sullen
gloomy, bad tempered
prostrate
lying flat face down
action of speaking
locution
He tripped
How did he escape the pit?
"frequently fastened their sharp fangs in my fingers..."
Alliteration
aperature
hole
Inquisition
A Roman Catholic tribunal for investigating and prosecuting charges of heresy
relating to electricity
galvanic
The grim reaper (father time)
What was painted on the ceiling?
"a deep sleep fell upon me...a sleep like that of death"
Simile
surcingle
strap that loops around
sunder
break with violence
filled with disgust, horror, terror
aghast
Rubbing the oil from the meat onto the binding.
How did the narrator get the rats to chew his binding?
"The odor of the sharp steel forced itself into my nostrils..."
Personification
veriest
most complete, utmost
inanition
exhaustion from lack of food and water
a repository for dead bodies
charnel
The bottom of the walls
Where was the sulfurous light coming from?
"The candles seemed...white slender angels."
Metaphor
indeterminate
vague, not definite
moiety
half
a person who refuses to submit to authority
recusant
The French
Who saved the narrator?
"At the same time, my forehead seemed bathed in a clammy vapor, and the peculiar smell of decayed fungus arose to my nostrils."
Imagery