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Edgar Allan Poe uses symbolism in many of his poems and short stories to create two levels of understanding—a literal understanding and a deeper, figurative understanding.

Identify one symbol in "The Raven" and one symbol in "The Masque of the Red Death." Explain what the symbol's meaning is and what effect the symbol has on the work overall.

User Rahulbehl
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Step-by-step explanation:

In "The Raven," one symbol that Edgar Allan Poe uses is the titular bird, the raven itself. The raven symbolizes both the past and the inevitability of death. The bird's dark color, association with death and its persistent repetition of the word "Nevermore" suggest that the bird is a manifestation of the narrator's grief for his lost love, as well as his own looming mortality. The symbol of the raven adds to the melancholy and ominous atmosphere of the poem, as it serves as a reminder that death is inevitable and that the narrator will never be able to escape his sorrow.

In "The Masque of the Red Death," one symbol that Poe uses is the seven rooms of the abbey, which are each decorated in a different color. The rooms symbolize the stages of life, from birth to death. The seventh and final room, which is black and red and contains a giant clock that chimes at each hour, represents death. The clock, in particular, serves as a reminder that time is running out for the revelers, and that they cannot escape death. The use of color symbolism, combined with the imagery of the clock and the finality of the seventh room, underscores the story's theme that death is inevitable and that no one can escape it.

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