Edgar Allen Poe has a way of writing like no other. It uses darkness, suspense and darkness to portray its scenes and plots. The Pit and the Pendulum is one of his many works written and loved by many. Edgar writes about the period called the Spanish Inquisition. During the Spanish Inquisition prisoners were tormented and tried for heresy. Poe writes through a narrator known as the prisoner of the story, he talks about his experience during the trial. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Poe does not tell us why the prisoner is on trial, all we are aware of is that he is in a room full of men. As mentioned above, we can assume that the narrator is there because he has been found guilty of heresy; there is no way to be sure since Poe does not mention why the man is there. Poe uses the symbol of seven candles throughout this story, the candles sit on a table and burn slowly. The narrator states that as the candles slowly burn his hope of survival diminishes. We later find out that he was sentenced to death as punishment. He is then placed in a cell where he faints intermittently for unknown reasons. Meanwhile fainting events occur. Try to measure the cell where it was placed. He continues to pass out randomly, waking up with food and water placed in the cell. He keeps trying to measure the walls of his cell and discovers that it is 100 steps. While moving around his cell he accidentally trips on his robe which falls to the floor. He looks right ahead and sees an endless abyss of darkness. Because if he hadn't stumbled he would have fallen into the pit. He jokes as if that was the demon's plan to make him fall into the abyss. After regaining consciousness he once again lies down facing the ceiling where he sees an image that the narrator describes as Father Time. Attached to this is a pendulum which, according to the narrator, is razor sharp and swings back and forth. The pendulum slowly swings closer and closer to our narrator, presumably killing him at some point. An important detail that the narrator makes is that he lures mice to chew on his strings using the leftover meat and is able to escape from the pendulum just in time. However, once he escapes the pendulum, he finds himself facing the walls that surround him. The room because hot, burning. Just before being crushed, he is pulled out of the room. Please note: this is just a sample. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay The French army had taken control of Toledo and the Inquisition. He heard trumpets and voices. He was overjoyed to have been rescued from the burning room. Happy to be saved from punishment for his crime, whatever it may be.