Poe used the setting of "The Masque of the Red Death" to.
depict an atmosphere characterized by a sense of.
inevitability of death and one of somber morbidity. He used.
the castle, clock of ebony, and the masked figure's chasing.
of the prince to express the atmosphere in a detailed.
analysis.
The castle provided a place for the story to unfold. .
It allowed the reader to interpret a sense of entrapment.
that carried into the plot. As the prince secured the.
castle, in an attempt to avert the plague of the Red Death,.
he was also eliminating any means of escape once the disease.
infiltrated the area. The prince's solution to averting.
death was to seclude himself with his royal friends and.
celebrate with all of the amenities of being wealthy. "There.
were buffoons, there were improvisatori, there were ballet.
dancers, there were musicians, there was Beauty, there was.
wine." However, in his naive attempts to lock himself in,.
the prince was allowing the deaths of those outside of his.
realm and locking himself out of the outside world at the.
same time. Therefore, as Prince Prospero put up the "gates.
of iron" and "welded the bolts," he became a prisoner of.
sorts, without refuge. .
The castle was also depicted as a maze. With the.
disposition of the apartments being restricted, there was a.
single way out, through the black room. This disposition.
was representative of the stages of life. The sharp turns.
leading to a novel effect were the decisions one must make. .
Also, each room prohibited a view of the others, with the.
exception of only the following room. Therefore, one could.
not see the future, only the next phase of life. Although.
each room had a large window, one could not see the outside.
world. Because the view from the windows was of the.
corridors, again Poe provided a feeling of confinement. .
Each room, being of a different color, represented the.
phases of existence, from birth toward death. The rooms.
went in the order of blue, purple, green, orange, white,.
