What Does Death Is a Dignitary Mean?

The metaphor "death is a dignitary" means that death is like an important official who comes to visit and must be treated with respect and ceremony.

Why is death called dignitary?

Death is a dignitary who when he comes announced is to be received with formal manifestations of respect, even by those most familiar with him. ... Rather than “respect” the magnitude of the moment, he resists death by unspooling an elaborate fantasy of an alternate fate.

How is death personified in An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge?

It is the job of soldiers to kill, and the soldiers in Bierce's story are no strangers to death. Through personification, the narrator makes death another character in the story. Though the soldiers have witnessed death numerous times, their interaction with the "dignitary" death is uniquely solemn and formal.