all the revellers can do merry activities such as eating,

drinking, chatting, laughing, dancing, and having fun.

It was toward the close of the fifth or sixth month of his seclusion, and while the pestilence raged most furiously abroad, that the Prince Prospero entertained his thousand friends at a masked ball of the most unusual magnificence. (1944: 381)

27

However, the revellers’ merry activities interspersed by fear. Whenever

the clock chimes every hour, the revellers pause their activities because of the

great fear that they feel which is apparent in their facial expressions and gestures.

However, as soon as the chimes of the clock stop, the revellers are relieved, forget

their fear, and quickly go back to their previous activities, as shown in the

quotations below.

At lapse of an hour, the musicians of the orchestra were constrained to pause, momentarily, in their performance, to hearken to the sound; and thue the waltzers perforce their evolutions; and there was a brief disconcert of the whole gay company; and, while the chimes of the clock yet rang, it was observed that the giddiest grew pale, and the more aged and sedate passed their hands over their brows as if in confused revery or meditation. (1944: 382). But when echoes had fully ceased, alight laughter at once pervaded the assembly; the musicians looked at each other and smiled as if at their own nervousness and folly. (1944:383). The revellers also show great fear when the mysterious masked figure

comes to the ball. When the figure, which later turns out to be the Red Death,

appears at the ball, the revellers are afraid of this figure and try to avoid it. Despite

Prince Prospero’s order to seize the figure because it has intruded into their party,

they collectively shrink back in fear and nobody tries to stop it.

As a symbol, the revellers in this story represent other meaning. Robert

Stanton states that “a third type of evidence to simplify the character is provided

by the other character in a story, even the minor ones. Their attitudes toward a

major character are important, their similarities to, or difference from, help to

define his most significant traits” (1965: 18). In this story, the revellers symbolize

human feelings. Their seclusion within the castle’s walls with abundant provisions

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show human’s instinctive desire for security. Their revelry and activities in the

ball show human’s instinctive desire for pleasure over anything else. Despite that,

the revellers are not exempt from disconcert and fear, which show the fear that

always permeate human feelings.

4. The Castle’s Chambers

“The Masque of the Red Death” takes place in Prince Prospero’s

castellated abbeys, to be precise in the imperial suite which consists of seven

chambers. The first is the blue chamber, followed by the purple chamber, the

green chamber, the orange chamber, the white chamber, the violet chamber, and

the last is the black chamber. Each chamber is decorated with a single color, from

the walls, the stained glass forming the windows, the panes, the tapestries, to the

ornaments.

That at the eastern extremity was hung, for example, in blue–and vividly blue were its windows. The second chamber was purple in its ornaments and tapestries, and here the panes were purple. The third was green throughout, and so were the casements. The fourth was furnished and lighted with orange–the fifth with white–the sixth with violet (1944: 381). The last chamber, the black chamber, is the exception. The tapestries are

black, but the blood-red window panes do not correspond with the color scheme.

Furthermore, this chamber produces gloomy and frightening impression to the

people that “there were few of the company bold enough to set foot within its

precincts at all” (1944: 382).

The seventh apartment was closely shrouded in black velvet tapestries that hung all over the ceiling and down the walls, falling in heavy folds upon a carpet of the same material and hue. But in this chamber only, the color of

29

the windows failed to correspond with the decorations. The panes here were scarlet–a deep blood color (1944: 381-382). The chambers described above are part of the building which functions as

the setting of this story. Literally, the chambers are just parts of the building, but

as a symbol, they represent other meaning. This is supported by Rohrberger and

Woods’ theory that the setting can contribute to the atmosphere or predominated

mood, it can be active in foreshadowing, and it can be symbolic (1971: 22).

The chambers symbolize life progression. According to Allan Watts in

Myth and Ritual in Christianity, there are seven stages of human’s life, which are

birth, toddler, childhood, teen years, middle years, senior years and death (1954:

195). The series of color in the seven chambers represent the seven stages of

human’s life, and each color represents a stage. The first chamber is blue,

according to this reading, the blue room, which is furthest to the east, represents

birth. The color suggests the "unknown" from which a human being comes into

the world. According to Guerin in A Handbook of Critical Approaches to

Literature, blue meaning security and spiritual purity. Prospero and his guests

were, in fact, trying to escape the Red Death by hiding in the secure castle. Thus is

the “birth” of security. The second chamber is purple, suggests the beginnings of

growth or toddler. Green, the next color of chamber, suggests the "spring" of life

or childhood (Guerin, 1999:161). The fourth chamber is orange, denotes warmth

and energy, and represents teen years. White, the next color, suggests middle

years – think white hair, and bones (Guerin, 1999:161). The sixth chamber is on

violet, being a darker color, represents awareness, wisdom and drama. Thus is

suggests senior years. The black chamber is decorated with scarlet window panes,

30

a color described as “a deep blood color” (Poe, 1944: 382). This scarlet element in

the black chamber represents the strong association between blood and death.

