Characters

The most important characters in the short story “The Masque of the Red Death” by Edgar Allan Poe are Prince Prospero and the Red Death. The knights and guests at the prince’s court function as a collective character which we will also briefly outline.

Prince Prospero

Prince Prospero is the main character in the short story, whom the narrator characterizes both directly and indirectly (through actions and attitude).

Outer characterization

The prince’s outer characterization begins with his name and status.

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Inner characterization

Prospero’s inner characterization is revealed by the narrator, who depicts him as “happy and dauntless and sagacious” as well as having an “eccentric yet august taste”.

Prospero also comes across as oblivious and indifferent to the suffering of his people, as he prefers to seclude himself from the outside world which is torn by the plague:

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The Red Death

The Red Death is a symbolic character in the short story which only appears in the second half of the plot as a human-like figure.

Outer characterization

The outer characterization initially presents the Red Death as a person being masked as the Red Death, whose identity is unknown:

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Inner characterization

The inner characterization of the Red Death only indicates defiance. Instilling fear in the others, the figure walks freely from one ballroom to another, until it reaches the black one:

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The castellans

The castellans function as a collective character in the story, depicted as a “thousand hale and light-hearted friends from among the knights and dames”.

Outer characterization

Their outer characterization reveals, thus, that some of them are part of the higher nobility of the prince’s court.

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Inner characterization

Their inner characterization is mostly related to their reaction to the ball decorum and the person dressed as the Red Death.

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