" The Masque of the Red Death " (originally published as " The Mask of the Red Death: A Fantasy ") is a short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe , first published in 1842. The story follows Prince Prospero's attempts to avoid a dangerous plague , known as the Red Death, by hiding in his abbey . He, along with many other wealthy nobles , hosts a masquerade ball in seven rooms of the abbey, each decorated with a different color. In the midst of their revelry, a mysterious figure disguised as a Red Death victim enters and makes his way through each of the rooms. Prospero dies after confronting this stranger, whose "costume" proves to contain nothing tangible inside it; the guests also die in turn.
38-524: The Red Death may refer to: The Masque of the Red Death , an 1842 short story by Edgar Allan Poe The Masque of the Red Death (1964 film) , a 1964 film adaptation starring Vincent Price Masque of the Red Death (1989 film) , a 1989 remake of the 1964 film Red Death, a fictional disease in Osmosis Jones Red Death, a fictional dragon in
76-468: A "stepped" form, with each merlon shaped like an inverted 'T'. European architects persistently used battlements as a purely decorative feature throughout the Decorated and Perpendicular periods of Gothic architecture. They not only occur on parapets but on the transoms of windows and on the tie-beams of roofs and on screens, and even on Tudor chimney-pots. A further decorative treatment appears in
114-402: A basic deterrent against wandering bands of thieves, and it is suggested that the function of battlements was comparable to the modern practice of householders fitting highly visible CC TV and burglar alarms, often merely dummies. The crown usually did not charge for the granting of such licences, but occasionally charged a fee of about half a mark . Battlements may be stepped out to overhang
152-473: A gap of any kind, for example a parking space at the side of the road between two cars, interval between groups of marching troops or a timeslot in a broadcast. In medieval England and Wales a licence to crenellate granted the holder permission to fortify their property. Such licences were granted by the king, and by the rulers of the counties palatine within their jurisdictions, e.g. by the Bishops of Durham and
190-577: Is Poe as a wealthy young man, part of a distinguished family much like Poe's foster parents , the Allans. Under this interpretation, Poe is seeking refuge from the dangers of the outside world, and his portrayal of himself as the only person willing to confront the stranger is emblematic of Poe's rush towards inescapable dangers in his own life. Prospero is also the name of a central character in William Shakespeare 's The Tempest . The disease called
228-466: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages The Masque of the Red Death Poe's story follows many traditions of Gothic fiction and is often analyzed as an allegory about the inevitability of death, though some critics advise against an allegorical reading. Many different interpretations have been presented, as well as attempts to identify
266-503: Is emphasized by the masked figure – never explicitly stated to be the Red Death, but only a reveler in a costume of the Red Death ;– making his initial appearance in the easternmost room, which is colored blue, a color most often associated with birth. Although Prospero's castle is meant to keep the sickness out, it is ultimately an oppressive structure. Its maze-like design and tall and narrow windows become almost burlesque in
304-412: Is much dispute over how to interpret "The Masque of the Red Death"; some suggest it is not allegorical, especially due to Poe's admission of a distaste for didacticism in literature. If the story really does have a moral, Poe does not explicitly state that moral in the text. Blood, emphasized throughout the tale, along with the color red, serves as a dual symbol, representing both death and life. This
342-459: Is that battlements became an architectural status-symbol much sought after by the socially ambitious, in Coulson's words: "Licences to crenellate were mainly symbolic representations of lordly status: castellation was the architectural expression of noble rank". They indicated to the observer that the grantee had obtained "royal recognition, acknowledgment and compliment". They could, however, provide
380-445: Is to crenellate the tops of church towers, and often the tops of lower walls. These are essentially decorative rather than functional, as are many examples on secular buildings. The solid widths between the crenels are called merlons . Battlements on walls have protected walkways, termed chemin de ronde behind them. On tower or building tops, the often flat roof is used as a protected fighting platform . The term originated in about
418-570: The Arabs had a more decorative and varied character, and were continued from the 13th century onwards not so much for defensive purposes as for a crowning feature to the walls. They serve a function similar to the cresting found in the Spanish Renaissance architecture . "Irish" crenellations are a distinctive form that appeared in Ireland between the 14th and 17th centuries. These were battlements of
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#1732851720697456-577: The Earls of Chester and after 1351 by the Dukes of Lancaster . The castles in England vastly outnumbered the licences to crenellate. Royal pardons were obtainable on the payment of an arbitrarily-determined fine by a person who had fortified without licence. The surviving records of such licences, generally issued by letters patent , provide valuable evidence for the dating of ancient buildings. A list of licences issued by
