Poe's Short Stories

Some people argue that the masqued ball is just a dream. How does Poe use specific diction here that would support that argument?

>The Masque of the Red Death"

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Other than the unnerving seventh room, the ball is boldly and wildly decorated in a way that hints at Prospero's potential madness. The masqueraders' costumes are similarly wild, almost to the point of grotesqueness, and the party is described as "a multitude of dreams," despite the regular interruption of the gaiety by the ebony clock. All the apartments are crowded except for the seventh, and the ball continues until the stroke of midnight. The diction is certainly has the wild and chaotic imagery of a dream.

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