Refer to explorations in literature for a complete version of this story. read this excerpt from “the pit and the pendulum” by edgar allan poe. i was sick—sick unto death with that long agony; and when they at length unbound me, and i was permitted to sit, i felt that my senses were leaving me. the sentence—the dread sentence of death—was the last of distinct accentuation which reached my ears. how does the first-person point of view most affect the meaning of the text? it lets the narrator express, clearly and fully, his rage at and his desire for vengeance on his tormentors. it explains that, despite his sickness and overall confusion, the narrator understands that he's been sentenced to death. it illustrates that the narrator, despite his physical ailments, remains mentally sharp and cognizant of everything that occurs. it shows the narrator, under great duress and feeling terribly ill, cannot yet grasp the gravity and danger of his situation.