Answer fast

“its pendulum swung to and fro with a dull, heavy, monotonous clang; and when the minute-hand made the circuit of the face, and the hour was to be stricken, there came from the brazen lungs of the clock a sound which was clear and loud and deep and exceedingly musical, but of so peculiar a note and emphasis that, at each lapse of an hour, the musicians of the orchestra were constrained to pause, momentarily, in their performance, to hearken to the sound…” "the masque of the red death." edgar allan poe, 1842.

what is the best analysis of the excerpt?
a. poe uses the clock to symbolize the passage of time as a way to foreshadow the inevitability of death.
b. poe uses the clock to indirectly describe his main character, who owns the heavy, ominous device.
c. poe uses the clock to advance the plot, as someone dies each time it chimes.
d. poe uses the clock as a metronome to set the pace of the orchestra.