the Red Death, 1). The story is shrouded in a great amount of symbolism. For instance the seven rooms are symbolic of the seven stages of life including death--the black velvet chamber. The Prince must pass from the blue room through all of the other rooms to the black chamber to catch up with the Masque of the Red Death. The ebony clock symbolizes our internal clocks with its “clear and loud and deep and exceedingly musical (1403)” chiming. The theme of the story is chilling--death cannot be avoided it is internal demon that holds an “illimitable dominion over all (1406).”Edgar Allen Poe explored the dark side of romanticism and made the line between sanity and insanity virtually vanish. His life and literature are best summed up by his own words, “They who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who only dream by night (American Romanticism, 145)” ...
