StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

The Settings of the Masque of the Red Death - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
This essay "The Settings of the Masque of the Red Death" focuses on settings that are often as important as the characters themselves and set the stage in which literature comes to life. The settings used in The Masque of the Red Death and Trifles are unique and specific to the plot…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER96.7% of users find it useful

Extract of sample "The Settings of the Masque of the Red Death"

The settings of stories create the ambiances in which those stories take place.
In the piece by Edgar Allen Poe, The Masque of the Red Death, the setting is a masquerade held by Prince Prospero. This masquerade takes place in the midst of a horrible and deadly disease that sweeps through the land, “ It was toward the fifth or sixth month of his seclusion, and while the pestilence raged most furiously abroad, that Prince Prospero entertained his thousand friends at a masked ball of the most unusual magnificence”(Poe, 251). This is a significant contrast of events occurring simultaneously, a deadly disease and a magnificent ball.

Despite his efforts to avoid the “red death”, Prince Prospero succumbs to inevitable fate within the very bungalow that he used as a hiding place from a would-be death. Ultimately, the setting of this piece is a grand disillusionment on the part of the Prince.

In the piece written by Susan Glaspell, Trifles, the reader finds a more elemental setting. This piece introduces itself within the kitchen of a now-abandoned farmhouse. This is of course the farmhouse kitchen of the Wright’s and a very unkempt kitchen at that. This is a clue to the chaos of the situation that plays out within the piece, “The kitchen in the now-abandoned farmhouse of John Wright, a gloomy kitchen, and left without having been put in order - the walls covered with a faded wallpaper”(Glaspell, 1290). The setting that the reader finds in Trifles is more realistic and conducive to the plot than that of the setting of The Masque of the Red Death. Trifles is an illustration of a woman pushed entirely too far and too long by her husband. Finally, she murders her husband, and naturally, the kitchen is a mess.

The entirety of the piece takes place within the home of the Wrights, a simple farmhouse showing signs of a tremulous marriage at best. The cliché of a happy home in our time is a home that is in order. The home of the Wrights was anything but happy and naturally, showing physical signs of the troubled owners. Conversely, as the author states the stage for the reality of the dark situation in which the piece takes place, the mundane relevance of the condition of the kitchen seems strangely unimportant but yet places even more emphasis on the mental state of Mrs. Wright. In addition, the reader finds Mrs. Wright, almost catatonic, rocking methodically in a rocking chair, the simplicity of this places additional emphasis on her state of mind or lack thereof, “she moved from that chair over there (pointing to a small chair in the down right corner) and just sat there with her hands held together and looking down”(Glaspell, 1292). Ultimately, this type of simplistic setting allows the reader to grasp the vacancy of Mrs. Wright’s mental stability.

Read More
Tags
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Setting plays a crucial role in both of these stories. Discuss the Essay”, n.d.)
Setting plays a crucial role in both of these stories. Discuss the Essay. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1546451-setting-plays-a-crucial-role-in-both-of-these-stories-discuss-the-importance-of-setting-and-how-it-contributes-to-the-stories-plots-and-resolutions
(Setting Plays a Crucial Role in Both of These Stories. Discuss the Essay)
Setting Plays a Crucial Role in Both of These Stories. Discuss the Essay. https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1546451-setting-plays-a-crucial-role-in-both-of-these-stories-discuss-the-importance-of-setting-and-how-it-contributes-to-the-stories-plots-and-resolutions.
“Setting Plays a Crucial Role in Both of These Stories. Discuss the Essay”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1546451-setting-plays-a-crucial-role-in-both-of-these-stories-discuss-the-importance-of-setting-and-how-it-contributes-to-the-stories-plots-and-resolutions.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF The Settings of the Masque of the Red Death

Edgar Allen Poe: The Theme of Death

The paper "Edgar Allen Poe: The Theme of Death" explores 'the masque of the red death,' and 'The Cask of Amontillado,' short stories that unarguably demonstrate Edgar Allen Poe's mastery over the genre of terror, and justify his reputation as one of the foremost writers of horror stories.... the masque of the red death' is an allegory, and is almost like a fairytale in its shades of fantasy and imagery.... 'the masque of the red death' ends with the death of Prince Prospero and his entire band of revelers, while the murder of Fortunato marks the climax of 'The Cask of Amontillado....
6 Pages (1500 words) Essay

The Masque of the Red Death for Edgar Allan Poe

Name of the of the Concerned Professor Subject 11 May 2011 the masque of the red death by Edgar Allan Poe Since times immemorial, death is a phenomenon that has continually perplexed the common and the exalted.... Edgar Allan Poe in his story the masque of the red death delves on the frivolity of human understanding in the face of that which is all pervasive and universal.... The plot, setting, characterization and atmosphere created by Poe in the masque of the red death rely on the elements of terror, horror and grotesqueness, to exhibit the helplessness of the human existence before a fate that is essentially given to be mortal....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

Character Portrayal in The Tell-Tale Heart and Masque of the Red Death

This current paper is being carried out to juxtapose the two short stories, “the masque of the red death” and “The Tell-Tale Heart”, stories that demonstrate the ability of Poe to analyse the human mind and provide an accurate account of it.... Characters in “the masque of the red death” have a very eerie quality to them that is achieved through the use of architectural detail that discusses the gothic structures of the kingdom that is talked of.... The life that is given to a particular architectural structure is not divorced from the main thread of the story as is amply demonstrated by “the masque of the red death”....
6 Pages (1500 words) Essay

Symbolism in Edgar Allan Poes The Masque of the Red Death

Name Institution Course Instructor Date Symbolism in Edgar Allan Poe's “the masque of the red death” Authors of various literal writings use various language techniques to illustrate their arguments.... In this essay, I intend to illustrate various instances of symbolism portrayed in Allan's “the masque of the red death”.... “the masque of Red Death”, this title illustrate that Poe has used color to symbolize events in his story.... Probably, the plague of red death occurred in the seventh chamber....
6 Pages (1500 words) Essay

The Masque of the Red Death: Use of Setting and Color

the masque of the red death” is a short story which unarguably demonstrates Edgar Allen Poe's mastery over the genre of terror, and justifies his reputation as one of the foremost writers of horror stories.... “the masque of the red death” is a classic example of Poe's tremendous imagination and his ability to paint vivid images with words.... “the masque of the red death” is a classic example of Poe's tremendous imagination and his ability to paint vivid images with words....
6 Pages (1500 words) Essay

Edgar A. Poe - The Masque of the Red Death

Poe - the masque of the red death" discusses the story "the masque of the red death", which makes an eloquent statement on the situation of isolated, grief has ridden humanity and on the archetypal fear of death, thereby taking the mystery and horror genre to new heights.... The writer tactfully succeeds in exploiting the Cardinal fear of death etched deep into the human consciousness by playing upon its subconscious realization of the inevitability of death, contrary to and against all claims to fortune, exclusiveness, fame, and power....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

James Bacque's Other Losses Analysis

This term paper talks about the book "Other Losses” authored by James Bacque into the mass deaths of Germans who were prisoners of war by the French and the Americans after WWI.... The book states that a huge number of Germans including men, women, children, died in the American and French camps....
4 Pages (1000 words) Term Paper

The Masque of the Red Death

The short story, “the masque of the red death”, is a presentation of the futility of human attempts to escape death, since even though the attempts may persists for as long as they can, eventually man will succumb to death, and there is nothing that can possibly hinder death.... the red death was a very scaring menace to Prince Prospero and his nobility guests, who in turn gathered in his castle in order to stay safe from the outside world, where the red death was killing people....
5 Pages (1250 words) Research Paper
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us