This symbolism is also supported by the location of the chambers, which

begin in the East and end in the West. The blue chamber is located in “the eastern

extremity” (1944: 381) while the black chamber is located “in the western” (1944:

382). The series of chambers is parallel with the sun’s movement, which further

suggests the progression of life. The sun rises in the East and sets in the West. The

sun’s rising marks the beginning of the day, which suggests the birth. During the

day, as the sun moves from the East to the West, we do many activities, which

suggests a person’s lifetime. The sunset marks the end of the day, at which we

stop our activities and sleep. Death, of course, is often described as eternal sleep.

5. The Clock

In “The Masque of the Red Death”, a gigantic ebony clock is located in the

seventh chamber. It has a pendulum that swings “to and fro with a dull, heavy,

monotonous clang” (1944: 382). Every hour, it makes a very loud ringing sound

that can be heard by everyone throughout all the chambers. This sound makes

everyone freeze with fear and stop whatever activity he or she is doing. However,

when the clock stops ringing, everyone returns to his or her normal activity and

dismisses his or her previous fear.

When the minute-hand made the circuit of the face, and the hour was to be stricken, there came from the brazen lungs of the clock a sound which was clear and loud and deep and exceedingly musical, but of so peculiar a note and emphasis that, at each lapse of an hour, the musicians of the orchestra were constrained to pause, momentarily, in their performance, to hearken to the sound; and thus the waltzers perforce ceased their evolutions; and

31

there was a brief disconcert of the whole gay company; and, while the chimes of the clock yet rang, it was observed that the giddiest grew pale, and the more aged and sedate passed their hands over their brows as if in confused reverie or meditation. But when the echoes had fully ceased, a light laughter at once pervaded the assembly; the musicians looked at each other and smiled as if at their own nervousness and folly (1944: 382-383). As a symbol, the clock represents other meaning. Related to Perrine’s

theory about symbolism through the character’s name (1974: 211), Poe once

capitalizes the word Time as if it were a proper name, which suggests that he is

referring to time in a broader symbolic sense, rather than simply in a literal sense.

Also, Stanton states that symbolism in fiction has three usual effects (1965: 32).

First, a symbol that appears during an important moment of the story underlines

the significance of that moment. Second, a symbol repeated several times reminds

us of some constant element in the story’s world. Third, a symbol that recurs in

varying contexts helps to define or clarify the theme. (1965: 32-33).

The clock symbolizes human’s limited remaining time, because it is

repeated several times and appears during important moment of the story. First,

the chiming of the clock every hour shows that time keeps passing, while the

passage of time brings us closer to our death. The revellers’ disconcert at the

clock’s chime shows human’s reluctance to think about their approaching death.

Second, the clock’s twelve chimes at midnight mark the appearance of the Red

Death figure. The crowd becomes aware of the Red Death exactly as the clock

strikes twelve at midnight. The hour of midnight, marking the end of the day, thus

symbolizes the end of life.

And thus, too, it happened, perhaps, that before the last echoes of the last chime had utterly sunk into silence, there were many individuals in the crowd who had found leisure to become aware of the presence of a masked

32

figure which had arrested the attention of no single individual before (1944: 384). Accordingly, the breakdown of the clock also marks the death of everyone

in the castle, as “the life of the ebony clock went out with that the last of the gay”

and “Darkness and Decay and the Red Death held illimitable dominion over all”

(1944: 387).

B. Allegory in “The Masque of the Red Death”

This part answers the second problem formulation by discussing the

allegory based on the findings about symbols in “The Masque of the Red Death”.

The Literary Dictionary describes allegory as containing “a continuous parallel

between two (or more) levels of meaning in a story, so that its persons and events

correspond to their equivalents in a system of ideas or a chain of events external to

the tale” (http://www.literarydictionary.com/allegory). Meanwhile, Stanton

defines an allegory as a dramatization of an implied complex statement about a

subject, with “one-to-one” correspondence between each character and his

significance (Stanton, 1965:61-62). According to Holman and Harmon, the

difference between an allegory and a symbol is that an allegory is a complete

narrative that conveys abstract ideas to get a point across, while a symbol is a

representation of an idea or concept (1983:145). Based on the descriptions, both

allegory and symbols have two levels of meaning or represent something

different. However, as a “complete narrative” or “complex statement”, allegory

has a wider scope than symbol.

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As discussed in the previous part, “The Masque of the Red Death”

contains several symbols. Each of these symbols does not stand on its own

independently. Rather, the symbols are connected with each other, and the

combination of their meanings conveys an “implied complex statement” about

life. This combination of symbols to convey statement or narrative is called an

allegory. Thus, “The Masque of the Red Death” is an allegorical story. “The

Masque of the Red Death” can be seen firstly as the allegory of human life and

death and secondly as the allegory of humans’ powerlessness to evade death,

which is elaborated through the symbols featured in the story.

