A common activity for students is to create a plot diagram of the events from a story. Not only is this a great way to teach the parts of a plot, but to reinforce major events and help students develop greater understanding of literary structures.

Students can create a storyboard that captures the concept of the narrative arc in a story by creating a six-cell storyboard which contains the major parts of the plot diagram. For each cell, have students create a scene that follows the story in sequence using Exposition, Conflict, Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action, and Resolution.

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Example “The Masque of the Red Death” Plot Diagram

Exposition

Prospero is introduced in the time of the Red Death, a ravenous plague that is devastating his kingdom.

Major Inciting Conflict

Prospero believes that he and the nobles of his kingdom can escape death. Prospero invites all wealthy, unaffected people in his domain to barricade themselves in his castle, and throws a masquerade ball.

Rising Action

As guests arrive, they are bewildered and amused by the grandiose rooms that Prospero has created. Each room beginning from east to west is marked by a different color: blue, purple, green, orange, white, violet, and black with red windows. This last room is so disturbing that no one enters. Even more mysterious is a large ebony clock which chimes every hour, halting the exaltations of the party with its foreboding strike.

Climax

As the party goes on and the clock is about to strike midnight, an enigmatic guest appears, dressed as a plague victim.

Falling Action

Deeply disturbed by the guest's poor judgment, Prospero engages with the visitor, finally pursuing him with a dagger through the seven colored rooms. As he reaches the figure in the final room, he falls dead.

Resolution

The other guests subdue the intruder and forcibly remove his mask, finding, to their horror, there is no one beneath the costume. They also die. The Red Death infiltrated the castle, despite Prospero’s efforts to escape it.

When studying allegorical texts, it is important that students understand the concept as a foundation for the reading. An allegory is like an extended metaphor, where elements of the story are symbolic of a deeper meaning. Since allegories are works that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning (usually moral or political), it is important that students engage not only with the surface details, but with this deeper level as well.

In “The Masque of the Red Death”, Poe uses the allegory of Prospero’s actions to make a strong point: no one escapes death. Prospero thought he could cheat death by inviting all the wealthy people in his kingdom to the safety of his castle. He was segregating the wealthy from the peasantry to avoid death from the plague. The reader soon realizes that any attempt to escape death is futile, even for a wealthy prince like Prospero.

As a lesson, teachers can ask students to create a storyboard that show multiple ways that Prospero tried to escape death!

Examples of Allegory: Red Death