Gothic horror typically deals with frightening, oppressive evil forces that people cannot escape. This provokes fear in readers and also often prompts readers to reflect upon the unfathomable power of certain natural, supernatural, or man-made elements. In this quote from the opening lines of “The Masque of the Red Death,” Poe is introducing the plague called the Red Death as one such evil, inescapable force.

Here Poe is underlining how powerful and scary the Red Death was. An “avatar” is the manifestation of something, the way it represents itself or the form it takes. By using this word, Poe explains that the powerful force of the Red Death takes the form of blood. Its “seal,” or the way it makes itself known and takes people down, is through blood.

Then, with the use of the em dash, Poe emphasizes what it was about blood that makes the Red Death so scary. The use of the words “madness” and “horror” tells the reader that the Red Death comes with a terrifying amount of blood. “Madness” creates the image that the blood behaves in unnatural ways and is changed by the Red Death. “Horror” underlines how scary the Red Death’s influence on people’s blood is. In this one short quote, Poe has already set the stage for a scary story about an uncontrollable evil force.