1. The Allegory of Human Life and Death

“The Masque of the Red Death” is an allegory of human life and death,

which is presented in two levels of meaning. Since this is an allegory, there is a

one-to-one correspondence between each symbol and the meaning it represents; as

already discussed in the previous part, Prince Prospero symbolizes financial

prosperity, the Red Death symbolizes death, the revellers symbolize human

feelings, the chambers symbolize the stages of life, and the clock symbolizes

human’s limited time. There is also a one-to-one correspondence between the

symbols’ interaction and the narrative it represents, which will be elaborated

further below.

In the literal level of meaning, the characters move from the first chamber

in the east to the last chamber in the west. Prince Prospero first spots the Red

Death figure when he is in the blue chamber, the first chamber in the eastern

34

extremity. It is implied that the Red Death figure is also in the blue chamber with

Prince Prospero, since the figure is described as “near at hand” (1944: 386).

It was in the eastern or blue chamber in which stood the Prince Prospero as he uttered these words. They rang throughout the seven rooms loudly and clearly --for the prince was a bold and robust man, and the music had become hushed at the waving of his hand. It was in the blue room where stood the prince, with a group of pale courtiers by his side. At first, as he spoke, there was a slight rushing movement of this group in the direction of the intruder, who at the moment was also near at hand, and now, with deliberate and stately step, made closer approach to the speaker (1944: 386). Afterwards, the Red Death figure walks westward through the rest of the

chambers “with the same solemn and measured step which had distinguished him

from the first, through the blue chamber to the purple --through the purple to the

green --through the green to the orange --through this again to the white --and

even thence to the violet, ere a decided movement had been made to arrest him”

(1944: 386). Prince Prospero follows after the Red Death westward through all the

chambers. He confronts the Red Death at the black chamber, which is the last

chamber in the western extremity, and dies.

He bore aloft a drawn dagger, and had approached, in rapid impetuosity, to within three or four feet of the retreating figure, when the latter, having attained the extremity of the velvet apartment, turned suddenly and confronted his pursuer. There was a sharp cry --and the dagger dropped gleaming upon the sable carpet, upon which, instantly afterwards, fell prostrate in death the Prince Prospero (1944: 386-387). Directly after that, “a throng of the revellers at once threw themselves into

the black apartment” and “seizing the mummer” (1944: 387). This event also

happens in the black chamber, thus implying that the revellers also follow Prince

Prospero and the Red Death’s progression westward to the black chamber, the one

chamber that the revellers have previously avoided. In fact, it is the only chamber

35

which is not filled the ball’s happy and lively atmosphere, unlike the other six

chambers.

And now again the music swells, and the dreams live, and writhe to and fro more merrily than ever, taking hue from the many-tinted windows through which stream the rays from the tripods. But to the chamber which lies most westwardly of the seven, there are now none of the maskers who venture. ... But these other apartments were densely crowded, and in them beat feverishly the heart of life (1944: 384). Furthermore, the black chamber contains the only object feared by the

revellers, a gigantic ebony clock, whose loud chimes can be heard throughout the

other chambers every hour. The sound makes the revellers stop their activities,

frozen with disconcert and fear, as shown in the quotation “the giddiest grew pale,

and the more aged and sedate passed their hands over their brows as if in confused

revery or meditation” (1944: 382). However, when the clock stops chiming, the

revellers quickly go back to their revelry and dismiss their previous fear, as shown

in the quotation below.

But when the echoes had fully ceased, a light laughter at once pervaded the assembly; the musicians looked at each other and smiled as if at their own nervousness and folly, and made whispering vows, each to the other, that the next chiming of the clock should produce in them no similar emotion; and then, after the lapse of sixty minutes, (which embrace three thousand and six hundred seconds of the Time that flies,) there came yet another chiming of the clock, and then were the same disconcert and tremulousness and meditation as before (1944: 382). In the allegorical level of meaning, humans make a journey from birth to

death, which is presented through the movement of the characters, namely Prince

Prospero, the Red Death, and the revellers, from the first chamber to the last

chamber. Human life begins with the birth, also known as the dawn of their life,

which corresponds with the characters’ start at the eastern extremity. Human life

36

ends with the death, also known as the dusk or the twilight of their life, which

corresponds with the characters’ death at the western extremity shortly after

midnight.

This allegory is further supported by the revellers’ avoidance of the black

chamber, which corresponds with human’s avoidance of death or anything related

to death. While they are alive, human beings tend to avoid thinking or talking

about death, as if by avoiding thoughts or discussions about death, they could

avoid death itself. This also explains the revellers’ disconcert and fear at the

chime of the clock, which corresponds with human’s disconcert and fear at the

reminder that they only have limited time remaining in their life. The chime can

be heard from all the chambers, which corresponds with the fact that in every

stage of life, human beings are constantly reminded of their approaching mortality

through events like birthdays, other people’s deaths, time in the calendar, and so

on. The fact that this clock is located in the black chamber, towards which Prince

Prospero and the revellers are moving, reveals how human beings are still

approaching death regardless of their avoidance, disconcert, and fear.

