Point of View

This is the only story in this collection not told through a first-person narrator. Here, Poe uses a distant third-person narrator to relate his allegorical tale of death and mortality. This technique works because the story is allegorical, and being a part of the action would detract from the overall picture and the various symbolic elements.

Setting

The story is set in a mythical castle in an unnamed land. Outside the castle, a disease called the Red Death is ravaging the country, but inside, the Prince and his followers are having every need met while remaining disease-free. On this particular night, the Prince has directed there should be a masquerade ball, and the ball is to take place in a suite of rooms, decorated by color, that represent the progression of life to death. The positioning and colors of the rooms is significant, in that they...