We gather in a cesspool of death awaiting our final judgment. Everyone has their own beliefs or ideas about the afterlife hypothesis, but no one knows the legitimacy of these theories. This is why most people are petrified of dying, because the horror of the unknown scares everyone. Yet, with this in mind numerous authors precede to write literary works on the death of man throughout history. Although these two writings share a common theme, their depiction and other symbolic references show their differences throughout their writings. The boundaries that divide Life from Death are at best obscure and vague (Poe, 2011). American novelist, poet, editor and critic Edgar Allen Poe was born in Boston, Massachusetts on January 19, 1809. Although both his parents died early in his life, he managed to get an education after being taken in by his adoptive parents John and Francis Allan. Later in his life Poe attempted to earn a living by carrying out various publishing activities, writing poems, essays and short stories. Poe wrote The Masque of the Red Mask in 1842 for Graham's Magazine (Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing, 2011). The Masque of the Red Mask is an allegorical representation of human existence and its end. The helplessness of man with his inability to escape death is another concept shown throughout this literary work. “Prince Prospero was happy, intrepid and sagacious. When his dominions were half depopulated, he summoned to his presence a thousand healthy and carefree friends among the knights and ladies of his court, and with these he retired to the profound isolation of one of his crenellated abbeys" (Poe E., 2011, page 234). This narrative...... middle of paper ......ure conveyed a theory of life and death even though they did not share the same ideas in all of their writings. Works Cited Faulkner, W. (2011). A rose for Emily. In literature: An introduction to reading and writing (pp. 75-81). Upper Saddle River: Pearson College Div. Faulkner, W. (2011). Quotes by William Faulkner. Retrieved February 22, 2011, from Famous Quotes at BrainyQuote: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/w/william_faulkner.htmlLiterature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing. (2011). Upper Saddle River: Pearson College Div. Poe, E. A. (2011). The boundaries that divide Life. Retrieved February 22, 2011, from Famous Quotes at BrainyQuote: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/e/edgarallan403422.htmlPoe, E. (2011). The Mask of the Red Death. In literature: An introduction to reading and writing (pp. 233-237). Upper Saddle River: Pearson College Div.