I just read this story....several times.....I came up with so many conclusions...I would just like to hear from other Poe fans what they thought of this story.

-- Anonymous, May 29, 2000

Answers

I believe it a last hallucination of a dying person that has the red death. The story takes only thirty minutes to read and the red death only takes a half an hour to take effect. Also the title of Prospero changes frequently from Prince to Duke. The Grandfather clock that is in the last suite represents the fact that at some point time will finish off all.

-- Anonymous, May 30, 2000

The story is basically about how Prince Prospero thinks that he can keep the Red Death out by closing the gates and locking everything. When everyone dies, it shows that death is inevitable, it can't be stopped. There is no way to keep it out. The clock symbolizes that every second that ticks away, that is one second closer that we are to death. I hope this helped!!

-- Anonymous, June 02, 2000

THE MASK OF THE RED DEATH IS ABOUT TUBURCULOSIS. AND ABOUT SOMANY PEOPLE DIED FROM IT SO QUICKLY

-- Anonymous, June 03, 2000

Before start explaining away, I'd like to start off by saying that Poe was a genius, and that he is and always will be my favorite writer. Before being able to really understand the story, one has to take it apart, and go through all the enviromental elements Poe placed in it. The set up of the 7 rooms, east to west ( following the suns path ), the color of the rooms and their meanings, running parallel to the state of minds of the masqueraders, the number 7 ( life and it's 7 stages, it took god 7 days to create earth, and so on ), and of course the clock, which works like a bridge between the illusion the people live in, and the red death, it's a reminder of reality. But no one can escape death. Human happiness (as represented by Prince Prospero) seeks to wall out the threat of death; however, the Biblical reference (I Thessalonians 5:2-3) at the end of the story reminds us that death comes "like a thief in the night," and even those who seek "peace and safety...shall not escape."

-- Anonymous, March 25, 2001