In the 19 th
century, a branch in Romanticism was born and throughout the years it has explored the uncharted territories of the human mind. That branch is called
Gothic literature. Gothic writers often explored the insane, the demented and the heinous aspects of the human being. Writers like Edgar Allen Poe and Nathaniel
Hawthorne are often praised for their Gothic works since they use mood and perplexing plots to display the flaws of human nature as well as illustrating the nefarious side of human behavior to engross the reader’s attention. In The Masque of the Red Death and
The Minister’s Black Veil
, both Poe and Hawthorne achieve the stories’ mood by correctly applying a plethora of literary techniques. Although both authors have a different approach to accomplish the desired mood of suspense, trepidation and reflection; Poe and Hawthorne applied the use of imagery to cultivate the mood to achieve the desired reaction it has on readers.
With The Masque of the Red Death , Poe takes advantage of imagery in order to cultivate the reader’s mindset. By opening the story with a ghastly picture of the citizens suffering from the Red Death, it gives the intended audience distaste and disgust as they imagine the “profuse bleeding at the pores” and the “scarlet stains” that define the deadliness of the Red Death. Later on in the story, we are transported to the palace where Prince Prospero and the readers believe it is the only sanctuary from the Red Death. But within this ostentatious palace, the slightest presence of

Death and the Red Death is inevitable. When Poe describes the bizarre seven suites to display Prospero’s extravagant behavior, the audience couldn’t help but notice the seventh apartment. Poe cleverly describes the other six rooms in a sentence in contrast to the seventh room, which has an abundance of details. Describing the room being
“shrouded in black velvet tapestries” and using extreme words like “scarlet” and
“blood-tinted” to illustrate the panes make the setting of the room seem horrifying in the extreme. Not only does it create an eerie mood that frightens most of Prospero’s guests, but also the readers couldn’t help but think of whether or not this room is linked to the Red Death itself. The haunting image of the color “scarlet” and the portentous decorations that fill the room makes the reader assume that this room will later be of some importance in the plot, therefore, eliciting suspense.
However, the most salient imagery that Poe skillfully presents is the mysterious masquerader that dresses up like the Red Death, which is the climax of the whole story. The figure which Poe describes as being “tall” and “gaunt” brings forth a formidable and ominous atmosphere surrounding the figure as he is out of the norm in comparison to the people in the palace. In addition, the costume is equally abominable and horrendous with the masquerader’s visage and vesture as the “countenance of a stiffen corpse” and “dabbled” and “besprinkled” with crimson blood. A sense of trepidation strikes into the population of the palace, and the readers would react with

anticipation that this formidable figure is somewhat a prophet of the Red Death. We then shift the action back to the scarlet chamber where the mysterious masker is pursued by Prince Prospero and his friends. It is then when the readers realize that the
Red Death has infiltrated the palace disguised as a masquerader and is prepared to bring Armageddon upon the guests of Prince Prospero. With the illustration of the Red
Death brutally massacring the revelers in the conclusion, the readers could reflect this tragedy that no one can escape from death, no matter how wealthy or impoverished one is. There is no doubt that Poe couldn’t have aroused the desired mood needed for this story with his description of the explicit imagery.
Similarly, Hawthorne himself also employs imagery with his literary thriller The
Minister’s Black Veil . The author from the start portrays a placid and mediocre Puritan village waiting in the church anticipating for the arrival of the preacher, Mr. Hooper.
The mood then shifts dramatically when the author depicts one item that is out-of-the-ordinary: the black veil. The readers may not interpret the veil as the focus of attention, but Hawthorne’s description of the veil says so otherwise. The audience in the church was discomforted by the appearance of Mr. Hooper’s “gloomy shade” while preaching about secret sin in his sermon. In fact, most of them were perturbed by the black veil since they had the inkling that Mr. Hooper was uncovering their secrets behind the veil and “discovered their hoarded iniquity of deed or thought.” We

as the reader could gradually feel the suspense in the story as we think that there is a dark force behind the grim black veil.
In other cases, the veil is depicted as a sinister harbinger in many occasions in the story. For the funeral service, a very superstitious woman was horrified when the dead corpse “shuddered”, in fear presumably, when Mr. Hooper laments for the deceased. In addition, a couple stated that the apparition of the dead corpse was walking side by side with Mr. Hooper. Moreover, in the wedding ceremony, the mood is as equally as sinister as the funeral itself as the company could “portend nothing but evil.” Although the supposed image of the wedding is a jocular atmosphere, the veil affects the bride as her “cold fingers quivered in the tremulous hand of the bridegroom.” We even see Mr. Hooper horrified by his grotesque image on the glass as he turns pale and leaves clumsily, escaping his horrific reflection.
Throughout the story the veil plays a significant part being a symbol of secret sin, as part of Mr. Hooper’s purpose of enlightening the Puritan society in order for them to be purified. But through the eyes of the public and the description of the author, it contains nothing but malevolence. But no matter how the veil is interpreted, the readers would definitely feel a hint of suspense as the black veil brings forth trepidation as it is feared amongst the Puritan majority.
Both authors are similar when they apply imagery to vividly describe the images

that are essential in the story. For example, Poe describes the scarlet chamber in the palace to establish a connection with the Red Death while Hawthorne describes the trembling corpse affected by Hooper to link the malicious effect of the veil. In my opinion, I believe Poe has a greater usage of imagery to link with the theme of Death and the subject of the Red Death with the portentous colors and the gory images of agonizing fatalities. Poe is consistent with those images throughout the story and makes the story livelier and picturesque. In comparison, I felt that Hawthorne’s imagery was placid and mundane. I feel that the story it lacks a certain contrast to the effect of the veil. Additionally, Hawthorne seemingly lacks of bombastic lexicons to make the plot stimulating and animated. I have to be frank that Poe’s variation in vocabulary for his imagery appealed to my attention, and personally, I feel that Poe did a phenomenal job of creating a gory horror in comparison to Hawthorne’s ambivalent thriller.
Nevertheless, I believe that both authors achieved their standards of being Gothic writers by typically applying imagery to their stories. Though both writers were peculiar in their ways to use imagery to arouse the desired mood of suspense, trepidation and reflection; they equally accomplish the task with their use of symbols and images to aggregate the amount of tension and anticipation in the story.