The Masque of the Red Death

1. What was the Bubonic Plague?
The Bubonic Plague was a medieval pandemic that swept through Asia and Europe at the end of the 1340’s
2. What were some of the symptoms?
In this type of plague painfully swollen lymph nodes appeared around the groin, armpit, or neck areas
3. How many people died?
75 to 200 million people died because of this plague
4. How did it begin and where?
The plague is believed to have started in China or central Asia due to the fleas that the rats carried. Apparently they where infected with Y. pestis, a type of bacterium, and when they came in contact with humans (bit them) these also became infected
5. How long did it last?
It is said to have lasted until 1350, but the plague continuously reoccurred at different places in Europe until the 19th century

“The Masque of the Red Death”

1. Allegory: (page. 366) a narrative that is really a double story. One is going to be literal and the other is going to have a lot of symbolism

2. Symbolism
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* No one would help the needy (infected) because they were terrified of the consequence of the plague * Prince Prospero: eccentric person (unique, rare) * Huge mansion, locked (you can’t come in and you can’t come out) protecting everybody from the outside world * Enough food, entertainment (wealthy) * They were in there for 5 or 6 months already * All 7 rooms are painted in a specific color and everything matches (Blue, Purple, Orange, Green, White, Violet) except the 7th due it was black with red window panes * The colored rooms could symbolize the circle of life and the cycle of the day (the light and vivid colors representing life or day and the black room death or night) * The black room with the scarlet color gives a mood of suspense, anxiety (this room represents death) * Within the black room there’s a clock that stops the happiness and the joy of the party (Symbolizes the passage of time or reality and demonstrates how terrified the guests are of it) * The clock foreshadows the time left until their death * Prince Prospero was so bizarre in his fashion that some people though he was mad and had to go and get to know him to confirm he’s not * They’re masquerade costume can symbolize the death of the people outside * Each time the clock chimes, the dreams traveling through the rooms freeze * When the clock chimes at midnight the guests notice a mysterious figure which arouses disgust and horror in them due to his outright disgusting costume * He uses the Red Death to show that nobody can escape death because it will eventually come to you * Literal story: A group of people retire to an abbey to escape the plague but they re unsuccessful and end up dying * Symbolic story: no matter where you go, how many money you have or whatever you death will come * The mysterious person apparently has a costume that looks exactly like a corpse and has blood stains (this makes people nervous because it could be the plague) * He turns out to be the Red Death and everybody dies * This demonstrates that no matter how wealthy the prince was, he was not able to keep out the plague (he was ignorant by thinking he could do so) * Prince Prosperous: name symbolizes success and it’s ironic because he dies first and he does not succeed in cheating death * Guests represent the people that are dying in the plague which is ironic because they’re partying while outside there’s a lot of people dying * The party is an allusion because people are dying outside and these people inside are acting as if everything’s ok * The 7 rooms are alluded to the 7 stages of man by Shakespeare * Rooms symbolize 7 sins, the colors of the rainbow, the stages of life, the rising of the sun and the setting of the night * The black room represents death, reality * Clock (it’s in the black room) symbolizes how much time is left in life, the time until they’re death (reality check). It foreshadows that something bad will happen because otherwise why would the people react * Nobody could get in or out – foreshadows bad might happen * Red death: literally it’s the plague and symbolically is that you can’t escape death (theme) * Moments of suspension (anxiety): when the clock chimes, when the mysterious person appears and when the prince dies * Climax: when the prince dies