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Symbolism in Masque of the Red Death
The Red Death symbolizes the inevitability of death. Although there is no specific
disease with the exact symptoms described in the story, it is believed the disease's
description has elements of tuberculosis, a disease which killed many of those close to
Poe. It also brings forth memories of the Black Death which depopulated much of
Europe during the Middle Ages.
The Castle (Castellated Abbey) represents man's futile efforts to prevent death.
Regardless of wealth, social position, or popularity, death arrives as an uninvited guest
Prince Prospero symbolizes the end of feudalism. Prospero's inviting only wealthy
knights and ladies to his castle at the expense of peasants and commoners represents
the socioeconomic divide between landowners and peasants that existed during the
feudalistic period. It is not coincidental that the Black Death, which reduced the number
of workers, led to a demand for labor and played an important role in ending feudalism in
Europe.
The Ebony Clock is a constant reminder of death and symbolizes the inevitability of it.
The revelers could neither stop its pendulum from swinging nor could they prevent its
ominous tones from dampering their enthusiasm.
The Seven Rooms represent the stages of life. Each room was arranged in order from
East to West representing the rise and fall of the sun. It is also known to be
representative of the seven deadly sins.
○ The first, the blue room, is reminiscent of the unknown that comes at infancy
having only begun the exploration of the world.
○ The next room is purple, a combination of blue (birth) and red (associated with
life, intensity) suggests the beginnings of growth.
○ Green, the next color, suggests the "spring" of life (youth)
○ Orange the summer and autumn of life which represents the changes that begin
to lead to the decay of leaves (human lives)
○ White, the next color, suggests age – think white hair, and bones that begin to
be shown over time.
○ Violet (a combination of purple and blue, or purple and grey) is a shadowy color,
and represents darkness and death.
○ Black, obviously, is death. The scarlet window panes also serve to demonstrate
that death is something that deserves a certain degree of fear and is always
lurking in the back of humans conscience as the color combination is imposing to
those who see it.
The Masqueraders symbolize all humans and give credence to the interpretation that the
seven rooms represent the seven ages of man
The line “like a thief in the night”, used to represent the personified red death, actually
comes from the bible. It's from Paul's First Letter to the Thessalonians 5:4, in which Paul
is referring to the last judgment. According to him, Jesus will come when the world is
least expecting it ("like a thief in the night"), to judge sinners for all of eternity. If you're
caught unprepared, you're in trouble. So it's better to always be expecting the judgment,
and focused not on the "pleasures of this world" (which have a tendency to be sinful) but
on the promise of the next. Otherwise, you're a fool.