# Prince Prospero — Short Fiction character guide

> Prince Prospero in Short Fiction by Edgar Allan Poe.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** the Prince Prospero

**First appearance:** 0039-the-masque-of-the-red-death

## Snapshot

A wealthy, eccentric prince who seals a thousand friends inside his abbey to outlast the Red Death with masquerade and wine.

## Who they are

Prince Prospero is happy, dauntless, and sagacious in the manner of one who has decided that grief is folly. He withdraws with a thousand friends into a fortified abbey, where buffoons, ballet-dancers, musicians, Beauty, and wine keep the pestilence outside. His love of the bizarre shapes the seven irregular chambers of the masquerade, and the black velvet room with its scarlet panes becomes the stage for his final, uninvited guest.

## In the story

### [Short Fiction](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_14_se/chapters/short-fiction)

Protagonist of 'The Masque of the Red Death,' who hosts a lavish ball while a plague ravages the land.

### [Lionizing](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_14_se/chapters/lionizing)

Mentioned as the Prince of Wales who invites the narrator to dinner.

### [The Masque of the Red Death](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_14_se/chapters/the-masque-of-the-red-death)

The prince who retreats from the Red Death with his court, hosts the masked ball, and dies pursuing the mysterious figure.

### [Hop-Frog](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_14_se/chapters/hop-frog)

The king (referred to as 'the king' in the text) who delights in practical jokes and abuses Hop-Frog and Trippetta.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_14_se/characters/prince_prospero
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_14_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_14_se/characters