Pre-Reading: Masque of the Red Death

By: Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849)

Melodramatic Life

• • • Determining the facts of Poe’s life has proved difficult, as lurid legend became entwined with fact even before he died.

Some of these legends were spread by Poe himself.

Two days after Poe’s death, his literary executor began a smear campaign, rewriting Poe’s correspondence so as to alienate many of his friends.

Characteristics of Poe’s detective stories

• • Poe places veiled clues before the reader.

• The writer/narrator strives to appear objective.

• • Poe would have liked to solve everything by the mind.

He was disturbed by what he could not solve by reason.

The climax of the story is the narrator’s explanation of the crime.

Poe and the Gothic

• • Poe did not want to write gothic stories; he started his career spoofing the Gothic.

He said that he wrote, “Tales of terror, not of Germany, but of the soul.” • He transformed tales of terror into psychological stories; he delved into the mysterious recesses of the human mind.

Elements of Gothic in Poe’s Fiction

• Grim setting • • • Landscapes are often reflections of character’s mind.

Unusual buildings, extremes of nature, eccentric works of art Very few of his stories take place in America; most take place in Europe or Never-never-land.

Other elements of the Gothic

• • • • • Hidden evil • Unspeakable, mysterious crimes, including incest and parracide Obsession with Death • Ghosts, blood, body parts Maniacal Laughter The discovered manuscript • gives responsibility to someone else Deformity • the groteque--people who don’t look right are capable of activity beyond the norm

An element of Poe’s style

• • Poe uses vocabulary to create setting, for rhetorical effect, rather than for information.

Modern horror films use music to create atmosphere; Poe used vocabulary.

Poe invented the "Red Death" for this story but he bases it on both the Black Death and tuberculosis.

The Black Death

In the 1300s, a plague called the Black Death swept across Europe, killing as many as 25 million people. Most of those who caught the disease died within three to five days after their symptoms appeared. Subsequent outbreaks of plague continued in Europe until recent times.

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TB = infectious disease that usually attacks the lungs, but can attack almost any part of the body. ·spread from person to person through the air.

·When people with TB in their lungs or throat cough, laugh, sneeze, sing, or even talk, the germs that cause TB may spread throughout the air.

·Many of the women in Poe's life died from TB including his mother and his wife. · He realizes his wife has TB when she stands up to sing one evening and a drop of blood appears on her lip. ·He later develops the story "Masque of the Red Death" based on his fear of this life ending disease.

Tuberculosis

Once a symbol is established it can be used to represent another event...it becomes an allegory. One example is this cover from The New Yorker magazine after the economy crashed.

Look out for characters and/or symbols that represent something greater than themselves.

Two levels of meaning: 1. the literal elements of the plot (the colors of the rooms, for and 2. their symbolic counterparts, which often involve large concepts (such as life and death). example) philosophical

Symbols to watch for: • The use and importance of color • The importance of numbers • Symbolism of East/West • The number 7 Allegory in "Masque of the Red Death"

• Do you know the seven deadly sins?

• The seven ages of man?

• The seven cardinal virtues?

Symbolic Numbers:

·Pride ·Envy ·Anger ·Sloth ·Greed ·Gluttony ·Lust The Seven Deadly Sins:

Which of these sins will Prince Prospero commit?

·infant ·schoolboy ·lover ·soldier ·judge ·pantaloon ·second childhood Which stage might the

ebony clock

symbolize?

The Seven Ages of Man:

Symbolism:East to West

What direction are the rooms lined up in? What color is each room?

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blue

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purple

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green

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orange

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white

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violet

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black

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red

peace, intelligence, stability, depression, life royalty, spirituality life, growth, envy, youth, spring, health energy, warmth, autumn purity, cleanliness, innocence nce femininity, grace, elegance evil, death, night anger, blood, heat, love, power The Meaning of Color: