Edgar Allen Poe’s short story “The Cask of Amontillado” takes place during the Carnival season, in the protagonist, Montresors family catacombs. After a multitude of insidious insults, Montresor reaches the end of his patience, and feels the need to seek revenge. Montresor plans to lure Fortunate to his family catacombs, and murder Fortunato, all without being caught. Poe uses three main literary devices throughout his short story. The theme of the story is that revenge can be unrewarding. Dramatic irony is used to lure Fortunato further down into the catacombs, and the family coat of arms as a symbol of his theme. Poe’s main theme through out his story is that revenge can be unrewarding. At the beginning of the story the reader can begin …show more content…
the reader is already aware of Montresor’s plan to kill Fortunato, but Poe's uses dramatic irony to show the strategy Montresor uses, to lead Fortunato to his death. Montresor acts like he deeply cares about Fortunato health, although the well-being of his health will soon be no matter of concern. “Come … we will go back; you health is precious… we will go back; you will be ill, and I cannot be responsible.” Montresor uses this line multiple times throughout the story, and even offers the sickly man wine, which he had placed throughout the catacombs before hand. “… you should take proper caution, a draught of this Medoc will defend us from the damps.” Another example of dramatic irony used to move Fortunato down the catacombs, is when Montresor lies and tells Fortunato he is a part of a secrete society know as the masons. Fortunato denies Montresor ability to be in the secrete society, thus again insulting Montresor. The reader knows Montresor is not apart of the secrete society, but is referring to the masonry skills he will later use to entomb Fortunato into his grave, which is foreshadowed when Montresor shows his
Poe uses grim diction throughout the story to set the mood. For example, in the beginning of the story, the main character, Montresor, uses the words “retribution,” “revenge,” and “impunity” (Poe 61). The central idea of this word group is payback and consequences.
Edgar Allan Poe is a famous writer in writing detective stories and horror stories. One of his horror stories, “The Cask of Amontillado” was talking about how a man took his revenge to his friend. However, to look deeply in this story, I found that this story was not just simply a horror tale about how a man gets his revenge in the safest way. Instead, it also demonstrates much irony in several areas: the title, the event, the season, the costume, the environment, the characters’ personalities, a man’s dignity and cockiness and at the end, the public order. he are
In the Cask of Amontillado, Edgar Allen Poe uses verbal irony to emphasize the evil intentions of Montresor. Poe does this all throughout the story like when Montroso and Fortunato first meet. Montroso says, “‘My dear Fortunato, you are luckily met’” even though it is not lucky they met at the carnival because Montroso plans to kill Fortunato. Another way Poe uses verbal irony is, ‘"And the motto?" "Nemo me impune lacessit." "Good!" he said.”’ The motto Montroso uses means no one attacks me with impunity and in the beginning Montroso says that Fortunato insulted him so Fortunato just clapped to the saying that will be implemented on him by
There are many uses of irony throughout “The Cask of Amontillado.” One example that Poe includes states, “I drink,” he said, “to the buried that repose around us. “And I to your long life.” (passage 3) This statement shows a use of dramatic irony because the reader knows that the narrator, Montresor, has no intention of cheering the life of Fortunato and has a careful plan to murder him. This quote also demonstrates dramatic irony because it shows how Fortunato genuinely believed in the good intentions of Montresor, which would eventually result in his demise. This use of irony helps build up the rising action and suspense of the story leaving the reader wondering when the narrator is going to strike and kill Fortunato. Overall this use of
Poe starts out with a man, by the name of Montresor, wanting revenge on another man, named Fortunato. Most of the story takes place deep in the Montresor family catacombs. As Montresor lures Fortunato into the catacombs, he chains Fortunato up to a small hole in a wall, bricks it over, and leaves Fortunato to die. Even through the traits of anger, hatred, and revenge, as the story progresses on, Montresor, the main character in “The Cask of Amontillado”, starts to show signs of feeling guilty for wanting to murder Fortunato.
Feuds and arguments between individuals who may disagree with or dislike one another are a common occurrence in everyday life, often varying in degrees of intensity, but rarely reaching a point of extremity. However, in Edgar Allan Poe’s short story “The Cask of Amontillado”, This threshold of extremity is reached by the narrator of the story, Montresor, who explains that his acquaintance, Fortunato, has repeatedly and irreparably insulted him over the course of years, and uses it as justification to take justice into his own hands and seek retribution through murder, despite there being no proof of Fortunato's guilt other than Montresor’s claims. His motive for murdering Fortunato can be attributed to his state of mind, as Montresor’s lack of guilt, empathy, or remorse highlights him as a character with psychopathic tendencies. As the story progresses, Montresor’s cold and calculating nature leaves the audience full of dread and suspense while he lures the oblivious Fortunato towards his inevitable demise. The employment of rhetorical devices such as irony, theme, and structure builds the suspense for the ultimate climax of Poe’s gothic masterpiece.
