Comparison of The Use of Figurative Language in The Masque of The Red Death and The Haunted Palace

Can a castle really be a diseased head filled with depression that causes a once loved king to become insane? In hopes to save an entire kingdom, could a prince actually cause their deaths? In the poem “The Haunted Palace,” the palace is used to show how the king went insane due to his mental illness of depression. In the short story “The Masque of the Red Death,” the prince invites everyone to the palace to try to save them all, but in the end they all die anyways. In the poem “The Haunted Palace” as well as the short story “The Masque of the Red Death” by Edgar Allen Poe, he uses figurative language to convey gothic literature. In the short story “The Masque of the Red Death” as well as the poem “The Haunted Palace” by Edgar Allen Poe, he uses symbolism to convey gothic literature. In “The Haunted Palace,” Poe uses symbolism when he writes, “Radiant palace-reared its head”. This is done in order to show that he used to be nice and kind but now he’s evil because of his mental illness. Poe does this to show that depression can drive you to insanity. In “The Masque of the Red Death,” Poe uses symbolism when he writes, “The panes were scarlet - a deep blood color”. He does this in order to bring out the evilness in the colors of the seventh apartment that are used in gothic literature. Poe does this in order to teach that you can’t run away from death. Poe also uses imagery in order to create a gothic theme.

In the short story “The Masque of the Red Death” as well as the poem “The Haunted Palace” by Edgar Allen Poe, he uses imagery to convey gothic literature. In “The Haunted Palace,” Poe uses imagery in order to convey a gothic element when he states, “And every gentle air that dallied, in that sweet day”. This is done in order to show how peaceful the palace used to be. Poe does this to prove the point that depression can cause insanity. In “The Masque of the Red Death,” Poe uses imagery in order to create gothic literature when he states, “The fourth was furnished and lighted with orange – the fifth with white – the sixth with violet”. This is done in order to describe the apartments. Poe does this in order to prove that you can’t escape death. Poe uses irony in addition to create gothic literature. In the short story “The Masque of the Red Death” as well as the poem “The Haunted Palace” by Edgar Allen Poe, he uses irony to convey gothic literature. In “The Haunted Palace,” Poe uses irony to show have a creepy aspect as used in gothic literature when he states, “Through the red-litten windows see”. This is done in order to show that the palace is really a head. Poe does this is confirm that depression can cause insanity. In “The Masque of the Red Death,” Poe uses irony to show that death is inevitable as used in some gothic pieces, when he states “And one by one they dropped the revelers in the blood-bedewed halls of their revel, and died each in the despairing posture of his fall”. This is done because the prince invites them all to the palace because he wanted to save them, but in the end, they all die. Poe does this to validate that you can’t run away from death.

In both the poem and short story, symbolism is used to create a gothic element because in “The Haunted Palace,” through symbolism, it is shown that depression can overtake you and drive you to insanity. In “The Masque of the Red Death,” different colors are used to show his emotions, which leads to a gothic element. In both “The Masque of the Red Death” and “The Haunted Palace,” gothic elements are demonstrated through description of the palaces before the conflict happens, as well. Poe uses irony in both the poem and short story to build towards a gothic tone by using death in “The Masque of the Red Death” and mental illness in “The Haunted Palace.” Through symbolism, imagery, and irony, a gothic element is created in both pieces because Poe uses things such as mental illness and death as used in gothic literature. Yes, a palace can represent a messed up head and in hopes to save everyone, you could actually cause all of their deaths.