Thinking About the Selection

Critical Thinking and Reading

Recalling

  1. Why do Prince Prospero and his followers retreat to his palace?
  2. Describe the series of rooms in which the entertainment takes place.
  3. Explain how the party is disrupted

Interpreting Connotative Meaning

The connotative meaning of a word is what the word suggests beyond its literal dictionary meaning. Authors can use the connotative meanings of words to help establish symbols. For example, the color red connotes blood and death. Poe uses that connotation in describing the appearance of the masked figure.

  1. What are some connotations of the following colors from the story?
    2. a. green c. white
    b. orange d. black
  2. Find three words or phrases that suggest the quality of a nightmare.

Interpreting

  1. Compare life outside the palace with the life of the people Prospero brought inside.
  2. What do you learn about Prince Prospero from his desire and his attempts to keep his household free of the plague?
  3. What mood or effect is created by the colors and the lighting in the rooms of the ball?
  4. Why does the clock have such a dramatic effect on the dancers?
  5. Why does the masked visitor frighten the guests so?
  6. Explain how POE develops the story to build a feeling of terror.

Understanding Language

Using Context Clues

When you encounter an unfamiliar word in a story, you can use context clues, or the words and sentences around the word, to help you figure out its meaning. For example, the context clues, which are in italics in the following sentence, tell you that robust means "strong and vigorous": Prospero's words "rang throughout the seven rooms loudly and clearly--for the prince was a bold and robust man..."

Use context clues to determine the meaning of the following words.

  1. dominions
  2. tremulousness
  3. visage

**you will need to read the on-line text to complete these questions if you have not done them in class

Applying

  1. Ugo Betti has written, "Every tiny part of us cries out against the idea of dying, and hopes to live forever." On the basis of this selection,explain whether you think POE would agree with this statement. Then explain whether or not you agree.

Analyzing Literature

Understanding Allegory

In an allegory the characters, settings, and events are an interconnected series of symbols. The deeper or symbolic meaning of the story may contain a lesson about life.

  1. What might each symbol from "The Masque of the Red Death represent?
a. Prince Prospero d. the number 7
b. the masquerade e. the clock
c. the masked figure  
  1. What do you think is the allegorical lesson POE is presenting in this story?