Poe's story possesses no real characters. The greatness of the story lies in his use of an age-old theme — the inevitability of death — and in the way that Poe creates and maintains a total unity of effect, he brings us into the horror of the story.
The story makes no effort to present a realistic view of any known aspect of life. We do not even know what country the story takes place in, but, due to the name of the prince, we assume it to be a southern European country. The story achieves credibility simply through Poe's powerful unity of effect that he creates so marvelously. Each word of each description contributes to one single, unified mood of fear and horror. An atmosphere of strangeness, a bizarre situation, and an evocative style all combine to make this one of Poe's most effective stories.