2. The Allegory of Human’s Powerlessness in front of Death

“The Masque of the Red Death” is also an allegory of human’s

powerlessness in front of death, which is presented in two levels of meaning. As

an allegory, it contains one-to-one correspondence between each symbol and the

meaning it represents: Prince Prospero symbolizes financial prosperity, the Red

Death symbolizes death, and the revellers symbolize human feelings. There is also

37

a correspondence between the symbols’ interaction and the narrative it represents,

which will be elaborated below.

In the literal level of meaning, Prince Prospero and the revellers cannot

defeat the Red Death despite their advantage in wealth, number, strength, beauty

and happiness. Prince Prospero’s enormous wealth enables him to isolate himself

and his friends in a castle which is so strong and secure that it becomes impossible

to enter or exit. They are protected by the castle’s walls, while the common people

are vulnerable and exposed to the Red Death.

This was an extensive and magnificent structure, the creation of the prince's own eccentric yet august taste. A strong and lofty wall girdled it in. This wall had gates of iron. The courtiers, having entered, brought furnaces and massy hammers and welded the bolts. They resolved to leave means neither of ingress or egress to the sudden impulses of despair or of frenzy from within. The abbey was amply provisioned. With such precautions the courtiers might bid defiance to contagion (1944: 380). The revellers clearly have advantage in number, as they are comprised of

Prince Prospero’s thousand of friends, along with servants, buffoons, musicians,

ballet-dancers, and improvisatori. The thousand of friends summoned by Prince

Prospero to his castle are described as “hale and light-hearted friends from among

the knights and dames of his court” (1944: 380). The word hale is defined in

Oxford Dictionary as “strong and healthy” (1995: 534), while knights and dames

are people with noble ranks or titles. Therefore, the description above suggests

that they are strong, healthy, happy, and originate from upper-class or aristocratic

background.

Prince Prospero’s enormous wealth also enables him to fill his and his

friends’ isolated life with beauty and happiness. He does it by providing “all the

38

appliances of pleasure” (1944: 380) such as the best wine, music, and entertainers,

and decorating the castle with the best design and ornaments. Therefore, Prince

Prospero and the revellers are surrounded by beauty, as shown in the quotation

below, while the common people are surrounded by suffering because of the

plague in their country, as shown in the quotation “The ‘Red Death’ had long

devastated the country. No pestilence had ever been so fatal, or so hideous” (1944:

380).

He had a fine eye for colors and effects. He disregarded the decora of mere fashion. His plans were bold and fiery, and his conceptions glowed with barbaric lustre. ... There were much glare and glitter and piquancy and phantasm --much of what has been since seen in "Hernani." There were arabesque figures with unsuited limbs and appointments. There were delirious fancies such as the madman fashions. There was much of the beautiful, much of the wanton, much of the bizarre, something of the terrible, and not a little of that which might have excited disgust (1944: 383). However, Prince Prospero and the revellers’ advantage is useless. Their

advantage in wealth, number, strength, beauty and happiness cannot help them

avoid or defeat the Red Death in any way. The Red Death finds and defeats them

nonetheless, just like it finds and defeats all the other ordinary people in the

country, as shown in the quotation below.

And now was acknowledged the presence of the Red Death. He had come like a thief in the night. And one by one dropped the revellers in the blood-bedewed halls of their revel, and died each in the despairing posture of his fall (1944: 387). In the allegorical level of meaning, humans often try to avoid or fight

against death, which corresponds with Prince Prospero and the revellers’ efforts to

avoid and fight the Red Death. Prince Prospero and the revellers’ arrogant belief

that they can distinguish themselves from the common people and fend off the

39

Red Death using their wealth and power reveals human’s arrogant belief that he or

she can fend off the natural progress of life towards death, whether through

wealth, technology, science, or other means.

Based on Stanton’s theory, the purpose of allegory is to cause us to act by

reminding us of a truth we know but are unwilling or unable to recognize (1965:

61-62). This allegory is suitable to this theory, because it reminds the readers of

the truth about death, which the readers already know but are reluctant to

recognize. This allegory shows that in the end, no human has the power to escape

death, which corresponds with all the characters’ powerlessness to escape the Red

Death. No matter how rich Prince Prospero is, how many friends he has, how

secure and beautiful the castle is, how good the food and drink is, or how

attractive the entertainment is, none of the characters in the story can escape the

Red Death figure. Likewise, no matter how rich and powerful we are, no matter

how good we are at creating technological breakthroughs like recording

equipments, cosmetic operation procedures, medicine and medical equipments, no

living human can escape death. We might lose our family, friend, or loved ones to

death, and eventually, we ourselves will die. When the day comes, death occurs to

us regardless of who or what we are, which corresponds to the Red Death figure,

who attacks the rich Prince Prospero and revellers and the poor peasants alike.

40

C. How the Symbols and Allegory Reveal the Theme of “The Masque of the

Red Death”

This part answers the last problem formulation by discussing the theme

which is revealed by the symbols and the allegory in “The Masque of the Red

Death”. The theme in literary works is defined by Stanton as the “meaning of a

story which specifically accounts for the largest number of its elements in the

simplest way” (1965: 21). The theme is also defined by Norton as “the underlying

idea that ties the plot, conflict, characters, and setting together into a meaningful

whole”, and “a statement that the author wants to convey about life or society”

(1992: 28). As already discussed in the second chapter, there are some ways to

discover the theme of a literary work. According to Jaffe and Scott, the theme is

determined by the general subject, tone and other elements in the work (1968: 10).

