Edgar A. Poe - The Masque of the Red Death - Essay Example

of the of the Concerned 15 February 2009 “The Masque of the Red Death” Edgar A. Poe is considered to be the first American mystery horror writer. Horror writing is the genre of literature that dabbles in the mysterious, the grotesque and the unknown. Thus, a sincere subscription to this intense and fascinating genre of literature, calls for a peculiar bent of mind on the part of a writer. To understand the true stature and relevance of a work of horror necessitates a basic insight into the life of its author. Infact, it gets immensely easier to grasp the immaculate finesse of the works of horror created by Edgar A. Poe, when one correlates them with the weird aspects of Poe’s personal life. Actually the biography of Poe contains all the essential elements of despondency, cynicism and frustration that qualify him as an ideal candidate for being a mystery/horror writer. Being a failure, an alcoholic, a recluse, who was erratic to the extent of being considered to be mentally ill, definitely endowed his hyperactive imagination with a spooky sense of irony and macabre (Olson 1). Yet the beauty of the works of horror created by Poe lies in the fact that,” there are no ghosts, ghouls, spirits, vampires, were-creatures, or demonically possessed animals or persons in them (Olson 1).” “The Masque of the Red Death” written by Edgar A. Poe rightly deserves to be classified as a classic forerunner of the contemporary horror stories. Not only the story contains all the indispensable and fundamental elements that go into the concoction of an engrossing tale of mystery and horror, but it also sustains the interest of its readers by presenting characters encountering an extreme and out of life experience (O’Grady 4). The writer tactfully succeeds in exploiting the cardinal fear of death etched deep into the human consciousness by playing upon its subconscious realization of the inevitability of death, contrary to and against all claims to fortune, exclusiveness, fame and power. The characters in the story are presented as basking in their self contrived world of safety, abundance, indulgence and opulence, until they become eerily and unexpectedly aware of the death lurking amidst them. Poe manages to retain the tautness and charm of the plot right from the beginning to the end by masterly crafting the right ambience, atmosphere, characters, themes and setting. The craftsmanship of Edgar A. Poe manages to transcend the barriers of time and space. Poe begins his story by introducing an indulgent, idiosyncratic and stone hearted prince, who decides to play oblivious to the pestilence and plague ravishing his subjects, by escaping to an exclusively constructed retreat with an assortment of courtiers and mates. The prince and his companions are shown as raveling in their make believe world of fun and frolic, safe in their conviction that their steel jacketed world was impervious to the claims of death and mortality. However, the story suffers a grim twist when their air tight world ends up becoming their trap and eventually surrenders them to the all encompassing inevitability of death and decay. By doing so, Poe introduces a societal element into the story, which extends the appeal of his sense of horror and mystery to both the rich and the poor (Ryan 5). While the affluent readers end up feeling vulnerable and insecure before a strange realization of the falsity of their ideas of being immune to death and disease, the less fortunate readers end up cherishing the scary element of unknown and unpredictability pervading the world around them, which is decidedly affiliated to the ideals of poetic justice and the equality of all before death. What could be more scary and intimidating then a realization of the inevitability of death? Yet, to secure Poe’s claim to being the first American mystery and horror writer, it is necessary to gauge the work under consideration, on the basis of some indispensable parameters that a true work of mystery and horror must embrace. One such parameter is the setting of the story, which almost always plays a central role in presenting a work of horror with the right kind of framework. Poe builds the gruesome atmosphere in the story by weaving a detailed and descriptive setting in which the following events unfold themselves to eventually culminate into a deathly ending. The setting of the story is undoubtedly Gothic in its moorings right from the start. One element that Poe particularly borrowed from the Gothic literature of the yore is the element of being trapped. Infact the very initial description of the setting reinforces this sense of being trapped. “This wall had gates of iron. The courtiers, having entered, brought furnaces and massy hammers and welded the bolt (Poe 234).” Such details give way to a mausoleum like environment and strengthen the reader’s belief that the characters in the story are left at the mercy of the elements of the dark that may pounce upon them anytime, like a ferocious, voracious and bloodthirsty beast. A true tale of mystery and horror, worth its salt is not judged by what is present, but by what is absent. It is a must for an astute mystery and horror writer to deprive the setting in the story of all the elements of safety and security like open spaces, light, escape routes, etc., so as to build the atmosphere of a scary place. Poe conclusively exceeds in this art form in “The Masque of the Red Death”. The prince is presented as being a strange maverick that could be positively expected to be suicidal in his designs. This trait is amply reflected in the design of the room in which the masquerade is held and in the style of the costumes of the guests. The room is so designed to give the impression of some abominable maze that bolsters the readers’ expectation of something evil lurking in the dark. The black chamber in the room is so described as to be some sort of a gaping chiasm and all the guests are discernibly shown to be averse to entering it. Right from the beginning, the story makes its readers feel that something unseen and unstoppable is soon going to be let loose at this place of gaiety and fun. While etching the setting in “The Masque of the Red Death”, Poe propitiously arms the future mystery and horror writers with just the right type of palette. The mystery and horror writers since the times immemorial have made it a point to play on the sensory faculties of their audience. “The Masque of the Read Death” is not an exception. It is not only rich in grisly visual details, but also has the right blend of morbid sounds. The constant contrast between the chime of the ebony clock in the hall of the velvet and the music of the orchestra creates a vivid sensory experience for the reader that is replete with fear and apprehensiveness. While the music of the orchestra represents the normal flow of life, the chime of the ebony clock embodies a parallel flow of the dark side of life that occasionally raises its ugly head above the surface of human consciousness, to leave it paralyzed with awe and dismay. The ultimate forte of Poe lies in presenting the final instrument of death that is the intruder as being insubstantial and intangible. Everybody is afraid of an adversary that one can not discern or detect and hence can not defend itself against it. The skill of Poe exhibited in “The Masque of the Red Death” smacks of a thorough understanding of the human psychology that is so necessary to do justice to a worthwhile work of horror and mystery. Hence, this story “makes an eloquent statement on the situation of isolated, grief ridden humanity and on the archetypal fear of death (Dahir 1)”, thereby taking the mystery and horror genre to new heights. Total Words: 1, 325 References Dahir, Sanna. “Literary Contexts in Poetry: Edgar Allan Poe’s The Raven”. GALILEO, 15 Feb. 2009 Poe, A. Edgar. “The Masque of the Red Death” (1842). Ryan, Emily. “Edgar Allan Poe’s Hop-Frog”. Literary Contexts in Short Stories. GALILEO, 15 Feb. 2009 O’Grady, Jim. “City Lore; Fear! Dread! Why Poe’s Fans are Obsessive”. New York Times (2001). GALILEO, 15 Feb. 2009 Olson, Ray. “Another Look at: Edgar Allan Poe”. GALILEO, 15 Feb. 2009 Read More