وإذا المنية أنشبت أظفارها
And when death sinks in its claws.
Death is portrayed as a destructive power resembling a predator that grips prey with claws. Death is overtly named, but an animal property is attributed to it.
Subject compared: Death, whose power and grip are being conveyed.
Comparison source: A clawing beast, not expressly named here.
Associated feature: Claws, imagined as belonging to death.
These elements must be separated before examining the competing technical descriptions of the figure.