Name the scariest books you have read?

Name the scariest books you have read?

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The Tormented Life of Edgar Allan Poe The Short Life 1809-1849

Background Born 1809-1849 His mother died during his youth and his father abandoned them After the death of his grandmother, Poe married his 13-year-old cousin, Virginia in 1835 Virginia died in 1847 Died in 1849

Education of Poe Entered and dropped from both the University of Virginia and West Point Ran into debt and started borrowing money, gambling and getting deeper into debt

Writing Style of Poe Wrote in a Gothic Style Deep and intense Explorations of а world of dream and of nightmare In his stories the past is darker, more ominous and oppresses his heroes and heroines

Poe s Characters Many of his characters are filled with madness Obsessed with the irrational side of the mind

Famous Works Short Stories Poems The Pit and the Pendulum The Fall of the House of Usher Tell-Tale Heart The Cask of the Amontillado The Masque of the Red Death The Raven Lenore

Background

The Masque of Red Death Background Poe s fictional Red Death is probably based on the Black Death, which killed as many as two thirds of the population in some regions in Europe Poe calls the plague the Red Death because victims oozed blood from painful sores.

Bubonic Plague- Black Death What caused it? Decimated 1/3 of Europe s population. Extremely contagious What nursey song refers to it?

Name the Song The invariable sneezing and falling down in modern English versions have given would-be origin finders the opportunity to say that the rhyme dates back to the Great Plague. A rosy rash, they allege, was a symptom of the plague, and posies of herbs were carried as protection and to ward off the smell of the disease.

Summary In this story a fourteenthcentury prince gives a costume party, or masque, to try to forget about the epidemic raging all around him. A sense of dread fills the hearts of the characters and readers as a sense of inevitability grows during the course of the story.

Literary Focus

Themes The insignificance of wealth and power Man vs. Nature Inevitability Fear Time Avoidance Human weakness and fear Arrogance Death

Allegory A narrative that is really a double story. One story takes place on the surface. Under the surface the story s characters and events represent abstract ideas. Almost every element of this story has symbolic connections: From the colors of the windows, to the choice of masks. As you read the text, try to identify what each color could represent!

Symbol Something that is itself and yet also represents something else: Can be read both as a chilling ghost story and as an allegory representing the inevitability of death. Prospero s name (Prospero means prosperous) The stranger s appearance (Dressed like the Grim Reaper or Death) The arrangement of the seven halls The rooms of the palace, lined up in a series, allegorically represent the stages of life. Their colors (black=death), (red=blood) Clock marking the inevitable passage of time.

Characters

Characters Prince Prospero The Stranger Prince Prospero invites a thousand lords and ladies to escape death by living luxuriously in his castle until the pestilence passes. To entertain his guests Prospero hosts a masquerade party that takes place in seven halls, each a different color. At the stroke of midnight, a tall figure in a blood-splattered burial costume appears. Prospero demands that his friends seize the intruder, but everyone is frozen with fear as the stranger slowly walks through the rooms.

Keep in mind: Masque of Red Death is an Allegory. An allegory s purpose is to expose you to a strong theme. There are prevalent symbols: colors, clock, costumes, masques, names Look for the foreshadowing. Poe is a classic author, and his stories can be quite disturbing.