The ebony clock with this story is a symbol for the countdown to how long that everyone within the castle has left to live for. Poe use of context clues for the ebony clock within the story shows that the clock is a countdown, this is mostly noticeable in the last paragraph in the story “ And the life of the ebony clock went out with that of the last of the gay” (Poe 4). Poe’s use of this clock is to show even if someone can delay his or hers death, that there is a counter counting down for their death. With the clock, the tripods of fire is another form for the countdown till death. The fire in the short story seems like it is a source of light for the people in the castle but with the context that Poe uses at the very end of the story to tell that they are not only a source for light but the souls of the 1000 people in the castle, “and the flames of the tripods expired” (Poe 4). Poe wants to show that the tripods can be another form of a countdown till the death just like the clock was a form of a countdown. Both the clock and tripods is a form of countdown that shows no one can escape