English 11 December 18, 2013
Agenda - 12/18/2013
Writing Prompt Party Time 12/18/2013 If you could have a party before you die, who would you invite? Why?
Edgar Allan Poe 1809-1849 Poe was born in Boston, the son of traveling actors. The beginnings of his unhappy life were marked by his father's desertion of the family, followed by the death of his mother when he was two years old. The orphaned Poe was taken in by John and Frances Allan of Virginia.
Edgar Allan Poe 1809-1849 After being expelled from West Point, Poe looked for work as a journalist and wrote literary reviews, but money was scarce. Poverty intensified his despair when his beloved wife, Virginia, died following a long illness. Deeply depressed, Poe died two years later after being found on the streets of Baltimore, sick, delirious, and, in his doctor's words, "haggard, not to say bloated, and unwashed.
Edgar Allan Poe 1809-1849 Many critics credit Poe with the invention of the detective story. His classic tales include "The Masque of the Red Death," "The Pit and the Pendulum," "The God Bug," and "The Purloined Letter."
Literary Devices Imagery - A descriptive language that evokes a sensory experience. Symbolism - The practice of representing things by means of symbols or of attributing symbolic meanings or significance to objects, events, or relationships. Allegory - a figure of speech in which abstract ideas and principles are described in terms of characters, figures and events. An allegory is a complete narrative, which involves characters, and events that stand for an abstract idea or an event. A symbol, on the other hand, is an object that stands for another object giving it a particular meaning. Unlike an allegory, a symbol is not a story. For example, Animal Farm, written by George Orwell, is an allegory that uses animals on a farm to describe the overthrow of the last of the Russian Tsar Nicholas II and the Communist Revolution of Russia before WWII. Arthur Miller wrote the play The Crucible in response to the RED SCARE of the 1950 s.
The Masque of the Red Death By Edgar Allan Poe
Audio http://www.masque-of-the-reddeath.com/audio.php http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzgr6tml XMQ&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mod e=1&safe=active http://www.thecabinet.com/poe/show.php? sub_id=edgar_allan_poe_theater&show_id=t he_masque_of_the_red_death
The Masque of the Red Death
1. Why do Prince Prospero and his followers retreat to his palace? To escape the Red Death Plague
2. Explain how the party is constantly disrupted. Every time the clock strikes off another hour, the orchestra stops playing and the people stop dancing.
3. Compare life outside the palace with the life of the people Prospero brought inside. Inside Wealth Outside Poverty Fantasy Reality Life Death; Destruction Happiness Sorrow Health Disease/Sickness Hope Despair
4. What do you learn about Prospero's character from his desire to keep his palace free of the plague? He is afraid to die. He is prejudiced against the poor. He thinks he can cheat death. (He thinks he can buy his way out.)
5. Why does the clock have such a dramatic effect on the dancers? It symbolizes reality; their lives slowly ticking away.
6. Describe the intruder s appearance and behavior. It has a tall, gaunt appearance. It is shrouded with the habiliments of the dead. It resembles someone with the red death disease. Its face looks like a corpse and is dabbed in blood.
7. Why does the visitor frighten the guests? Because he suddenly and mysteriously appears out of nowhere Because he looks like someone with the Red Death Plague Because he just stalks to and fro and doesn't talk
8. How does Poe build terror in the story? Description of the plague s symptoms Doors welded shut; nobody could leave even if they wanted to The flickering flames shine through the stained glass windows, casting an eerie glow Black room with the red panes Clock constantly stopping the party Appearance and behavior of the intruder
Now we will look at the story on a deeper level 1) Skim the text to find descriptions of the rooms in Prince Prospero s abbey (church). 2) Fill in the chart that shows the order, colors, description and possible symbol for each room. Read carefully! Although there is some room for interpretation, you must follow Poe s descriptions.
Describe the rooms in which the Masquerade Ball takes place. A series of 7 rooms Possibly in a zig-zag pattern
Going from East to West: Blue Purple Green White Violet Black Orange
WHAT DOES EACH ROOM COLOR SYMBOLIZE?
First, think about the order of the rooms Why do they progress from East to West? The sun RISES in the EAST Then SETS in the WEST
1) BLUE Birth/Infancy A baby is completely dependent on others (Sky turns blue in the morning)
2) PURPLE Blue + Red Toddler/Childhood (Bumps & Bruises as you begin school & leave the protection of home?)
3) GREEN Adolescence/Puberty the child becomes a teenager (Plants bloom in the spring)
4) ORANGE Middle age/adulthood (Summer turns into autumn)
5) WHITE Old age/white hair Purity/peace (The winter of life)
6) VIOLET Elderly stage The twilight of one s years (It appears more bluish-white than purple As if it s fading and approaching the end of life.)
What s the difference between purple and violet? Purple Violet
7) BLACK Death
Seven Ages of Man ~ William Shakespeare All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players, They have their exits and entrances, And one man in his time plays many parts, His acts being seven ages. At first the infant, Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms. Then the whining schoolboy, with his satchel And shining morning face, creeping like snail Unwillingly to school. And then the lover, Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad Made to mistress' eyebrow. Then a soldier. Full of strange oaths, sudden and quick in quarrel, Seeking the bubble reputation
Even in the cannon's mouth. And then the justice, In fair round belly with good capon lined, With eyes severe and beard of formal cut, Full of wise saws and modern instances; And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts Into the lean and slippered pantaloon, With spectacles on nose and pouch on side, His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide, For his shrunk shank; and his big manly voice, Turning again towards the childish treble, pipes And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all, That ends this strange eventful history, Is second childishness and mere oblivion, Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.
To serve as lighting, there are large bowls of burning coals between the rooms. In the black room there stands a huge ebony grandfather clock.
The decorations match the color of each room. There is a Gothic window in each room; the windows match the color of the room. The black room s window is the only exception: its panes are blood red.
What mood or effect is created by the colors and the lighting in the rooms? It causes a dream-like effect. Fantasy
LITERARY FOCUS This story is an Allegory: The characters, settings, and events are SYMBOLS. The story also contains a LESSON ABOUT LIFE.
What is the Allegorical Lesson in the story? One cannot escape his or her fate or death.
SYMBOLS What do these people and objects represent?
1. Prince Prospero Wealth; prosperity But his name is ironic He represents mankind's futile attempt to live forever.
2. Welded Locks A false sense of security Prince Prospero thinks he can keep death out
3. Hallways They form a maze with a sharp turn at every 20 or 30 yards. Life is unpredictable; we can t know what will happen, but it all leads to death.
4. Light/Fire Flames usually symbolize life But these flames are an unnatural source of light; they represent the false life Prince Prospero tried to create.
5. The Masquerade Fantasy; escaping from reality The partygoers hide from death.
6. The Clock - Life is slowly ticking away; death is approaching.
7. The Masked Figure Death But more specifically, the Red Death Plague
8. The Number 7 - Seven Days in a Week The Seven Deadly Sins Seven Stages of Man (A soliloquy from Shakespeare s play As You Like It)