MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH
Which of the following passages most strongly builds suspense in the narrative?

A. “The prince had provided all the appliances of pleasure. There were buffoons, there were improvisatori, there were ballet-dancers, there were musicians, there was Beauty, there was wine.” (paragraph 2)

B. “It was a voluptuous scene, that masquerade. But first let me tell of the rooms in which it was held.” (paragraph 4)

C. “But, in spite of these things, it was a gay and magnificent revel. The tastes of the duke were peculiar.” (paragraph 6)

D. “He had directed, in great part, the movable embellishments of the seven chambers, upon occasion of this great fête; and it was his own guiding taste which had given character to the masqueraders.” (paragraph 7)

“The Masque of the Red Death” was first published in 1842. In the original publication, the title was given the English spelling of “mask,” yet it was changed to “masque” in 1845.

In this macabre tale, a Prince Prospero seals himself and a thousand of his friends into the abbey of a castle in order to protect them from a deadly pestilence—The Red Death—that is ravaging the country.

But when the group indulge in a lavish costume ball in order to distract themselves from the suffering and death outside their walls, the Red Death, disguised as a costumed guest, enters and claims the lives of everyone present.

The story is narrated in a manner which gives it the quality of a myth, allegory, or fairy tale, exploring themes of man’s fear of death, sin, madness, and the end of the world.

Hence, the correct option is (B).

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