ENGLISH LITERATURE (CBSE/UGC NET)

Detailed explanation-1: -"The Masque of the Red Death” (originally published as “The Mask of the Red Death: A Fantasy") is a short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1842. The story follows Prince Prospero’s attempts to avoid a dangerous plague, known as the Red Death, by hiding in his abbey.

Detailed explanation-2: -Answer and Explanation: The supernatural element of the story is that death is personified in the person of the masked character attending the masquerade party. “The Masque of the Red Death” tells the tale of a fictional country and its ruler, a prince who gives a party in the midst of a plague called the Red Death.

Detailed explanation-3: -Prince Prospero faces death…and dies. Prospero’s charge after the “spectral figure” brings the story to its highest moment of tension: the moment of epic confrontation, when the Red Death turns around to face Prospero. It doesn’t last long, since Prospero falls down and dies immediately.

Detailed explanation-4: -Poe weaves an allegorical narrative emphasizing the message of the inevitability of death and the limits imposed by mortality. He further juxtaposes the ugliness of reality and the illusion of immortality. The behavior of Prince Prospero and his revelers is not justified.