Edgar Allan Poe, The Masque of the Red Death

Slobodan Sucur (University of Alberta)

Ed. by Stephen E. Meats, Pittsburg State University
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 3.2.2: American (US) Writing and Culture: The Nineteenth Century, 1783-1900.
Vol. editors: J. Michael Duvall (College of Charleston), Emory Elliott (University of California, Riverside), Stephen E. Meats (Pittsburg State University), Tony Papanikolas (San Jose State University)

Dates

First circulation or publication May 1842

Places

United States (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Gothic & Ghosts
Story

Resources

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“The Masque of the Red Death” (1842) is considered by Poe scholar T.O. Mabbott a “masterpiece” among his “very short stories” (

Poe

2:667). Originally published for

Graham’s Magazine

in May of 1842 under the title “The Mask of the Red Death. A Fantasy”, reprints followed in the Baltimore

Saturday Visiter

and

The Literary Souvenir

of Lowell, Massachusetts, both in that same year. By July of 1845, the text was published under its now well-known title in

The Broadway Journal

(

Poe

2:670). Poe made minor revisions to the tale prior to its later reprinting in 1845, with the most obvious change being the title itself, which now emphasises the masquerade that takes place rather than any one individual who has dressed up for the celebration. Plot wise the text reads like an odd…

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3127 words

Citation: Sucur, Slobodan. "The Masque of the Red Death". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 06 November 2013 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=206, accessed 26 November 2024.]

Edgar Allan Poe, The Masque of the Red Death

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