Meanwhile, according to Stanton, the literary devices such as symbolism, irony,

and other devices can help to define and emphasize the theme (1965: 21-22).

In “The Masque of the Red Death”, symbolism and allegory can be

considered as the prominent literary devices because they occur repeatedly and

occupy a great portion in such a short story. Thus, based on Stanton, Norton, Jaffe

and Scott’s theories above, as the prominent literary devices, the symbols and

allegory can help to define and emphasize the theme of “The Masque of the Red

Death”, which contains the statement that Edgar Allan Poe as the author wants to

convey about life or society. As discussed in the previous part which answers the

first problem formulation, the symbols in the story and the interaction between

those symbols form allegory related to death.

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For instance, the Red Death itself is clearly a symbol of death, and the

chambers in Prospero’s castles are a symbol of life progression from birth to

death. Moreover, in the allegory of human life and death, the characters’

movement along the chambers, which is also marked by the chiming clock,

describe humans’ movement towards death; while in the allegory of human’s

powerlessness in front of death, the triumph of the Red Death figure over Prince

Prospero and the revellers clearly describe the triumph of death over all human

wealth and feeling. Therefore, it is clear that the theme of the story is related to

the subject of death.

However, the subject of death is not yet enough to be considered as a

theme. It must be defined in a more specific form, namely in the form of a

statement or a sentence. This brings us back to Stanton’s definition of theme as

the “meaning of a story which specifically accounts for the largest number of its

elements in the simplest way” (1965: 21). It means that symbols and allegory

itself is not enough to discover the theme. Even though the symbols and allegory

are the prominent literary devices, as is the case in this story, they are inseparable

from the elements of the story and must be related to these elements in order to

discover the theme.

Stanton, Jaffe and Scott’s theories further provide some clues on how to

discover the theme. According to Stanton, the theme is conveyed through “any

events, characters, or objects” in the story (1965: 22). This is supported by Jaffe

and Scott, who states that the theme can be discovered by paying attention to the

characters, the situation, how the characters respond to the situation in the story,

42

and finally seeing what happens to the characters as a result (1968: 10). Based on

the theories above, it is important to examine in detail the elements of “The

Masque of the Red Death”, such as the characters, setting, plot, and conflict,

which are contained in the literary devices, namely the symbols and allegory. It is

also important to examine the interaction between those elements and the literary

devices, which will be elaborated below.

The symbols in “The Masque of the Red Death” are strongly related to the

elements of characters and setting. The characters in this story include Prince

Prospero, the Red Death figure, and the revellers. These characters are embedded

in the symbols in the story: the character of Prince Prospero becomes the symbol

of prosperity or wealth, the character of the Red Death becomes the symbol of

death, and the revellers become the symbol of human feelings.

The setting of “The Masque of the Red Death” is Prince Prospero’s

castellated abbey in an unnamed country, to be precise in the imperial suite in the

abbey, as shown in the quotation below. This setting is also embedded in the

symbols in the story: the seven chambers of the imperial suite become the symbol

of the stages in human life, while the clock located in one of the chambers, which

is described in the quotation below, becomes the symbol of human’s limited time.

It was a voluptuous scene, that masquerade. But first let me tell of the rooms in which it was held. There were seven --an imperial suite. In many palaces, however, such suites form a long and straight vista, while the folding doors slide back nearly to the walls on either hand, so that the view of the whole extent is scarcely impeded. Here the case was very different; as might have been expected from the duke's love of the bizarre. The apartments were so irregularly disposed that the vision embraced but little more than one at a time. There was a sharp turn at every twenty or thirty yards, and at each turn a novel effect (1944: 381).

43

But in the western or black chamber the effect of the fire-light that streamed upon the dark hangings through the blood-tinted panes, was ghastly in the extreme, and produced so wild a look upon the countenances of those who entered, that there were few of the company bold enough to set foot within its precincts at all. It was in this apartment, also, that there stood against the western wall, a gigantic clock of ebony (1944: 382). Meanwhile, the allegory in “The Masque of the Red Death” is strongly

related to the elements of plot and conflict. The plot in the story consists of the

breakout of the Red Death plague, the characters’ attempt to isolate themselves in

the castle, the masked ball held by Prince Prospero and attended by the revellers,

the sudden appearance of the Red Death, and Prince Prospero and the revellers’

death. This plot is embedded in the allegory: the characters’ attempt to isolate

themselves reveals human’s effort to avoid and fight against death, the characters’

behaviors at the ball such as fearing the black chamber and the clock’s chimes

reveal human’s fear of death, while Red Death’s appearance and Prince Prospero

and the revellers’ subsequent death reveal human’s powerlessness in front of

death.

