Teaching The Masque of the Red Death

Instructions for You

Objective: Everyone loves dressing up, right? Well, maybe not, but it'll still be fun for your students to come up with a mask they'd wear if they were invited to Prince Prospero's masquerade. Besides, even though the story is extremely descriptive and visual, Poe doesn't really talk about any specific costumes. 

After they watch an excellent tutorial to show them how to make a simple mask, they'll choose a design and theme that work within the context of the story and would be appropriate (or inappropriate, if they want to be like the Red Death) for this party. Then, they'll each make a brief presentation to show off their masks to the class.

Materials Needed: Access to this YouTube tutorial for making a mask, art supplies (Necessary: plain white paper, cardboard, pen or pencil, scissors, ruler, measuring tape, paint or colored paper, ribbon Optional: glue, magic glue, glitter glue, lace, colored pencils, markers)

Step 1: Let the class Shmoop amongst themselves for a few minutes about how they would want to dress for Prince Prospero's party. They can brainstorm ideas for an entire costume, but they should focus especially on what they'd want their mask to look like. Also have them discuss what kind of feeling they'd want to instill in their fellow partygoers. Fear? Dread? Laughter? There are all kinds of options.

Step 2: Show the class the Youtube tutorial that demonstrates how to make their mask. Everyone will follow the instruction for how to construct a mask. Once it comes to decorating the mask, those artistic students (or those brave ones who want to attempt something more difficult) can try something similar to the latter part of the video, using the glue, glitter glue, etc. For those who aren't inclined to do something like that, they can simply design their masks with colored pencils or markers.

Step 3: Have students construct their masks. Make sure they have the link to the tutorial so they can watch it again, if necessary.

Step 4: With their masks completed, students will now prepare a brief presentation based on their mask. They can type up their presentation and hand it in after they speak in front of the class. Here are some guidelines:

• Their presentation should be two to three minutes long.
• They need to display their mask for their classmates to see (or wear it, if they're really into the project—they'll still be able to see).
• They should state the purpose behind their mask, and how it connects to the text (e.g. maybe it ties into one of the seven rooms).
• They should describe how they envision the rest of their costume would look.
• They should state what kind of feeling they'd try to instill in their fellow guests through their mask.
• They should state how they think Prince Prospero would react to their mask.

Step 5: Finally, students will show off their masks and make their presentations. Make sure you allow enough time for each student to present for two to three minutes.

Instructions for Your Students

How cool would it have been to go to Prince Prospero's masquerade? (Minus the whole Red Death holding dominion over everyone, of course.) Pretty sweet, right, especially if you get to wear a weird, freaky costume? Well, here's your chance to design part of that costume. 

The most important piece of a costume for a masquerade ball is obviously the mask, so not only will you decide what kind of mask you'd wear…you'll actually make it.

Step 1: Here's where you can brainstorm with your classmates to get ideas. Shmoop with your fellow students to decide what you want your mask to look like and why it should be that way. There must be some theme to your costume choice. Do you want to wear something frightening? Do you want to look like comic relief? Do you just want something as weird as possible?

Step 2: This YouTube tutorial goes through exactly how to make your mask. Now, there are basically two parts to the video. In the beginning, it shows you how to actually get the plain mask you'll work on. Following that is a must. After that, it goes through a lot of flourishes for designing and decorating the mask. If you're so inclined, you can try your hand at using the fancy stuff, like glitter and lace. If not, you'll be able to decorate your mask with colored pencils and markers.

Step 3: Time to make your mask. Follow the instructions from the tutorial and get crackin'. Feel free to watch the tutorial as many times as you need to.

Step 4: Your mask is done, so now it's time to prepare a presentation for the class and your teacher. Type up your presentation and hand it in after you speak in front of the class. Here are the guidelines:

• Your presentation should be two to three minutes long.
• You need to display your mask for your classmates to see (or wear it, if you really want to—you'll still be able to see).
• You should state the purpose behind your mask, and how it connects to the text (e.g. maybe it ties into one of the seven rooms).
• You should describe how you envision the rest of your costume would look.
• You should state what kind of feeling you'd try to instill in your fellow guests through your mask.
• You should state how you think Prince Prospero would react to your mask.

Step 5: Make your presentation! Remember, you've got two to three minutes to show off your work and your reasoning for it. Then, sit back, relax and enjoy your classmates' presentations, especially since they'll undoubtedly have approached the project differently than you did.