<br>The way the narrator treats his enemy is one of the clearest examples for ironic elements. When the characters meet, Montresor realises that Fortunato is afflicted with a severe cold, nevertheless he makes a point of him looking "remarkably well". Montresor acts in the most natural and friendly way towards the man object of his revenge, and even praises his "friend's" knowledge in the subject of wines. Also upon their meeting, Montresor begins a psychological manipulation of Fortunato. He claims that he needs his knowledge to ascertain that the wine he has purchased is indeed Amontillado. Furthermore, he acknowledges that Fortunato is engaged in another business (i.e.: the celebration of carnival), so he would go to Luchresi, who, one is made to believe, is a competitor of Fortunato's. To these words, Fortunato is forced by his pride to accompany Montresor to the vaults (where the Amontillado is kept), dissipate his doubts and also to prove his higher status than Luchresi as a connoisseur of wine. In fact, during their way down under in the catacombs, the twisted mind of Montresor, dares to give Fortunato the chance to go back, due to the almost unbearable dampness and foulness rampant in the vaults and Fortunato's state of health. The narrator clearly knows about the stubborn nature of Fortunato, and is
"The Cask of Amontillado" is one of Edgar Allan Poe's greatest stories. In this story Poe introduces two central characters and unfolds a tale of horror and perversion. Montresor, the narrator, and Fortunato, one of Montresor's friends, are doomed to the fate of their actions and will pay the price for their pride and jealousy. One pays the price with his life and the other pays the price with living with regret for the rest of his life. Poe uses mystery, irony, and imagery to create a horrifying, deceptive, and perverse story.
Fortunato assumes he is a fellow member of a society, when really he is merely a bricklayer, who intends to seal him in the bricks for all eternity. This conversation also provides foreshadowing in the story when Montresor produces a “trowel” (555). This is the first clue shown to the reader as to how Montresor will kill Fortunato. By the end of the story the reader is even more aware of the irony that Poe has used. If ever anyone comes across Fortunato’s skeleton they will find him dressed in a “tight-fitting parti-striped dress” and on his head a “conical cap and bells” (553).
In “The Cask of Amontillado,” Edgar Allen Poe uses many examples of imagery, such as the descriptions of the carnival, characters, the walk through the catacombs, and much more throughout the story to build suspense and intrigue for the readers and add to the mystery of Montresor’s underlining actions of the revenge and deception of the foolish Fortunado.
As Montresor and Fortunato reach the entrance to the catacombs, Poe adds nervousness to Montresor by using words that explain his movements or the surroundings around him and Fortunato. He is so close to murdering Fortunato, and Montresor is feeling a little doubtful on how it is going to go down. Montresor is
Another fictional element that Poe uses to express the central idea is the constant conflict between Montresor and Fortunato. The conflict begins when Fortunato "laughed at my proud name" as Montresor said in the story. Poe uses an external, man vs. man conflict to express the concept of revenge and hatred that humans are capable of. Montresor's anger and evil side begin to show very early on in the story through his thoughts, "And also the wrong would not be made right unless Fortunato knew that he was paying and knew who was forcing him to pay" (Poe). Poe clearly expresses the concept of revenge through Fortunato and Montresor's tension. Tension first begins when Montresor says:
In the short story “The Cask of Amontillado,” it deals with how someone can turn a seemingly nice night into a horrible and tragic ending. Montresor lures an inebriated Fortunato to show him a rich wine. But in a twist, Montresor chains him up and suffocates him. It uses an exceptional amount of irony, verbal, situational, and dramatic irony. Edgar Allan Poe, author of “The Cask of Amontillado,” writes using three different variants of irony to create an eerie and suspenseful atmosphere within the plot.
The Cask of Amontillado is about a man named Montresor who believes this other man named Fortunato insulted him. Montresor’s family motto is “no one insults me with impunity”, he feels justified in taking revenge on Fortunato. In the short story by Edgar Allen Poe, there are many examples of irony to convey Montresor’s crime, while using another layer of irony to undermine his revenge.
A wise man once said, “ Destroy what destroys you.” destroying what destroys you is a common theme of revenge. When it comes to revenge, The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe is the story to go to. The whole story and plot itself revolve around one word. Revenge. The story is based on Montresor wanting revenge for the one who wronged him, Fortunato. Therefore, the theme of The Cask of Amontillado is revenge. The author Edgar Allen Poe uses different literary elements to create this theme. The literary elements Poe uses include: foreshadowing, suspense, and irony.