Edgar Allan Poe was one of America's greatest writers. He wrote many intriguing poems and short stories. One of Poe's most famous short stories was "The Masque of the Red Death." Today the symbolism and meaning of it are still hotly debated among scholars and critics. Some see no meaning in it. The others who find meaning in it interpret
             completely different meanings amongst themselves.
             The true meaning of "The Masque of the Red Death"
             lies solely in the vast symbols used by Poe in this ingenious work.
             Edgar Allan Poe used symbolism in the names he used in his story. The name of the story itself is a symbol. "The Masque" to the average person means the mask, but the definition for masque is a masquerade which is a dance in which persons where masks and other disguises. The "Red Death" is also symbolic. In many religions the color red is associated closely with death. So what Poe meant by the name of the story is the dance of death which it truly becomes.
             Another symbolic name is Prince Prospero, which is the tragic figure in this story. The word "prospero" in Italian and Spanish means prospering or to prosper. This is very ironic because Prospero dies a tragic death at the end. Prospero was also a name of a character in William Shakespeare's The Tempest. Shakespeare's character and Poe's character are similar because they were both dukes. Also, there was mention of a "red plague" in The Tempest.
             Symbolism was used in the setting of the "Masque of the Red Death." The rooms of the abbey are symbolic. The rooms symbolize the cycle of life. The Blue room symbolizes birth. As the story was concluding Prospero chased the masked figure through all 7 rooms in order before he died. The Black room indefinitely symbolizes death as did the ebony clock, but it is also seen that the rooms represent the human body; the masq...