poe employs detailed descriptions and high levels of gore in "valdemar". he may have studied medical texts. valdemar's eyes at one point leak a "profuse outflowing of a yellowish ichor", for example. the tale's imagery is summed up in the final lines: "...his whole frame at once — within the space of a single minute, or even less, shrunk—crumbled—absolutely rotted away beneath my hands. upon the bed, before that whole company, there lay a nearly liquid mass of loathsome—of detestable putrescence." the disgusting imagery probably inspired later fiction including that of h. p. lovecraft. those final lines make up one of the most powerfully effective moments in poe's work, incorporating shock, disgust, and uneasiness into one moment. this ending shows that attempts to appropriate power over death will have hideous results and, therefore, ultimately will be unsuccessful.