The Tripods In The Masque Of The Red Death

The Life within the Fire
The tripods had some of the most significance on the setting in the story, “The Masque of the Red Death.” As Poe stated in the story, “There was no light of any kind emanating from lamp or candle within the suite of chambers. But in the corridors that followed the suite, there stood, opposite to each window, a heavy tripod, bearing brazier of fire that projected its rays through the tinted glass and so glaringly illumined the room...” the tripods were the only light source in the chambers. Once the fire from the tripods reflected off the windows, it set the chamber’s mood. In the first chamber, the windows were tinted blue. When the fire flickered off the blue tinted windows, it gave off a positive vibe full of life and it made the chamber come alive.
This impacted the characters behaviors because depending on the chamber they were in, the tinted windows and the tripods affected their mood. All the guests had no problem entering the first six chambers because it gave off a positive vibe and it made them feel alive. Only a handful of the guests entered the seventh chamber because of the fact that the tripods created such an eerie mood. The tripods worked with the other symbols because like the clock, once time ran out it represented a human’s life span. Once the fire burned out, the people died. Prince Prospero added this room to show his guests how lucky they were that he allowed them to stay alive and away from the Red Death. If the tripods were absent from the story, it would affect the entire mood of the story. The tripods had such an effect on the way the chambers were lit and how it created such a vibe towards the guests within the story. The tripods were the only light source in the palace by the chambers and this impacted the setting because it created more of a mystery affect. Without the tripods, the setting within the chambers would have been different. To summarize, the tripods had some of the most