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The Masquerade Symbolism

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The Masquerade Symbolism
Poe makes the party a masquerade, to symbolize that the Prince and his guests are hiding things, more specifically from themselves. The symbolism of the masquerade also serves as an important setting as it is where the conflict with the red death figure happened. The red death’s appearance justifies itself in showing up at the party as “the mask which concealed the visage was made so nearly to resembles the countenance of a stiffened corpse that the closest scrutiny must have had difficulty in detecting the cheat” which made the figure seem like another guest at the party. The masquerade itself has to do with masks which symbolizes in hiding. The guests and Prospero are both hiding the fact that they do not feel comfortable in the castle as
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