Final answer:
The black clock represents the passage of time and the inevitability of death. It is a common symbol in literature, visual arts, and historical records, pointing to the profound relationship between time and the human experience.
Step-by-step explanation:
The black clock symbolizes the passing of time and the approach of death. Across various texts and historical records, clocks have often been used as a representation of the relentless progression of time and its associations with the end of life.
In literature, such as in “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,” time plays a crucial role in the narrative, marking the moments leading to the protagonist's demise.
Similarly, in the context of the Mesoamerican ritual calendar described by LibreTexts™, the mathematical precision with which time was tracked underscores its importance to cultural practices and the human connection to life and death cycles.
Likewise, the references to time in Shakespeare's works or the symbolic use of the clock in the painting “Aspiration” (5.8.2) highlight the broad interpretive possibilities that time, symbolized through clocks, can withstand in various artistic expressions.
References to time are also evident in visual arts, where symbolism can be found in the direction of the hands of a clock in relation to the movement of shadows cast by the Sun, as noted in the explanation of the origins of the “clockwise” direction.
In essence, the imagery of the clock as a device for measuring time is deeply intertwined with the themes of mortality and the human experience in both literature and visual arts, providing thought-provoking symbolism that echoes through history.