What is the theme of "The Masque of the Red Death"?

There are
several themes in "". The central theme is that no man escapes
death. The other central theme is that time passes
no matter what one might attempt to do thereby causing death to come no matter
what.

The other theme is madness or insanity. It
is insane to have a ball in the middle of the plague ravaged country. Prince Prospero may be the
narrator of the story, and as such may also be the madman. Poe is the genius of the disturbed .
The ball may simply be a figment of the disturbed mind of a madman.

At the
stroke of midnight, the partygoers are confronted with a newcomer to the party. This person is
costumed in such a manner that he appears to be a victim of the "red death" a type of
plague that causes bleeding from the pores of the body. One might now call it a type of Ebola
virus based on the symptoms given in the story.  The partygoers have not escaped
the red death, it has come to visit them.

The
passage of time is also noteworthy as each of the guests pause as
the clock strikes the hour proving that they have escaped death and this plague for a measurable
period of time. They breathe a sigh of relief and return to their revelry. This works until
midnight when a previously unnoticed guest arrives clad in the death robes and smeared with
blood. This costume is so like the appearance of a victim of the red death that Prince Prospero
and the guests are shocked and then angered. However, the guest is the red death.  The guests
have not escaped the plague, and time stops for each one of them as they die.