Title: Reading this title made me believe that this story would have an unsettling tone. The title is almost like a reference to the black death, in which many died due to this disease.
Paraphrase: A community of people gathers to isolate themselves from a horrific disease in the story. They have a masquerade in order to stop and disregard the plague that is killing thousands of people. This backfires when the red death eventually kills everyone.
Connotation: The story contains much figurative language. For example, simile, alliteration, and allusion.
Attitude: The attitude and atmosphere in the story are enigmatic and pessimistic. The way the poet writes makes this story very mysterious.
Shift: The tone of the author shifts dramatically as the red death appears for the first time. There is also a shift when the clock begins to chime
Theme: The theme of this story is that death is unavoidable. The prince tries and fails miserably to isolate himself from the plague, eventually leading to his demise.