Essay outline
Specific purpose: This paper will specifically look at the use of irony in the story The Masque of the Red Death.
Central idea: this paper will focus on the interrelationships between different characters in the story.
Introduction
Every story has to incorporate stylistic devices that make the story interesting and worthy following. Irony is a crucial part of this particular novel. This is the principal focus of this analysis.
Thesis and preview of main points
Irony stands out in many parts of the story.
- There is the issue of the prince hiding from the red death although he is supposed to be the brave one.
- There is also the issue of the common people being left out of the hiding place. This shows contrasting views on the loyal family.
- The use of different colors and the ticking clock also bring and aspect of irony to the story.
Main body
- The prince was hailed to be courageous and dauntless yet he hid from the horrific disease that was sweeping through the land.
- One of the rooms is painted in a dark red paint. This is ironic since the guests and hosts are hiding from the Red Death.
- The prince is thought to be noble but he leaves his subjects to suffer while he hides with his fellow noble men.
- The prince was hiding in luxury but his biggest fear caught up with him.
- The ticking clock was supposed to symbolize time, but life ended in the presence of the clock.
Conclusion
- Right from the praise hailed on the prince and his consequent actions to the death that takes place in the red room at the ball.
- The use of the name “Red Death” is also one the greatest ironies in the story. It may have been derived from the fact that victims exuded blood or from the horror inflicted on people by the prospects of contracting the disease.
- The use of colors and the clock articulated the irony in the story.
- If the prince was as noble as he was said to be, he would not have left his subjects to suffer the wrath of the red death.
The Masque of the Red Death
Introduction
This essay aims a discussing the use of literary devices in narration of fictional literature. Most entertainment nowadays comes from events that have not happened, but are held by the society as part of memorabilia from the past. This paper will specifically look at the use of irony in the story The Masque of the Red Death. Although overly entertaining, the characterization in this story is marked with irony. Some of the characters have conflicting persona that goes against the principal impression portrayed by the author. By examining their relationship to each other, the paper will draw out the ironic twists in the poem.
Irony is the art of using a contrasting situation to counter a former one, in an effort to build a twist in the story. The art of fictional literature is aimed at tapping into the imagination of the reader. A fictional writer purposes to build a surreal situation that is far from human reach, and uses it to entertain and intrigue the reader at the same time.
Thesis and preview of main points
Irony stands out in many parts of the story. For instance, there is the issue of the prince hiding from the red death although he is supposed to be the brave one. There is also the issue of the common people being left out of the hiding place. This shows contrasting views on the loyal family. The use of different colors and the ticking clock also bring and aspect of irony to the story. All these incidences of irony are discussed below.
Main Body
Great leaders are known to stand up to tough situations and guide their subjects through impossible situations. The prince was hailed to be courageous and dauntless yet he hid from the horrific disease that was sweeping through the land. A person of such charisma would not have gone into hiding. Instead, he would have confronted the Red Death and died heroically. It is hence ironic that a man of such stature would go into hiding instead of standing up to the situation
Prince Prospero was part of a loyal family. It hence follows that there were subjects in the land that this family ruled. However, in the abbeys where the prince hid, he was accompanied by other noble men. One wonders where the common man hid. For such a sagacious leader, the needs of his subjects should have come first. Instead, the story depicts a man who caters to his needs before those of the less fortunate. The suffering imposed by this mysterious disease was gruesome. Victims experienced immense agony. They would even sweat blood. Nevertheless, this great prince did not invite any commoner in his masquerade ball where the other nobles hid from the Red Death. The fact that the price was thought to be noble but leaves his subject without any protection is ironic.
At the ball, the prince paints seven rooms with different colors. One of the rooms is painted in a dark red paint. This is ironic since the guests and hosts are hiding from the Red Death. The use of the red color would seem like a bad omen, even an invite to the monster they are hiding from, by being in the abbey. The most ironic bid to this aspect of the story is that it was in this red room that the Red Death stroke. Here, the irony is in the use of the red color while the disease they were hiding from is called Red Death. Even in the moment when the creature of doom appears, it is dressed in a red robe with a gothic mask.
During the period that the prince was in seclusion, he provided his guests with all the luxury they would desire. This was in order to shroud them with a façade of a perfect world where no harm would find them. They were in a fool’s paradise. Even in what seemed to be the safest hideout of them all, the monster still found them and struck with terror. The irony here is that they thought they were protected, instead they succumbed to the very danger that they were running from in the first place.
Time is supposed to represent continuity of life and all activities encompassed in living. The prince seemed to understand this, as he places a large ebony clock in the red room at the ball. At the top of every hour the clock would chime loudly to alert the guests of the time. This was supposed to indicate continuity of life instead a life was ended in this room. It is hence ironic that death came at a place that held a promise of the future, as each hour passed.
Conclusion
As outlined above, the irony in this story is brought out vividly by the author. Right from the praise hailed on the prince and his consequent actions to the death that takes place in the red room at the ball. The use of the name”Red Death” is also one the greatest ironies in the story. It may have been derived from the fact that victims exuded blood or from the horror inflicted on people by the prospects of contracting the disease. The use of colors and the clock articulated the irony in the story. If the prince was as noble as he was said to be, he would not have left his subjects to suffer the wrath of the red death. The story serves to show that no matter how much one may run away from their trouble fate will always catch up with them in the most ironic of twists.
