Edgar Allen Poe's The Masque Of The Red Death

“I never want to die” a phrase uttered by one man, but a thought nearly universal. Edgar Allen Poe’s allegorical short story The Masque of the Red Death is an unflawed demonstration of mankind’s unwillingness to face demise. In the story, a hideous plague is prevalent in the kingdom of Prince Prospero. In a selfish act to save himself and many of his light-hearted friends from the terrible pestilence, he abandons his people and shuts himself in his opulent abbey. With his only concern being to have a luxurious and enjoyable experience. The prince has a voluptuous masked ball despite the misery of his lands. Yet, the prince’s attempt to escape and forget death ultimately fails. The theme of this story is that death is inevitable and impossible to ignore. The ebony clock represents the theme, which is evident through its chime’s powerful ability to produce unwanted sentiments in Prince Prospero’s guest and the clock itself shows the progression of life. The eerie chime of the ebony clock never fails to strike fear in the guest of the prince’s ball. The purpose of the prince’s seclusion to his castle is not only an effort to save himself, but also to simply forget the tragedy occurring in his lands. To produce a world without
The ebony clock, with its ominous guise, is a vivid object. Its pendulum constantly swings to and fro and its ring sounds at every hour. This movement throughout the story shows that the clock does not just tell time but also shows life. From the moment of birth, one’s time to live constantly wanes away until their clock stops. In Poe’s story when the presence of death is finally acknowledged, “life of the ebony clock [goes] out with the last of the gay”(427) revelers. Showing that time does have its end and is inescapable. Death is an essential part of existence and ignoring it has no effect because one needs to die to have