Student Question
What are the colors of the chambers and windows in Poe's "The Masque of the Red Death"?
Quick answer:
In "The Masque of the Red Death," there are seven chambers, each uniquely colored with matching windows, except the last. The first chamber is blue, the second purple, the third green, the fourth orange, the fifth white, and the sixth violet. The seventh chamber is distinct, featuring black decor with scarlet, blood-red windows, symbolizing a foreboding atmosphere suitable for the Red Death.
Although I am sure there are many more chambers in Prospero's castle as a whole, there are seven chambers prominent during the party. In regards to the colored chambers and their window hue:
These windows were of stained glass whose color varied in accordance with the prevailing hue of the decorations of the chamber into which it opened.
There were seven chambers, each of different colors. The first was blue with blue windows. The second was purple with purple windows. The third was green with green windows. The fourth was orange with orange windows. The fifth was white with white windows. The sixth was violet with violet windows. However, it was the seventh and final chamber that varied from the rest:
The seventh apartment was closely shrouded in black velvet tapestries that hung all over the ceiling and down the walls, falling in heavy folds upon a carpet of the same material and hue. But in this chamber only, the color of the windows failed to correspond with the decorations. The panes here were scarlet—a deep blood color.
Therefore, the seventh chamber was black with blood-red windows: a perfect home for the Red Death.
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