494-482: The terminal nature of the disease. Poe's mother Eliza , brother William , and foster mother Frances had also died of tuberculosis. Alternatively, the Red Death may refer to cholera ; Poe witnessed an epidemic of cholera in Baltimore, Maryland , in 1831 . Others have suggested the pandemic is actually bubonic plague , emphasized by the climax of the story featuring the Red Death in the black room. One writer likens
532-484: The 14th century from the Old French word batailler , "to fortify with batailles " (fixed or movable turrets of defence). The word crenel derives from the ancient French cren (modern French cran ), Latin crena , meaning a notch, mortice or other gap cut out often to receive another element or fixing; see also crenation . The modern French word for crenel is créneau , also used to describe
570-561: The 2010 film How to Train Your Dragon Masque of the Red Death (Ravenloft) , a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game The Red Death , a New York death metal band " Red Death at 6:14 ", a single by the American garage rock band The White Stripes. Red Death , a character on the animated television series The Venture Bros Red Death , a version of
608-488: The DC Comics character Batman from an alternate Earth. Anthracycline drugs due to their red color and cytotoxic effects, particularly Doxorubicin . See also [ edit ] [REDACTED] Search for "Red Death" on Misplaced Pages. All pages with titles beginning with Red Death All pages with titles containing Red Death The Masque of the Red Death (disambiguation) Topics referred to by
646-577: The English Crown between the 12th and the 16th centuries was compiled by Turner & Parker and expanded and corrected by Philip Davis and published in The Castle Studies Group Journal . There has been academic debate over the purpose of licensing. The view of military-focused historians is that licensing restricted the number of fortifications that could be used against a royal army. The modern view, proposed notably by Charles Coulson,
684-441: The Red Death all along, having "come like a thief in the night", and all of the guests contract and succumb to the disease. The final line of the story sums up, "And Darkness and Decay and the Red Death held illimitable dominion over all." Directly influenced by the first Gothic novel , Horace Walpole 's The Castle of Otranto , in "The Masque of the Red Death" Poe adopts many conventions of traditional Gothic fiction, including
722-415: The Red Death is fictitious. Poe describes it as causing "sharp pains, and sudden dizziness, and then profuse bleeding at the pores" leading to death within half an hour. The disease may have been inspired by tuberculosis (or consumption, as it was known then), since Poe's wife Virginia was suffering from the disease at the time the story was written. Like the character Prince Prospero, Poe tried to ignore
760-418: The Red Death, a terrible plague with gruesome symptoms that has swept over the land. Victims are overcome by "sharp pains", "sudden dizziness", and " profuse bleeding at the pores ", and die within half an hour. Prospero and his court are indifferent to the sufferings of the population at large; they intend to await the end of the plague in luxury and safety behind the walls of their secure refuge, having welded
798-438: The castle setting. The multiple single-toned rooms may be representative of the human mind, showing different personality types. The imagery of blood and time throughout also indicates corporeality. The plague may, in fact, represent typical attributes of human life and mortality, which would imply the entire story is an allegory about man's futile attempts to stave off death (a commonly accepted interpretation). However, there
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#1732851720697836-407: The chiming of midnight, the revelers and Prospero notice a figure in a dark, blood-splattered robe resembling a funeral shroud . The figure's mask resembles the rigid face of a corpse and exhibits the traits of the Red Death. Gravely insulted, Prospero demands to know the identity of the mysterious guest so they can hang him. The guests, too afraid to approach the figure, instead let him pass through
874-713: The defender might stand so as to gain complete protection on one side. Loop-holes were frequent in Italian battlements, where the merlon has much greater height and a distinctive cap. Italian military architects used the so-called Ghibelline or swallowtail battlement, with V-shaped notches in the tops of the merlon, giving a horn-like effect. This would allow the defender to be protected whilst shooting standing fully upright. The normal rectangular merlons were later nicknamed Guelph. Many South Asian battlements are made up of parapets with peculiarly shaped merlons and complicated systems of loopholes, which differ substantially from rest of
912-455: The defenders by giving them part of the parapet to hide behind, from which they can quickly expose themselves to launch projectiles, then retreat behind the parapet. A defensive building might be designed and built with battlements, or a manor house might be fortified by adding battlements, where no parapet previously existed, or cutting crenellations into its existing parapet wall. A distinctive feature of late medieval English church architecture
950-556: The description to that of a viral hemorrhagic fever or necrotizing fasciitis . It has also been suggested that the Red Death is not a disease or sickness at all but a weakness (like original sin ) that is shared by all of humankind inherently. Poe first published the story in the May 1842 edition of Graham's Lady's and Gentleman's Magazine as "The Mask of the Red Death", with the tagline "A Fantasy". This first publication earned him $ 12 (equivalent to $ 379 in 2023) . A revised version
