The Masque of the Red Death

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay. 

Scaffolded/Short-Answer Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the sets of questions given. Include details from the story as examples to support your points.

1. Did Prospero bring his death on himself? Why or why not? Explain with references from the text.

• Is it Prospero’s own fault that he died? (topic sentence)
• What quotes/moments in the text best support your response to the prompt?
• In conclusion, could Prospero have avoided his death?  

2. Choose one of the following symbols: mask or clock. Describe its role and significance in the text, with references.

• What is the clock or mask’s symbolic meaning? (topic sentence)
• What quotes/moments in the text best support your response to the prompt?
• What does the writer seem to be saying by his use of the mask or clock as a symbol?

3. Throughout the story Poe switches between first- and third-person narration. Identify two examples of each type of narration in the text and describe their significance to the passage and the story at large.

• What is significant about Poe’s switches between the first- and third-person narration? (topic sentence)
• What are two examples of the first-person narration in the text?
• What are two examples of the third-person narration in the text?
• How does the switch from one narrative point of view to the other affect the impact of the story?