In lines 66-77 from "The Pit and the Pendulum," the narrator regains consciousness after having fainted. How does this account help create tension or...

Initially,
the narrator recalls his experience and informs us that he has been sentenced to death. He
recalls the grotesque forms of his judges. Before he passes out, he is so distraught that he
suggests death might be a better alternative than what awaits him. So, this already establishes
a rising suspense about what will happen to him: 

And then
there stole into my fancy, like a rich musical note, the thought of what sweet rest there must
be in the grave. 

The reader assumes that when he wakes
up, his death sentence will be carried out. The reader is left to wonder about how he will be
killed. When he swoons, he never completely loses consciousness. So, as he is carried down into
the pit, in his half-slumbering state, he still is somewhat aware of things. He describes his
descent: a "hideous dizziness oppressed me at the mere idea of the interminableness of the
descent." It's as if he can feel himself descending into darkness. And when he does fully
awaken, he is in complete darkness. The tension and suspense are peaked for him as well as the
reader because he has no clue where he is. So, during the swoon (fainting spell) he has the
horrible vague sensation of descending. And when he wakes up, he is in total darkness. He is in
complete suspense at this point. He is
suspended in space and time in the sense that
the darkness gives him no sense of place or time.