The document discusses various symbols and their meanings in Edgar Allan Poe's "The Masque of the Red Death". It analyzes what different elements of the story represent, such as the abbey representing an escape from disease, the seven rooms representing the stages of life, and the clock representing the fleeting nature of time. Overall, the key lesson discussed is that no matter one's status or attempts to isolate oneself, death comes for all.

2. What it represents:
They represent humanity/ human beings.
How it helps teach the lesson:
Although the party guests isolate
themselves, they still die from the Red Death,
thus showing no one can escape death.

3. What it represents:
The abbey is a physical barrier to the
disease, an escape from the disease
How it helps teach the lesson:
Even though Prince Prospero thinks he can
build a castle strong enough to keep death out,
death still penetrates the castle walls.

4. What it represents:
The wealthy,
privileged people; the
upper class.
How it helps teach the
lesson:
The wealthy think
they can avoid suffering
and death or think they
are above the powers of
mortality, but they are
not.

5. What it represents:
An attempt to have
fun/ avoid unpleasant
things by pretending
everything is okay.
How it helps teach the
lesson:
People have a hard
time facing their
mortality or a serious
problem, so they simply
ignore it.

6. What it represents:
It represents the
grave, a coffin,
forebodes of death
(the red symbolizes
blood).
How it helps teach the
lesson:
It shows that
death is the final
resting place for all.

7. What it represents:
The stages of life : infant, schoolboy, lover,
soldier, justice, pantaloon (a foolish old man),
second childhood (ultimately death)—from
Shakespeare’s As You Like It.
How it helps teach the lesson:
The rooms begin in the east and end in the
west (the sun rises and the sun sets). The seventh
room represents death. No matter where our
journey begins, it will always end with death.
blue, purple, green, orange, white, violet, black

8. All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages.
At first, the infant,
Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms.
Then the whining schoolboy, with his satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school.
From As You Like It
by William Shakespeare

9. And then the lover,
Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad
Made to his mistress' eyebrow.
Then a soldier,
Full of strange oaths and bearded like the pard,
Jealous in honor, sudden and quick in quarrel,
Seeking the bubble reputation
Even in the cannon's mouth.
And then the justice,
In fair round belly with good capon lined,
With eyes severe and beard of formal cut,
Full of wise saws and modern instances;
And so he plays his part.

10. The sixth age shifts into the lean and slippered pantaloon,
With spectacles on nose and pouch on side;
His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide
For his shrunk shank, and his big manly voice,
Turning again toward childish treble, pipes
And whistles in his sound.
Last scene of all,
That ends this strange eventful history,
Is second childishness and mere oblivion,
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.

11. What it represents:
The seven deadly sins: pride, envy, gluttony,
lust, anger, greed, sloth. (Biblical reference:
Proverbs)
How it helps teach the lesson:
The seven deadly sins underlie all that is wrong
in the world and are attributed to the selfish causes
of human behavior, the actual reasons why we hurt
each other.

12. Pride is excessive belief in one's own abilities
that interferes with the individual's
recognition of the grace of God. It has been
called the sin from which all others arise.
Pride is also known as Vanity.
Envy is the desire to have others' possessions,
status, abilities, or situation. Envy is also
known as Jealousy.
Gluttony is an excessive desire to overeat.

13. Lust is an excessive craving for the
pleasures of the body.
Anger is manifested in the individual who
has a strong feeling of annoyance,
displeasure, or hostility. It is also known as
Wrath.
Greed is the excessive desire for material
wealth or gain. It is also Covetousness.
Sloth is laziness.

14. What it represents:
It represents life or the tempo of life .
How it helps teach the lesson:
It gives us a sense of vulnerability; each
time it is stilled by the chiming of the clock, we
recognize life is fleeting.

15. What it represents:
The clock represents
our time on earth, our life
span.
How it helps teach the
lesson:
The chimes are a
constant reminder of the
time we have left on earth.
Time is still ticking
onwards (like the beating of
a heart).

16. What it represents:
It represents the
Red Death, the plague,
death in general.
How it helps teach the
lesson(develops the
theme):
It shows us that we
cannot escape death, no
matter how hard we try.
Death will come looking
for us.

17. What it represents:
They represent light
and hope. Hope can be
seen in the strength of a
small flame.
How it helps teach the
lesson:
Like the party goers,
the tripods are snuffed out
at the end by death. Once
all the revelers are dead,
hope can no longer be
achieved. There is no one
left to keep hope alive.

18. “He had come like
a thief in the night.”
This Biblical allusion: “the Day of the Lord will
come like a thief in the night,” refers to the
Judgment Day. Many believe that on the day of
judgment people will give account for every
careless word and every careless deed they have
committed against their fellow man.
Appropriately, this symbolizes that Prince
Prospero and his guests have arrived at their
“Judgment Day.”

19. Wealth cannot save you from death. There is
no escaping death. Everyone is on the same
playing field where death is concerned.