heir doom. Not long after, they are taken with the plague and die too. Poe uses the number seven to represent life, and its separate phases. Womack, an expert on Poe’s works, states the following on seven’s history:“The history of the world was thought to consist of seven ages, just as an individual’s life had seven stages. The ancient world had seven wonders; universities divided learning into seven subjects; there were seven deadly sins with seven corresponding cardinal virtues, and the number seven is important in mysticism.” (4) The seventh room represents the end of life’s journey, and the inevitable moment of death. The seventh room is never used due to its creepy decor, until Prospero is confronted, and eventually killed by “Death”. The ringing of the clock in the story was used to signal Death’s arrival, and it caused the guests to stop as if they were frozen. Womack believes that the clock take on human aspects as Poe describes it having a face and hands (4). When “Death” is killed in the end, the clock also stops “breathing” and dies with “Death”.Even if he didn’t like the technique, Poe’s use of allegory broadened the content of the story. His hints of the “cycle of life and death” gave the seventh room a new meaning....