The conflict in “The Masque of the Red Death” happens between Prince

Prospero and the Red Death. This conflict is clearly shown in his facial expression

upon seeing the Red Death, when “his brow reddened with rage” (1944: 385), in

his instruction to seize, unmask, and hang the Red Death at sunrise, and in his

action of rushing at the Red Death with “a drawn dagger” (1944: 386). The

revellers, who consist of Prince Prospero’s friends and helpers, support Prince

Prospero in the conflict, as shown in their action of “seizing the mummer” (1944:

387) after Prince Prospero’s defeat. This conflict is embedded in the allegory: the

44

conflict between Prince Prospero and the Red Death reveals the conflict between

human’s arrogant side and death, which occurs when the human hopes to conquer

death with his or her advantages or abilities.

As described above, the symbols incorporate the characters and setting,

while the allegory incorporates the plot and conflict. This detailed examination of

the symbols and allegory as the prominent literary devices, as well as the

interaction between the elements contained within those literary devices, reveals

the theme of the story, namely that “Death is inevitable and indiscriminate”,

through the process described below. Together, the symbols and allegory together

reveal the theme of the story by providing the main concept for the theme and

assigning the nature or quality to that concept, respectively.

The symbols provide the main concepts for the theme, namely the

concepts of death, life, time, human feelings, and wealth. From those concepts,

Death is chosen as the most dominant and pivotal concept. It is chosen because

the other concepts are discussed in relation to death. For instance, Prince Prospero

as the symbol of wealth specifically portrays wealth as the means to escape death.

The revellers as the symbol of human feeling mostly portrays feelings related to

death, such as insecurity and fear. The chambers as the symbol of life progression

specifically portray the progression which ends with death as the final destination.

Lastly, the clock as the symbol of limited time specifically portrays humans’

limited time before one’s death.

Meanwhile, the allegory assigns the nature or quality to the concept above.

Death can be described in many ways, such as the fearfulness of death, the

45

painfulness of death, the sacredness of death, and so on, but in the allegory of this

story, the biggest emphasis is on the inevitable and indiscriminate natures of

death. Either the fear or the pain shown through the allegory is only secondary to

the description of the inevitable and indiscriminate nature of death. The allegory

of life and death contains two aspects, namely the aspect of life and the aspect of

death, but the story ends with Prince Prospero and the revellers in the black

chamber in the west. In other words, based on this allegory, the story is actually

ended or closed with the aspect of death, which is clearly shown in the very last

sentence in the story: “And Darkness and Decay and the Red Death held

illimitable dominion over all” (1944: 387). Therefore, the allegory implicitly

points to the inevitable nature of death, because all lives must be ended or closed

by death. Furthermore, the next allegory of human’s powerlessness in front of

death clearly shows Prince Prospero and the revellers’ defeat by the Red Death;

they cannot avoid death despite their efforts and their advantage in number,

strength, and wealth. Therefore, this allegory explicitly explains about both the

inevitable and indiscriminate natures of death.

Thus, based on the explanation above, it can be concluded that the

symbols and allegory in “The Masque of the Red Death” reveal the theme of the

story, namely “Death is inevitable and indiscriminate”. This theme can be drawn

by paying close attention to the content of the symbols and allegory, which also

incorporate the other literary elements such as characters, setting, plot, and

conflict.

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CHAPTER V

CONCLUSION

This study analyzes the symbols and allegory that reveal the theme in

Edgar Allan Poe’s short story entitled “The Masque of the Red Death” using

Carrez, Harmon, Perrine, Jacobs, and Stanton’s theories of symbol, Carrez,

Stanton, Jacobs, and Harmon’s theories of allegory, and Jaffe, Scott and Stanton’s

theory of theme. The objectives of this study are to discover the symbols in the

story, to discover the allegory in the story, and to discover how the symbols and

allegory reveal the theme in the story.

As the conclusion of this study, there are three findings based on the

analysis. The first finding is about the symbols in “The Masque of the Red

Death”. In this story, the symbol emerges in Prince Prospero, the Red Death, the

revellers, the chambers in the castle, and the clock. Prince Prospero is the central

character of the story and the prince of the country where the story is set. Prince

Prospero symbolizes prosperity or wealth, as reflected in his name “Prospero”,

which resembles the word “prosperity”, and in his ability to build a luxurious

castle and support one thousand of his friends and hundreds of servants there.

The Red Death is described both as a terrible plague which is ravaging the

country, as well as a genderless figure that brings the plague and appears

mysteriously at Prince Prospero’s ball. The Red Death symbolizes death, as

47

reflected in its name, its lack of tangible form, its unexpected arrival, and its

action of inflicting pain and fear on everyone without exception.

The revellers are Prince Prospero’s friends, servants and entertainers who

take part in Prince Prospero’s party. The revellers symbolize human feelings, as

reflected in their attitudes toward major characters and events. Their act of hiding

in the abbey to escape the plague reflects the desire for security, their revelry

reflects the desire for pleasure, and their fear of the clock’s chimes and the

mysterious figure in the ball reflects human’s ever-present fear.

