The Masque of the Red Death Summary and Analysis

Summary
This story starts detailing some type of disease called the ‘Red Death’ and details the symptoms and appears to be some type of plague which kills people very quickly in fact in about half an hour.
We are not sure where the story is set but there is some suggestion that it is set somewhere in Italy. This is one of Poe’s stories that does not have a narrator to describe what is happening. The Prince of the region who is named Prospero decides to select his best friends to stay with him at his place in order to avoid the plague that is ravaging the town; they even go to the lengths of welding the doors to the house shut so that no one with the plague can enter. There are all sorts of entertainment held by Prospero as well as plenty of food and so on. After about six months when the plague is really at a peak, Prospero decides to hold a masked ball. It was such a huge event that it was held in seven rooms each of a different colour such as blue and purple and so on, each room also had a giant stained glass window of the same colour as the room. The seventh room was black but had a window the colour of scarlet so that it cast an eerie and bloodlike colour into the room, none of the partygoers would go into that room. In this room there is also a giant black clock which has a loud monotonous clang.
Everyone is having a great time at this party until the black clock strikes twelve when a mysterious figure appears among the partygoers. The figure is tall and gaunt and is wearing a hood and cloak which appears to have blood on it and it appears that the person has dressed up as the red death. Most of the partygoers try to avoid the person in the mask.
When the Prince Prospero notices the figure he flies into a rage and demands that the person in the mask be revealed. No-one helps Prospero so he chases the figure through each of the coloured rooms and carries a dagger. They eventually end up in the black room, and a cry is heard from Prospero at which point he drops the dagger and falls dead. The other partygoers grab the man in the mask only to discover there is no-one under the clothes. It is revealed at the end that the red death has made its way into the house and each of the revellers dies.
Analysis
This is quite different from Poe’s other stories and seems to have a more historical basis to the story particularly in relation to the plague. We have several images of death within the story including the black room with the blood red light shining in, as well as the idea of the black clock which implies that time is counting down towards death. I think the idea that Poe is trying to explore here is that no-one can escape death and that it is inevitable no matter how hard you try. The use of the third person narrative also lends a different feel to the story, perhaps this is done so that we feel less sympathy with the character particularly as he left so many people to die outside his house whilst he is having a great time inside.