Catching up on Classics (and lots more!) discussion

The Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allan Poe is our December 2024 Short Story/Novella Read.

This discussion will open on December 1

Beware Short Story Discussions will have Spoilers

Love this short story very much and I recommend it to anyone who likes a good gothic short story
I think Poe says in here, beware: it doesn't matter who you are, all your material possessions and how good you hide them or yourself, we all will die.

I read this when I was in high school so many years ago, already planned my December reads and don’t generally re- read. However, I own a volume of Poe short stories and this is in it, so I will join with this one.

It's been ages since I read this, but I remember a discussion by some lit professors who said the colors of the rooms were significant, and as you travel from one color to the next they all meant something. I know at the time I thought it was impressive but wondered if it was the case of readers pushing their interpretation onto the story, not actually finding what the author intended.

Does anyone have an opinion about this, or indeed an opinion on whether this story should be interpreted or just taken as it lies?

Oh, this was fun! So, I never read it, though I probably was supposed to. I remember a discussion in High School English class though, teacher trying to get us to visualize the rooms (the apartments), but from that memory alone, I don't understand the point of that. I mean, was that supposed to be hard or something? And really, (view spoiler)[the only truly important room was the one (hide spoiler)] lol

p.s. I see another mentioning the rooms. let me read that more closely. lol

Teri-K wrote: "It's been ages since I read this, but I remember a discussion by some lit professors who said the colors of the rooms were significant, and as you travel from one color to the next they all meant s..."

found this https://study.com/academy/lesson/the-....

"What do the seven rooms symbolize?
These seven rooms with their colors represent stages in life from birth represented by the color blue to death in black."

AND not sure where this comes from, but it's the first answer on Google search
"The stages they represent are birth (blue), youth (purple), adolescence (green), adulthood (orange), old age (white), imminent death (violet), and death itself (black/scarlet)."

first time I am hearing any of this though haha

April wrote: "Teri-K wrote: "It's been ages since I read this, but I remember a discussion by some lit professors who said the colors of the rooms were significant, and as you travel from one color to the next t..."

Oh, thanks! I wonder if anyone else has heard this?

This was a quick read. I liked the description of the setting. There are many stories where people hide in a "bunker" so to speak. This "bunker" was an elaborate lavish abbey turned into palace. I can't imagine being welded into a complex with 1000 other people, even if I was hiding from a deadly plague.

There was a lot of symbolism. Yes there were colors in each room with the last being red and black. I can see how the rooms pointed toward death. The clock was also loud and ominous. It seemed to be counting down the moments of life for the court members. The Red Masque mummer appeared at the stroke of midnight.

I felt the ending was a bit of a let down. I was hoping the mummer would be exposed and we would see who it was. I won't say anymore so it won't be a spoiler.

I love my audiobooks. I found this story on my favorite YouTube audiobook channel:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAyDQ...

Oh there was another well-used symbol I forgot to mention. The seven chambers, seven is the number of completion, move from an easterly to westward direction, albeit at 90 degree angles to one another. The significance of East to West is that the Eastern sky where the sun rises often represents birth or youth while the Western sky represents old age or death.

If you read about ancient archaeology of say Neolithic Times or the Bronze Age, burial chambers are laid out so there is a passage from East to West as the funeral or burial takes place. Another possible symbol is found in the Legend of King Arthur. Arthur is said to sail to the Western Islands of Avalon from where he will someday return.

Done ✔️ I quite enjoy it. Side note I also enjoyed how Netflix tied this story in with the fall of the house of usher. If anyone hasn’t watched it yet maybe check it out. I have the selected works of Edgar Allan Poe. Love that I can choose to read a short story or choose to read his poems. Happy reading to all and to all a good read. 📖🎄

This is one of those stories that really got me into reading Poe's stories and some of his poems and remember reading this one every year for quite awhile. I really love the Gothic vibe and it feels like there is so much going on under the surface of the story. I remember a teacher talking about how the seven rooms could also represent the seven deadly sins.