The chambers are the rooms that form the imperial suite in Prince

Prospero’s castle. There are seven chambers arranged from the East to the West,

namely the blue, purple, green, orange, white, violet, and black chambers. The

chambers symbolize life progression, as reflected in the colors of the chambers,

which representing each stage of life, namely birth, toddler, childhood, teen years,

middle years, senior years, and death. It is also reflected in the location of the

chambers, which is parallel with the sun’s movement, so the East marks the

beginning and the West marks the end of one’s life.

The clock is an object located in the black chamber, which chimes loudly

every hour. The clock symbolizes human’s limited time, as reflected in its

repetition every hour, which reflects the reminder about human’s limited time, the

revellers’ disconcert at its hourly chime, which reflects human’s reluctance to be

reminded of their approaching death, as well as its appearance during important

moments, such as the Red Death’s appearance at the clock’s twelve chimes at

48

midnight and the clock’s breakdown along with the revellers’ death, which reflect

the end of human’s time.

The second finding is about the allegory in “The Masque of the Red

Death”, which consists of the allegory of human life and death and the allegory of

humans’ powerlessness to evade death. The allegory of human life and death is

presented in two levels of meaning, literal and allegorical. In the literal level of

the story, the characters move from the first chamber to the last chamber, which

corresponds with the allegorical level, in which humans make a journey from birth

to death. In the literal level, the revellers avoid the black chamber, which

corresponds with the allegorical level, in which humans avoid any discussion or

thought related to death. In the literal level, the revellers are disconcerted at the

clock’s chimes, which correspond with the allegorical level, in which humans do

not like to be reminded of their limited remaining lifetime. In the literal level, the

clock’s hourly chimes can be heard from every chamber, which corresponds with

the allegorical level, in which humans are constantly reminded of their limited

time in every stage of life. In the literal level, Prince Prospero and the revellers

still approach the black chamber despite their disconcert and fear, which

corresponds with the allegorical level, in which humans inevitably approach death

despite their disconcert and fear.

The allegory of humans’ powerlessness to evade death is presented in two

levels of meaning, literal and allegorical. In the literal level of the story, Prince

Prospero and the revellers try to escape the Red Death using their resources and

advantages, which corresponds with the allegorical level, in which humans often

49

try to avoid death or the natural progress of life through wealth, technology,

science, and so on. In the literal level, Prince Prospero and the revellers still

cannot defeat the Red Death despite their advantage in various aspects, which

corresponds with the allegorical level, in which nobody can escape death, no

matter how rich, powerful, beautiful, or intelligent he or she is.

The last finding of this study is about how the relationship of the symbols

and allegory reveal the theme in “The Masque of the Red Death”. The symbols

and allegory can be considered as the prominent literary devices in this story.

Even so, they are inseparable from the other elements of the story, such as

characters, setting, plot, and conflict. The theme can be revealed from detailed

examination of the elements of the story, namely the characters, setting, plot, and

conflict, which are contained in the literary devices of the story, namely the

symbols and allegory, as well as the interaction between those elements and the

literary devices.

The symbols in this story are strongly related to the elements of characters

and setting. The characters, namely Prince Prospero, the Red Death figure, and the

revellers, are embedded in three of the symbols. The setting, namely a castellated

abbey that contains seven chambers with a clock in one of the chambers, is also

embedded in two of the symbols.

The allegory in this story is strongly related to the elements of plot and

conflict. The events in the plot are embedded in the allegory: the characters’

attempt to isolate themselves reveals human’s effort to avoid and fight against

death, the characters’ behaviors at the ball reveal human’s fear of death, while

50

Red Death’s appearance and the characters’ defeat reveal human’s powerlessness

in front of death. This conflict is embedded in the allegory: the conflict between

Prince Prospero and the Red Death reveals the conflict between human’s

arrogance and death.

Together, the symbols and allegory reveal the theme of the story. The

symbols provide the main concepts for the theme, namely the concepts of death,

life, time, humans, and wealth. From those concepts, Death is chosen as the most

dominant concept. The allegory assigns the nature or quality to the concept above.

Death can be described in many ways, but the biggest emphasis is on the

inevitable and indiscriminate nature of death. Inevitable means that cannot be

avoid or evade, it shown from the concept of death that death comes unexpectedly

without warning and nobody can escape death. This conclusion emerges from the

evidence that although Prince Prospero isolate themselves and his thousand

friends in his castle, in which has a strong and lofty girdled wall but they still

cannot avoid themselves from the Red Death. Meanwhile, indiscriminate means

without exception, it shown from the concept of death that death comes to

everyone, no matter how rich they, how powerful they are or how poor and how

weak they are. This conclusion emerges from the evidence that no matter how rich

Prince Prospero is, how many friends he has, how secure and beautiful the castle

is, how good and delicious the food and drink are, or how attractive the

entertainment is, but none of the characters in the story can escape the Red Death

as same as the poor peasant alike, that they are all ending with the death. From the

conclusion and also the evidences above, we can see that no human has the power

51

to escape death. When the day comes, death occurs to us regardless of who or

what we are.

