The Masque of the Red Death Group

Question:

agent60328
agent60328

How do the people at the masque feel before the Red Death arrives?

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Posted by agent60328 on Monday October 26, 2009 at 3:53 PM and tagged with poe, red death, the masque of the red death.

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  1. egraham17 Teacher

    eNotes Editor

    Before the masked figure arrives, the masquerade is basically the party of the century. The partygoers have anything they could want, and they celebrate accordingly. Poe notes "there were ballet-dancers, there were musicians, there was Beauty, there was wine. All these and security were within." So these people were comfortable and happy in their revelry.

    Or were they? When the massive ebony clock in the seventh apartment strikes the hour, everyone pauses. They stop dancing, they stop talking, they stop enjoying the food and wine. Instead, they stand in silence, contemplating their mortality. Each strike of the clock reminds them that the hour of death is drawing near. And indeed it is: in the form of the Red Death.

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    Posted by egraham17 on Monday October 26, 2009 at 7:18 PM