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Activity Overview
Themes, symbols, and motifs come alive when you use a storyboard. In this activity, students will identify themes and symbols from the story, and support their choices with details from the text. With a storyboard, students can track the rich symbolism Poe uses throughout “The Masque of the Red Death”. SymbolsThe ClockThe clock is a representative of death’s inevitability. All the revelry stops at each hourly strike of the clock. This is a constant reminder that our lives and our time alive is constantly winding down. Each ghostly chime is death's own countdown. It is also a reminder that man cannot stop or slow down time, it continues and waits for no one. Its last chime ultimately represents death appearance and the end of life. Hence the clock strikes at midnight and the stranger appears, with midnight being the symbolizing the end of life. The StrangerThe stranger dressed as a plague victim is Death himself. The personification of death lends to the theme that in death there is true equality; both the poor and rich alike will eventually succumb to death's grasp. The Rooms in “The Masque of the Red Death”The RoomsThe rooms represent the stages of life. The rooms begin at the east and progress west, as a metaphor for the path of the sun. This connects the cycle of the day with the cycle of a life: the morning is birth while night is the end of life and eventually, death. Each individual room and its color has a symbolic meaning which also relates to the life cycle. The order of the life cycle also represents the path that Prospero takes to subdue his uninvited guest. As the Red Death walks through each room, so does Prospero. In the end, Prospero dies in the black room. Student Instructions Create a storyboard that identifies recurring themes in "The Masque of the Red Death". Illustrate instances of each theme and write a short description below each cell.
Lesson Plan ReferenceCommon Core Standards
Create a storyboard that identifies recurring themes, symbols, and/or motifs in the story. Illustrate instances of each and write a short description that explains the example's significance.
*(This Will Start a 2-Week Free Trial - No Credit Card Needed) https://www.storyboardthat.com/lesson-plans/the-masque-of-the-red-death-by-edgar-allan-poe/theme-symbol-motif What are the symbols in the Masque of Red Death?Symbols and Motifs
The stages they represent are birth (blue), youth (purple), adolescence (green), adulthood (orange), old age (white), imminent death (violet), and death itself (black/scarlet). The seventh room, which represents death, is the room into which Prospero chases the stranger.
What does the clock symbolize?They can be viewed as a sign that each minute is precious, and that it's important to live every minute of one's life to the fullest. Life and Death – Clocks are considered to be a symbol of life and death. They're a clear sign that nothing remains permanent in life and that everything changes at some point or other.
How do clocks symbolize death?Clocks, hourglasses, sundials, and other timepieces both call to mind that time is passing. Similarly, a candle both marks the passage of time, and bears witness that it will eventually burn itself out as well as a symbol of hope of salvation.
What does the clock in the 7th room symbolize?7th room- westernmost wall; Edgar places the clock in that room to symbolize that every hour when the clock chimes, they've lost an hour of their life and they are closer to death.
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