Write Answers to Three of the Following. Each Answer Should Include a Quotation and Should

Write answers to three of the following. Each answer should include a quotation and should be a complete paragraph (5-7 sentences) with the exception of the chart.

1) Why do you suppose Poe’s main character, Prospero, is the only character in the story with an identity? What is the significance of having nameless, faceless, partygoers?

2) “The Masque of the Red Death” is considered by many to be an allegory. An allegory is a work in which characters, events, or settings symbolize, or represent, something else. Apart from the actual events that take place in the abbey, discuss the underlying or allegorical meaning of the story. Refer to specific story elements that support the allegorical meaning.

3) There is evidence in the story that supports the idea that the main character, Prospero, is mad or insane and that the masquerade ball is nothing but a dream or figment of his imagination. What details from the story support this theory?

4) Poe’s powerful opening paragraph in “The Masque of the Red Death” sets the tone for the rest of the story. How would you describe the tone? What word choices contribute to that tone? What is your reaction to the visual imagery Poe uses?

5) Poe seems fascinated with the punishment of immurement, or a method of execution where a person is literally “walled up” within a building and left to die. In this story, how has Prospero unintentionally immured himself and his guests? Is he being punished? By whom? What other Poe short stories have you read or heard of where immurement was a significant event in the plot?

6) A figure of speech in which an animal, a thing, a force of nature, or an idea is described as if it were human or is given human characteristics is known as personification. How does Poe use personification in this story? Find examples of his use of this literary technique.

7) This story is rich in sensory imagery. What details in the story appeal to your senses of sight, sound, and touch? Make a chart listing examples for each category.

8) The character of Prospero is quite stereotypical in Gothic literature. How would you describe his personality based on his actions? Do you think that he is a hero, a villain, or a hero-villain in the story? Why? What other elements of Gothic literature are evident in this story?