Analyzing Mood in American gothic Literature
Brian Hwang
Mr.deGroof
Grade 11 composition
3/1/2013
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In American gothic literature, writers emphasized emotion and included elements
of trepidation; thus, mood became a key element in all literary works of this period.
Edgar Allen Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne are well known writers of this period that
illustrated the techniques of this literary field. In their respective works, “The Masque
of the Red Death” and “The Minister’s Black Veil,” Poe and Hawthorne shared some
techniques such as the use of sensory details and symbolism to create suspense;
however, the former work emphasized sensory details, whereas the latter is centered
more on symbolism.
In “The Masque of the Red Death,” Poe combined symbolism and a plethora of
sensory details, focusing mainly on the latter, to establish the eerie mood of the Red
Death’s approach. The colors and the furnishing of the chambers of Prince Prospero’s
castle, the loud chimes of the clock made of ebony, and the masked figure itself all
played a part in generating the gloomy and dark mood the author intended.
The most significant part of the story that appeals to readers’ senses is the color
and interior of the chambers. In contrast to the shorter descriptions of the first six
chambers, Poe describes the scenery in the seventh chamber in detail. This particular
space in the castle has a unique interior and environment that is in contrast to the rest
of the apartments－the darkness, black velvet tapestries, and scarlet-colored, blood
tinted panes in the seventh chamber are of a complete contrast to the rest of the
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apartments. The scarlet and darkness in color here made the room to serve as a
symbol of the last stage of life－death. The rooms are arranged from east to west, and
this particular room is arranged at the westernmost location. From Poe’s description
of the colors of the rooms: “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. The seventh apartment was
closely shrouded in black velvet tapestries that hung 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 the windows failed to correspond with the decorations. The
panes here were scarlet—a deep blood color,” it can be inferred that each room
symbolizes the stages of life. Blue, the color of the easternmost room, is precisely the
hue the sun dyes the sky with when it rises. Thus, this room symbolizes birth. In
contrast, when the ball of fire sets, the sky glows crimson and eventually darkens.
Also, the red color of the blood-tinted panes reminds people of the devastating plague
occurring outside of the palace, and that it’s finding its way inside. Because of its
unique aspects, none of the guests dared to enter the said chamber－this also
symbolizes that people are unwilling to face death. Hence, the seventh, or the
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westernmost room, creates the gloomy atmosphere of death.
Another object that played an important role in creating suspense and the dark
mood is the gigantic clock of ebony in the seventh chamber. Each of its loud,
heart-pounding and monotonous clangs on the hour not only serves as a repetitive
reminder to the nobles the coming of death, but it also signifies that death is inevitable
for everyone－even the nobles. Part of the reason that none of the nobles dared to
enter the room was due to the chimes of the clock here is louder than any other
chambers, thus strengthening the room’s representation of death.
Finally, the masked figure itself brings the suspense of the story to its zenith. Its
emergence when the clock strikes at midnight demonstrate the ultimate arrival of
death and that none shall escape its wrath. The mention of “blood,” “corpse,” and
“grave” creates a sense of fear and trepidation to readers of death’s approach. As
people in the palace perish one by one almost instantaneously at the hands of the
masked figure, Poe implies once again that even wealth and safety cannot stop death.
In the other story, “The Minister’s Black Veil,” Nathaniel Hawthorne creates
suspense by centering on symbolism. While imagery and sensory details are also used,
here they played relatively minor roles. This story, like Poe’s, has a gloomy mood; yet
unlike “The Masque of the Red Death,” it builds up suspense at a much slower pace
and gradually brings out the main idea as the tale progresses.
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The main symbol in this story is of course the black veil Mr. Hooper wears. It
represents the theme of the story: sin that cannot be rid of. Throughout the story Mr.
Hooper has refused to remove the veil, causing his isolation from the crowd and the
loss of his fiancé. This, however, also made him an effective preacher, as none dared
to oppose him based on the fear of the veil and whatever clandestine is lying within.
Throughout his life, Mr. Hooper never directly addressed the reason he put the
veil on. It is until his last moments, where the climax of the tale is set, that the words
from deep within his heart burst out to the surrounding crowd. Even at near death, Mr.
Hooper still refused to lift his veil, and said: “I look around me, and, lo! On every
visage a Black Veil!” From this statement, the true meaning of the veil is revealed:
from everyone’s perspective, since he has the awful veil on, Mr. Hooper is sinful; yet
from Mr. Hooper’s view, everyone he sees is black, and therefore is sinful, too. This is
based on the Puritan belief that every individual is born sinful and can never be
relieved of it. From this, Hawthorne was also trying to say that people should look
inside their inner selves before blaming on others.
In conclusion, although Poe and Hawthorne share some techniques in creating
suspense, they apply different means to convey the core concept of their stories－
Poe’s employment of a broad array of sensory details and straightforwardness, and
Hawthorne’s revolving on a particular symbol and slow tempo have both effectively
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addressed their ideas. Altogether, both authors have created masterpieces of American
gothic literature that sufficiently records the darkness of human nature.