Exposition: The exposition is used to show what led up to the most critical point in the story. Poe tells us the background information about Prospero and the Red Death so we know what the context is of the story.
Inciting Incident: Because Prospero decided to hold a masquerade in wake of the Red Plague so he would not catch it, he is later punished and comes face to face what he was trying to avoid.
Rising Action: The rising action in the story is the clock striking every hour, Prospero�s actions, the description of the rooms and how they foreshadow what will happen in the future in the story.
Climax: The climax in the story is when the mummy (the Red Death) arrives and he reveals himself and kills everyone at the party because they were caught dumbfounded by the Red Death.
Falling Action: Since the knights did not know how Prospero suddenly died, they hunt down the ghost and find that there is nothing there but the one thing that they were avoiding; the Red Death.
Resolution: The conflict is never really resolved to a normal happy ending in this story; instead, Poe tells us that the entire kingdom is taken over by the Red Death and there is chaos everywhere.
Symbols
Colors of the Rooms:
� Blue- Gluttony (consumption of more than you need).
� Purple- Sloth (laziness).
� Green- Envy (desire).
� Orange- Greed (wanting more than you need).
� White- Pride (excessive self-esteem).
� Violet- Lust (wanting something that you shouldn�t have).
� Black- Wrath (violent, vengeful anger).
Clock - Time
The clock in the Masque of Red Death resembles the Bubonic Plague because every time the clock struck on the hour, everyone would become closer to dying. At the party, everyone would grow silent as the clock hit on the hour because they knew that they were closer to dying every second. Even though they were having fun, they still knew in the back of their heads that they would all die soon. This is very symbolic because the clock and the Bubonic Plague have many things in common. They both my toll at any second and you may run out of time and your life may end any second.
The Fire
The fire that surrounded the people at the party may have been subtle but it was still slightly noticeable. Every time you walked into a room which was a different color from the last made the light on the people�s faces change because of the reflection from the fire.
The Mummy:
The mummy came in without anyone noticing and when Prospero demanded to see who it was, he was horrified to see that it was his fate standing before him. His knights came to see why he suddenly died and found that they were face to face with what they had been escaping from.
Prospero:
Prospero was a big symbol in this story because his name meant �prosperous� which was exactly how his life was until the mummy walked into the monastery.
East and West:
As people went further west, the rooms got worse and worse. When you reached the end of the west, you ended up in the black room.
Irony
Prince Prospero: He is the most ironic character in the story. His name itself is ironic because he is prosperous in the beginning of the story but then he changes to being unfortunate due to the plague.
The Mummy: The mummy was ironic because it resembled death being resurrected. The people that were partying thought that they would all live through the plague by ignoring it, but instead, it ended up staring them right in the face.
The Seclusion: Back then, when the plague was striking, the worst thing that you could do was to shut yourself out from the world. If one person were infected with the plague, then everyone would eventually get it.
Characterization
Prospero: Prospero thinks much higher of money, thus the name, than other people that may be at the party. He finds that money is not everything in the end when death stares you in the face.
The Guests: The guests have no idea what they were doing when they were having a great time and receiving a luxurious life as opposed to dying as the people outside the monastery walls were experiencing.