The Red Death is being called “a thief in the night.” How has it judged the masqueraders?

Here the case was very different; as might have been expected from the duke's love of the bizarre. ... In truth the masquerade license of the night was nearly unlimited; but the figure in question had ... But the mummer had gone so far as to assume the type of the Red Death. His vesture ... He had come like a thief in the night.

Explanation:

Martin Luther king was an avid civil rights leader and this poem can identify with his famous "I have a dream" speech. That speech was monumental and affected the hearts of people across the world and showed what his goals were as a leader. Hughes questions what would have happened if one would have never had that dream. Would it be good or bad? Would civil rights advancements have happened at all if it wasn't for the dream