First published in _Graham's Magazine_ for May, 1842 (see comment in
the Introduction, page xxvii).
113. The "Red Death" is a product of Poe's own imagination;
there is no record of such a disease in medical history.
113. 3. avatar: a word from Hindoo mythology, in which it means
an incarnation. The word is used here in its secondary sense,--a
visible manifestation.
113. 11. This paragraph suggests the circumstances under which
Boccaccio represents the stories of his famous "Decameron." A
comparison will be interesting.
116. 3. decora: possibly used as a plural of "decorum,"
propriety; probably it is intended to suggest ornamentation.
116. 14. Hernani: a well-known tragedy by the great French
writer, Victor Hugo (1802-1885).