Prompt What kind of personal connections can you make to the language, the time period, or the tasty tastelessness of Poe's

works? Please give at least two examples from the lessons in this course, and explain why those are entertaining,

disturbing, or meaningful to you.

The following connections are made.

Explanation:

The language used in the story are personification, metaphor and imagery. The title of the story 'The Masque of the red death' depicts these ideas.

For instance, Everyman cries out to him: "O Death, thy comest when I had thee least in mind." Here, 'death' is personified as human. 'The Masque of the Red death' signifies metaphor. It illustrates the danger of death. The Red symbolizes danger.

Time period is emphasized in the story as regards a plague called the "Red Death"; The disease is so deadly rapid that one is dead within thirty minutes after he is infected. Poe reminds the reader that between the striking of each hour, there elapses "three thousand and six hundred seconds of the Time that flies."

The story also emphasized the brevity of life, the fleeting of life and time, and the nearness of death.

I've done multiple pieces of poetry and most of them have a dark or macabre theme to them. The language Poe writes in is very similar to my own and I personally enjoy the way he writes. My life has been filled with death which is similar to what happens to the characters in Poe's works. Due to this, I've mourned quite a few people, so when Poe writes about death and mourning, it is relatable. His stories do have some horrific imagery, but it also contains meaning and representation. 

The time period is obviously very different, but somethings remain the same. For example, Poe writes mainly about death or murder which still occurs today. He also creates characters with personal issues, whether it be mentally or something such as alcoholism. I find this quite meaningful because it represents the "bad normalities" within society.