I really like the allegory/symbolic aspects and how there is quite a bit of interpretation to consider with regard to names and objects (Prince Prospero's name (prosper) and the ebony clock symbolic of time/life). I like also how the story ties the historical element with the plague as well.

Very quick and powerful story. One of Poe's finest.

I'm newly retired and have been making time to read daily. This was super quick and enjoyable! I appreciate the commenters that pointed out the symbolism of the room colors, the clock, etc. Also, I haven't read much of Poe's work, so had to look up some of the words (mummer, for example) on my e-reader.

Looking forward to next month's short story :)

It is “funny” how much our common recent past has coloured our reading here: “1000 other people”. Are you kidding?! That means trusting 1000 people with my life. Trusting that not a single one of those 1000 makes a mistake/cheats a little bit. No thanks!

The symbolism of the colour of the rooms was not a reference I understood. But Poe repeated it so many times that it must be significant and not just colours. I think only the black for death is still in use?

I liked the repeated discomfort at the clock’s strike. Discomfort at being reminded about the unstoppable march of time and mortality. Nothing new - just well written.

No one has spoken about Prince Prosper’s name. Certainly it means prosperous, but in Greek myth, it meant magician. Surely Poe also knew it as a main character in The Tempest. Why do you think Poe chose that name? Is this Prospero both good and bad? For those of you who know the Shakespeare play, what parallels can be drawn?

Terry wrote: "No one has spoken about Prince Prosper’s name. Certainly it means prosperous, but in Greek myth, it meant magician. Surely Poe also knew it as a main character in The Tempest. Why do you think Poe ..."

Hey Terry, that's a good point. I do remember one of my professor's mentioning the name, and didn't think about its ties to Greek myth or also The Tempest. I always just thought of "prosper" or "prosperous", as in his life of excess and luxuriousness.

Terry wrote: "No one has spoken about Prince Prosper’s name. Certainly it means prosperous, but in Greek myth, it meant magician. Surely Poe also knew it as a main character in The Tempest. Why do you think Poe ..."

Good point. I did not know. What I saw was: Prince PrOspEr

This was such a short story! I was amazed at how much tension Poe developed in so few words. It kept me on edge from the beginning, wondering who Prospero was, did he have any ulterior motive in assembling this many people, was he evil or merely daring death to come take them?

April and Lynn, thank you for the links.

I liked your thoughts, J_BlueFlower, about how the clock kept reminding the people of the unstoppable march of time. I think it showed that the people were really living in fear, and that they were forcing themselves to display a gaiety they did not feel.

I was surprised that the stranger was death - somehow I had imagined Prospero to be its representative.

I’m glad we didn’t read this during the first months of the pandemic.

You are so right, Terry! I thought the same thing while I was reading this!

Terry wrote: "I’m glad we didn’t read this during the first months of the pandemic."

I kept thinking how familiar the scenario seemed in our post-Covid days.

Terry wrote: "I’m glad we didn’t read this during the first months of the pandemic."

Same! What is even weirder though is how i had just finished Sea of Tranquility right before reading this, and that one has a whole subplot about pandemics. So, i was stunned then and already prepped as I read Masque, but also like, why am i suddenly reading all of these things? Lol I had no prior knowledge of what either story was about. Ha!

Ray Bradbury admired Poe immensely and in The Martian Chronicles there is a fantastic chapter of someone who rebuilds the House of Usher and the recreates The Masque of Death. - Jadi Campbell (The Taste of Your Name)

Nice short story! I read it for the first time tonight. It’s definitely full of symbols, but I can’t get past the fact that Prospero not only isolates himself and his wealthy friends in the castle to avoid death but also throws a lavish masquerade ball! It’s nothing less than an open invitation for Death to come for him. :-/

Connie…and all the others in attendance!

Jadi wrote: "Ray Bradbury admired Poe immensely and in The Martian Chronicles there is a fantastic chapter of someone who rebuilds the House of Usher and the recreates The Masque of Death. - Jadi Campbell (The ..."

“April 2005: Usher II” is one of my favorites by Bradbury and one I recently reread in a huge Bradbury collection I have been working through since early 2024. I had forgotten that the house in the story was set up to emulate this story as well as other works of Poe.