The Masque of the Red Death 紅死病的面具（英文版）
TheMasqueoftheRedDeath,originallypublishedas"TheMaskoftheRedDeath",isashortstorywrittenbyEdgarAllanPoeandfirstpublishedin1842.Thestoryfollowsthe"happyanddauntlessandsagacious"PrinceProspero'sattemptstoavoidadangerousplagueknownastheRedDeathbyhidinginhiscastellatedabbey.He,alongwithmanyotherwealthynobles,hasamasqueradeballwithinsevenroomsofhisabbey,eachdecoratedwithadifferentcolor.Inthemidstoftheirrevelry,amysteriousfigureentersandmakeshiswaythrougheachoftherooms.WhenProsperoconfrontsthisstranger,hefallsdead.ThestoryfollowsmanytraditionsofGothicfictionandisoftenanalyzedasanallegoryabouttheinevitabilityofdeath,thoughsomecriticsadviseagainstanallegoricalreading.Manydifferentinterpretationshavebeenpresented,aswellasattemptstoidentifythetruenatureofthediseaseofthe"RedDeath."
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