Steph07
12-04-2006, 05:51 PM
I just finished a stressful analysis on the Masque of the Red Death by Poe and I just had a lightbulb moment. I was doing post-research on the story when I found someone who commented that the Prince is the only one who speaks in the whole story.
Is it possible that no one but the Prince is real? Not only that they may be unreal, but could they be made up? Could the Prince be delusional in creating his guests and the "Red Death"? The illusion of the "Red Death" would be easy to prove because it's not everyday that we see diseases (ex:mad cow, West Nile, etc.) disguised as masquerade guests. Instead of perishing from the "Red Death", he could have died from his delirium. But could there be proof of the guests also being created in Prospero's psyche?
Does all this sound like something worth proving in an analysis?
Is it possible that no one but the Prince is real? Not only that they may be unreal, but could they be made up? Could the Prince be delusional in creating his guests and the "Red Death"? The illusion of the "Red Death" would be easy to prove because it's not everyday that we see diseases (ex:mad cow, West Nile, etc.) disguised as masquerade guests. Instead of perishing from the "Red Death", he could have died from his delirium. But could there be proof of the guests also being created in Prospero's psyche?
Does all this sound like something worth proving in an analysis?