The Masque of the Red Death

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. What is an allegory?

Teaching Suggestion: Use this question as an opportunity to explore the characteristics of the literary device, allegory. It will help students analyze the story’s symbolism, motifs, and metaphors and will be necessary as they consider whether Poe’s story is an allegory. This may or may not be students’ first experience with allegory, so a class-aligned definition of the device is important before reading.

• "What is an Allegory?" – An Oregon State University video that defines allegory with examples from popular and more formal culture  
• "Allegory of Plato's Cave" – A TED Ed video about a classic allegory

2. What do you know about Gothic literature?

Teaching Suggestion: Poe was an influential contributor to Gothic literature, so a study of its tropes is especially important in analyzing this short story.

• "Features of Gothic Literature" – A Lit Crit video highlighting common features of Gothic literature, including its expression of issues of the times.  
• "The Gothic" – The British Library’s detailed analysis of Gothic historical origins, examples, and tropes and the role of the supernatural and the uncanny.