The Motif of Denial in “The Masque of the Red Death” The motif of denial in “The Masque of the Red Death” by Edgar Allan Poe is important because it helps the reader understand how the prince and his guests can party while the rest of the world dies. Their denial also makes their realization that they cannot escape the Red Death more dramatic. One way of showing the reader his denial is when the story reveals that he believes "the outside world could take care of itself" and "meanwhile it was folly to grieve or think" ( 1). The story also relates that the abbey in which they took refuge had “such precautions that the courtiers could defy contagion” (1). In these lines, the reader discovers that the prince and his guests choose to deny that the world is powerless and that even though they are in the secure abbey, they can still be infected by the Red Death. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay The narrator says the “prince.” . .provided all the devices of pleasure” (1). These pleasures occupy them and allow them to remain in denial of this horrible situation. When a person denies, it is because there is a truth that seems so terrible to them that they prefer not to accept it as truth. Therefore, when people see a man with the Red Death, they are deeply offended because they are now reminded of the very truth they deny, that even though they are inside the abbey, there is always a chance that they could contract the Red Death and die. Although they have seen this man, their denial goes so far that they prefer to believe that the man is wearing a “fabricated” “mask”. . . resemble the face of a stiffened corpse” (4). The prince decides to deny the truth by calling the supposed masked figure's alleged insinuation that the Red Death was inside the abbey a “blasphemous mockery” (4). the Red Death is within the abbey, the awakening of the people is of inestimable dramatic value. Without the theme of denial in "The Masque of the Red Death," audiences would not understand how the prince and his guests can party while the world is falling apart, nor would they be treated to such a dramatic awakening..