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The Masque of the Red Death

by Edgar Allan Poe

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What does the number seven represent in "The Masque of the Red Death"?

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The number seven in "The Masque of the Red Death" symbolizes themes of death and mortality, as reflected in the story's seven rooms, culminating in the ominous seventh room with its black and scarlet colors and a dominating clock. While seven holds symbolic significance, it is not the sole numerical motif, as the number twelve also plays a crucial role, particularly with the clock striking twelve to signal the arrival of death.

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I certainly think that there is a great amount of symbology hidden within "The Masque of the Red Death," and the seven rooms certainly contributes to that. An earlier student's answer has already pointed out that the symbolic importance of the number seven, which has connotations that reach backwards into the Ancient World, and I find myself agreeing with much of their analysis. Particularly interesting, as it relates to that analysis, is Poe's description of the seventh and final room, with colors of black and scarlet red, whose internal furnishings are dominated by a great clock. These images (the colors and the clock) are commonly associated with death and mortality.

I'd additionally note, however, that while the number seven does seem to play a critical role in the Poe's story, it's perhaps not as recurring a theme as you might expect. For example, if Poe were really so...

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focused on the symbolism of a single number, you might have expected the Prince Prospero to have invited seven hundred guests, rather than one thousand. At the same time, I'd note that there's a second numerical symbol which might be worth discussing: just as seven is a symbolically important number, one could also say the same thing about twelve: we can point towards the twelve Olympians, or the twelve months of a year, or the twelve hours on a clock—and that number is invoked by "Masque of the Red Death," just as seven is. The image of the clock looms across the story, and this illusion of false security collapses at midnight, when the apparition arrives, heralded by "twelve strokes . . . by the bell of the clock."

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