Short story analysis The Masque of the Red death by Edgar Allen Poe Write an up to 1500 word essay explaining and describing the use of the elements of the short story to deliver the theme that no one can escape death. Use examples and quotations from the story as supporting details to illustrate the elements of fiction: setting, character development , symbolism, plot. Introduce the author and the story. Include the story as a reference. You may use this sentence as your topic sentence for the essay. (Edgar Allen Poe deliveries his theme that no one escapes death in his short story Masque of the Red Death trough symbolism, setting, and narration.) Develop the introduction by adding a brief summary of the story . Explain that the setting of the story is during the dark ages when the bubonic plague ravaged Europe. Explain and define the bubonic plague. The story is told in the first person by Death who comes to the ball dressed as a bubonic plague victim. Then begin your first paragraph.