988-550: The doors shut to ensure no one enters or leaves. One night, five or six months into this seclusion, Prospero holds a masquerade ball to entertain his guests in seven colored rooms of the abbey. Each of the first six rooms is decorated and illuminated in a specific color: blue, purple, green, orange, white, and violet. The last room is decorated in black and is illuminated by a scarlet light, "a deep blood color" cast from its stained glass windows. Because of this chilling pairing of colors, very few guests are brave enough to venture into
1026-516: The existence of battlements. The Great Wall of China has battlements. In the European battlements of the Middle Ages the crenel comprised one-third of the width of the merlon: the latter, in addition, could be provided with arrow-loops of various shapes (from simply round to cruciform), depending on the weapon being utilized. Late merlons permitted fire from the first firearms . From the 13th century,
1064-415: The final black room, so oppressive that "there were few of the company bold enough to set foot within its precincts at all". Additionally, the castle is meant to be an enclosed space, yet the stranger is able to sneak inside, suggesting that control is an illusion. Like many of Poe's tales, "The Masque of the Red Death" has been interpreted autobiographically, by some. In this point of view, Prince Prospero
1102-408: The launch of arrows or other projectiles from within the defences. These gaps are termed embrasures , also called crenels or crenelles , and a wall or building with them is described as crenellated ; alternative older terms are castellated and embattled . The act of adding crenels to a previously unbroken parapet is termed crenellation. The function of battlements in war is to protect
1140-433: The merlons could be connected with wooden shutters ( mantlets ) that provided added protection when closed. The shutters were designed to be opened to allow shooters to fire against the attackers, and closed during reloading. The Romans used low wooden pinnacles for their first aggeres ( terrepleins ). In the battlements of Pompeii , additional protection derived from small internal buttresses or spur walls, against which
1178-446: The same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Red Death . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Red_Death&oldid=1235921938 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Pages with broken anchors Short description
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1216-399: The seventh room. A large ebony clock stands in this room and ominously chimes each hour, upon which everyone stops talking or dancing and the orchestra stops playing. Once the chiming stops, everyone immediately resumes the masquerade. As nightfall approaches, none of the guests enter the final room as it takes on a more eerie display and the additional chimes of the clock make them uneasy. At
1254-449: The six chambers. The Prince pursues him with a drawn dagger and corners the guest in the seventh room. When the figure turns to face him, the Prince lets out a sharp cry and falls dead. The terrified revelers become enraged and surge into the black room and forcibly remove the mask and robe, only to find to their horror that there is nothing underneath. Only then do they realize the costume was
1292-558: The true nature of the eponymous disease. The story was first published in May 1842 in Graham's Magazine and has since been adapted in many different forms, including a 1964 film starring Vincent Price . Poe's short story has also been alluded to by other works in many types of media. The story takes place at a castellated abbey of the "happy and dauntless and sagacious" Prince Prospero. Prospero and 1,000 "hale and light-hearted" other nobles have taken refuge in this walled abbey to escape
1330-635: The wall below, and may have openings at their bases between the supporting corbels , through which stones or burning objects could be dropped onto attackers or besiegers; these are known as machicolations . Battlements have been used for thousands of years; the earliest known example is in the fortress at Buhen in Egypt . Battlements were used in the walls surrounding Assyrian towns, as shown on bas reliefs from Nimrud and elsewhere. Traces of them remain at Mycenae in Greece , and some ancient Greek vases suggest
1368-411: The wall). Sometimes a merlon was pierced with two or three loopholes, but typically, only one loophole was divided into two or three slits by horizontal or vertical partitions. The shape of loopholes, as well as the shape of merlons, need not have been the same everywhere in the castle, as shown by Kumbhalgarh . In Muslim and African fortifications, the merlons often were rounded. The battlements of
1406-452: The world. Typical Indian merlons were semicircular and pointed at the top, although they could sometimes be fake: the parapet may be solid and the merlons shown in relief on the outside, as is the case in Chittorgarh . Loopholes could be made both in the merlons themselves, and under the crenels. They could either look forward (to command distant approaches) or downward (to command the foot of
1444-638: Was published in the July 19, 1845 edition of the Broadway Journal under the now-standard title "The Masque of the Red Death". The original title emphasized the figure at the end of the story; the new title puts emphasis on the masquerade ball. castellated A battlement , in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles , comprises a parapet (a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at intervals to allow for
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