Thus, it can be concluded that the symbols and allegory in “The Masque of

the Red Death” reveal the theme of the story, namely “Death is inevitable and

indiscriminate”.

52

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Page citation:

� (http://www.hawthorneinsalem.org/page/12218/) � (http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/html). � (http://www.bookrags.com/notes/poe/QUO.html). � (http://www.literarydictionary.com/allegory/). � (http://www.bookrags.com/studyguide-masquereddeath/)

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APPENDICES

Appendix 1: Summary of the Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Masque of the Red

Death”

A disease known as the Red Death plagues the country in this story. It is

spreading rampantly and causes the victims to die quickly and painfully. Instead of

helping the people, Prince Prospero isolates himself and his friends in his

castellated abbey to avoid the plague. They have abundant food, facilities, and

entertainment there.

After several months, Prince Prospero holds a masquerade ball in his

imperial suite, which consists of seven chambers. Every chamber is decorated in a

different color. The party is so luxurious, beautiful, and full of pleasure. However,

there is a big clock in the last chamber, which is decorated in black with red

windows. When the clock rings every hour, the sound makes everyone stop talking

and feel scared. Everyone avoids the last chamber and the clock.

At midnight, a mysterious new guest appears with a bloody mask and

funeral shroud as its costume. Prince Prospero is angry at the mysterious guest for

his ugly and humorless appearance, but all the revellers are afraid of it. Prince

Prospero chases it throughout the chambers. When Prince Prospero confronts it in

the last chamber, he suddenly dies. When other revellers enter the room and attack

it, they find that there is nobody beneath the costume. Everyone dies right when the

clock strikes midnight. Thus, the Red Death has infiltrated their castle and defeated

them all.

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Appendix 2: Information of the Edgar Allan Poe’s Life Background

Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston on January 19, 1809. Orphaned at the

age of three, Edgar was sent to a foster home where he lived with the Allans in

Richmond, VA until he married his thirteen-year-old cousin, Virginia Clemm.

Throughout his youth, Edgar experienced rocky relations with the Allans and was

eventually disowned before his marriage. Edgar Allan Poe's short stories and poems

induce disturbing emotions which stem from an unstable childhood as a result of a

disjointed family life. After leaving his broken foster home, Poe enlisted in the

army under the name Edgar A. Perry in 1827. Aspiring to become an officer in

hopes to regain favor with Mr. Allan, Poe was granted an honorable discharge and

sought an appointment at West Point. While waiting for over a year to hear from the

school, Poe resided with his widowed aunt, Ms. Maria Clemm in Baltimore. In

1830, Poe was sworn in as a cadet. However, the death of his foster mother led to

Mr. Allan's remarriage and Poe's exclusion from the family will. Upon receiving

such news, Poe deliberately neglected his classes and was expelled from West Point

after only eight months of study. His writing career began soon after when he won a

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short story contest in 1833 and became a literary critic for "The Southern Literary

Messenger". Later writing opportunities broughtpPoe a small income, which paved

the way for his marriage to Virginia Clemm in 1835. Virginia was half Edgar's age

and represented the only sense of family Poe had ever known. When she became ill

with tuberculosis in 1843, Poe fell into severe depression marked by bouts of

drinking and gambling. His publication of "The Raven" in 1845 illustrated this

unstable mind frame and foreshadowed Virginia's death in 1847. "It shall clasp a

sainted maiden whom the angels name Lenore- Clasp a rare and radiant maiden

whom the angels name Lenore." Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."' Likewise, many

of his works during this period reflect similarly disturbing emotions brought on by a

need to express the rage of past events in his life through his short stories and

poems. The erratic subjects and tones of Poe's works encompass not only his

despair resulting from Virginia's death but also the angst of being robbed of a

loving family in his earlier youth. His relations with Mr. Allan proved to be

insincere after Mrs. Allan's death. Poe was left only with the realization that what

scraps of a family he held on to for so long were false securities which led him

nowhere. He struggled to gain favor with his foster father for years before grasping

this concept. His marriage to Virginia Clemm was an effort to restore a sense of lost

family which only ended in further despair. Clearly these events created so deep an

impact on Poe that his writings reflect a tendency of lonely, desperate, and erratic

tones which parallel the nature of his behaviors. "Leave my loneliness unbroken!-

quit the bust above my door! Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form

from off my door!" Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore." The standard trademark of

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Poe's writing is that it evokes disturbing images and emotions which instill a sense

of loneliness. He has the ability to create a mirror image of

himself in every short story and poem. The sadness, which

plagued Poe throughout his life, laid the framework for all

of his writings. Without such a motivation, Poe may have

created equally beautiful works yet they would not have

instilled a sense of the life he led so clearly. They leave

behind a photographic image of the man he was. In January 1847 Virginia Died and

Edgar took this very hard but he kept on writing until the day he died in Baltimore

October 7, 1849.

Taken from:

http://mb.sparknotes.com/mb.epl?b=531&m=446698&h=allan,biography,edgar,poe

http://www.poedecoder.com/Qrisse/poeref.h