Six and Seven in “masque of the Red Death”

Edgar Allan Poe was a writer who believed every single word contained meaning and in his own words expressed this idea in brevity only he is capable, “…there should be no word written, of which tendency, direct or indirect, is not to the one pre-established design.” (Poe 244). To this effect, Poe drenches his works in symbolism and allegory. Especially in shorter works, Poe assigns meaning to the smallest object, explicitly deriving exurbanite significance within concise descriptions. "The Masque of the Red Death" tells the story of a Prince Prospero who along with his one thousand friends sought a haven from the plague that was ravishing their country. They lived together in the prince's luxurious abbey with all the amenities and securities imaginable. In the sixth month of isolation masquerader's party is held. At the party, a tall gaunt figure dressed in "habiliments of the grave and a corpse-like mask" enters (Poe 241). Everyone is offended, but to frightened to apprehend the figure. When the “revellers” find courage to attack him, there is nothing tangible within the ghastly cerements. In Edgar Allan Poe’s short story, colors and numbers symbolically and metaphorically add depth to the story. Numbers, more specifically, six and seven, appear in the short story, not with specific purpose, but with an overall effect related to the passage of time and the morality of the described situation.

The number seven appears to have the most significance in the story, with the setting of the poem containing seven separate yet connected apartments. Seven is a very mystical number with great importance, there are seven deadly sins, seven days of creation, seven days in the week, seven stages of life, and seven could also represents spiritual perfection. All of these pre-described meaning of the number seven could have practical applications contributing to the overall effect of the story. Because inevitability of time and death seems to be the recurring theme, the most likely significance behind the number of apartments would be the seven stages of life. The first apartment is said to be placed most eastwardly and is blue in dйcor, which could signify the rising of the sun, the beginning of life, and the color of day. And the seventh, and most westerly apartment, is black with red accents and represents the end of life, the setting of the sun, and death. Poe did not intend a specific meaning for the number seven, just for the reader to be aware of the passing of time and the idea that the prince was trying to recreate a perfect world complete with “…all the appliances of pleasure…Without was the Red Death.” (238). The Prince’s recreation of the world is ironic because it is modeled after the one the Prince and his followers are trying to escape. The seven perfect rooms foreshadow the evitable downfall of perfection. The number seven appears six times in the text which may lead to some significance behind that number as well.

Six could represent human morality, the devil, spiritual imperfection. The masquerade