STAGING HISTORY AND METAPHOR. THE HAUNTING RED DEATH
STAGING HISTORY AND METAPHOR. THE HAUNTING RED DEATH

Summary/Abstract: Staging History and Metaphor. The Haunting Red Death. The article investigates The Masque of the Red Death from a medical and literary point of view. We argue that the transition from the medical perspective (present in the first part of the novel) to the metaphorical embodiment of the Red Death (present in the second part of the novel) is achieved with the help of the masque, which acts either as an accessory, either as a fake double. The profile of the Red Death embodying the constant threat of plagues is built in relation to two of the most deadly plagues in human history: tuberculosis (also called the White Death) and the plague (also called the Black Death). The metaphorical profiles of these two historical plagues are used by Poe also in the spatial plan through the chromatic, so that the succession of Prospero’s rooms in the abbey can be seen as an inverted chronology of the plagues. On the stage of history, the carnival as a prescription of life against the plague, acts as an invitation for the Red Death because of the annulment of stability it implies. The plague, the great leveller, conforms to the rules of the celebration of life and turns his own face into a masque. By the end of the representation, the Red Death replaces the ephemeral masques of Prospero’s guests with his masque. In this way, the victims become replicas of the Red Death.

• Details
• Contents