It's interesting to look at what real life things are pointed out in literature. I never realized it, until recently, that Edgar Allan Poe was referring to the black plague when he wrote Masque of The red death. Though he doesn't really say outright where the events are taking place, the location of the masquerade gives the impression that the story takes place somewhere in Europe. As I thought on this for a while, I began reading up on the European Black plague of 1347 and saw the correlation right off. Though I had discovered this striking similarity, I began to wonder what Poe was really pointing out in this story. From what I've discovered, he was pointing out several things about who we are and who become in times of great fear.
Firstly, Poe was pointing out the fact that people hide behind wealth and power, thinking they are safe from death. The story is centered around a prince, who fancies himself fearless in the midst of such vast death. The reality is that death doesn't discriminate. Rich, poor, or in between, no one is exempt.
Secondly, he was pointing out that fear for one's own safety can lead him or her to forsake others in times of danger. The prince Prospero gathered his fellow noble men and women to join him in a safe location, far away from the commoners who relied on them for answers. In the end, death took them as it had taken the common people. It had no concerns in regards to wealth or royalty, nor did It give warning of its arrival.
In a way, it could be said that Masque of The Red Death Set the bar for what we know as the modern day zombie plague genre. Just as Poe's characters displayed their willingness to leave those without wealth or power to die, those in most of the literature and movies of that Genre seem to have the same kind of people displaying the same behavior. Over all, I was intrigued by the fictional and non fictional similarities.
Poe's "The Masque of the Red Death" is one of my favourite pieces by the author. It is filled with wonder & fascination. There are several analogies one can walk away from this story with; each time I read it I find something new!
ReplyDeleteI find it quite amusing that you can link this tale with evermore-popular zombie genre. I had never made that correlation. The earliest depiction of zombies I have found was by a tribe in Africa. They had a system of beliefs very similar to ancestor worship. Their theory was, if one disgraces their family or brought shame to the tribe though sins and misdeeds, the long-dead ancestors of the person would rise from the grave & torment the wrongdoer.
Nice post!