Examples Of Dramatic Irony In The Cask Of Amontillado

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

Montresor does this by flattering and acting concerned about the health of Fortunato when really his only concern is killing Fortunato. While in the wine cellar, Montresor says to Fortunato, “Come, we will go back; your health is precious. You are rich, respected, admired, beloved; you are happy, as once I was. You are a man to be missed. For me it is no matter. We will go back; you will be ill, and I cannot be responsible. Besides, there is Luchesi-.” Montresor does an excellent job of being Fortunatos’ friend and at the same time convinces him to continue drinking and telling him, “A draught of this Medoc will defend us from the damps.” Montresor was not trying to defend either one of them, his only purpose was to place Fortunato into a higher state of drunkenness. Montresor causes Fortunato to become so drunk that while he was being chained to the wall by Montresor, “He was too much astounded to resist.” “The Cask of Amontillado” is filled with many ironies and also life lessons; such as know who your real friends are. Fortunato thought his real friend was Montresor when, in reality, Montresor was anything but his friend. Not only did Montresor fake his sincerity towards Fortunato, he was also vengeful and very intelligent in his actions to kill Fortunato.

Irony is perhaps one of the best tools in enhancing a story. In Edgar Allen Poe’s, “The Cask of Amontillado”, the narrator Montresor meets Fortunato, an old friend of his. Montresor has vowed revenge for Fortunato’s many wrongdoings upon him. Throughout the story, there are many examples of irony. Poe uses each type of irony to enhance the plot.

Some of the irony used on this story can be seen when Montresor asks Fortunato about how he's feeling with the nitre and Montresor warns him by saying "we will go back; your health is precious. You are rich, respected, admired, and beloved. You are happy, as once I was. You are a man to be missed. For me it is no matter. We will go back; you will be ill and I cannot be responsible." This phrases show all the irony necessary for a story to be ironic: first, Montresor saying that Fortunato's health is precious; second, when he says that Fortunato is a man to be missed; but after that, saying that to him it doesn't matter if he dies; and finally, saying that he will not be responsible.

Later on, Montresor very clearly manipulates and uses reverse psychology on Fortunato pretending to be worried about Fortunato’s health asking him if he would like to go back, knowing that Fortunato would insist on continuing deeper through the catacombs to inspect the Amontillado. When Fortunato continues to have a coughing spell because of the nitre on the walls of the catacombs, he tells Montresor “the cough is merely nothing; it will not kill me. I shall not die of a cough”(192) the Montresor agrees with him, a clear example of Poe using irony to again foreshadow Fortunato’s nearing fate.. One of the final instances of verbal irony is when Montresor brings out some wine while still traveling deeper into the catacombs to toast to Fortunato’s long life, however what he really means is to toast to Fortunato’s certain and impending

The irony in the names of the characters is actually two distinct personalities and ideologies between the two. The name Fortunato ironically is an old French name meaning “lucky” or a form of fortune. Montresor ironically states that his drive to kill Fortunato “stems from his quarrel with ‘fortune’ itself” (Gargano 314). Fortunato ironically at the end of his and Montresor’s little walk is an ending that isn’t so lucky. When it comes to Montresor’s name, it means two things. The first part montre means “to show” and the other part sor means “fate” (Clendenning 336). Ironically, on their walk, Fortunato never seems to anticipate or realize his fate that is about to happen. So being that his friend’s name literally means “to show fate” Fortunato is never shown his fate until it is too late. With a space in the middle of Montresor’s name such as mon tresor it then translates to “my tesaure” which ironically reflects back upon Fortunato and his name meaning “wealth” or “fortune”. This allows Poe to show similarities between the two conflicting characters being that one character is (fortune) and the other character that is taking the life from the fortunate one is the treasure

Montresor takes Fortunato to the cellar where he plans of killing him; however, Fortunato is sick and begins to cough. When Montresor tells him to go back, he stubbornly replies, “I shall not die from a cough” (35). This again is very ironic because

In the short story “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe, the characteristics of the narrator make him an effective villain from multiple reasons and sources. One of them comprises not defining the outrage that Fortunato committed. In the story, the narrator says: “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could; but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge,” mentioning Fortunato insulting him in some way, but no explanation to the degree of the issue was declared. Villains take action when something harmful is done to them to make them feel enraged. For Montresor, it may have been a tiny mistake that could be easily resolved, but alternatively takes it to the extreme, tricking Fortunato into locking himself into

This is ironic because it plays back to Fortunato poking fun at Montresor and embarrassing him and then Montresor getting revenge by luring Fortunato in with a lie and killing him. I thought that the way Poe used foreshadowing and ironic elements progressed the story because it kept me intrigued as to what would happen

The use of irony throughout the entire confession add to the dramatic effect of the unfortunate events that will unfold. Montresor having double meaning. The French meaning, “My Treasure”. One could think that Montresor’s treasure is getting back at Fortunato, and getting away with it. Another meaning of Montresor is “To show fate” and he is indeed deciding Fortunato’s fate. Fortunato meaning fortune, is extremely ironic as he has a very unfortunate ending. Montresor uses psychology to get his plan off the ground. Reverse psychology is used on his staff to ensure that the palazzo is empty so not a soul will possibly know what he is up to. He tells his servants that no one is to leave the palazzo as he will be gone till the morning and they need to keep an eye on everything, knowing that they will leave to partake in carnival as soon as he leaves. He then, knowing that wine is Fortunato’s weakness, uses it to trick him into descending underground. Montresor finds Fortunato drunk

A type of dramatic irony in the story can be seen in Fortunato’s attire at the carnival. Fortunato was dressed as a jester, though it was actually Montresor who was laughed at and ridiculed. Professor Charles N. Nevi, of the department of English in Medford, Oregon, writes about the irony in Fortunato’s dress when he says, “Fotunato’s dress is ironic, for a jester is not just a man to be laughed at; he is a man who makes others laugh by being aware of the frailties of mankind and then ridiculing them, but Fortunato is aware of very little and who ridicules nothing. It is Montresor who came closer to the role of jester,” (Nevi par.8). Here Professor Nevi suggests that Montresor is the one who is actually ridiculed and should be a better fit in the jester dress. These examples demonstrate Fortunato’s ironic misfortunes that lead to his eventual death.

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.

An example of situational irony Poe uses in the story is simply the name Fortunato. Fortunato is an Italian name, which means good fortune or luck. This is an example of situational irony because his names meaning was the complete opposite of what he actually was. His name meant that he was lucky and fortunate. But, Fortunato was the complete opposite from lucky. First of all, he wasn’t lucky because he became friends with the wrong person. He got tricked and was buried alive at the end. It shows us how if we are friends with the wrong people, we can get into trouble and may suffer greatly because of it. Edgar Allen Poe probably knew

Revenge is a powerful desire, and can cause people to do loathsome things. The thirst for vengeance and it’s effects is portrayed in Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado.” One of the main characters in the tale, Montresor, uses his developed hate for Fortunato to shape the story as a whole. The relationship between Montresor and Fortunato could be related to that of a business setting.

Sometimes friends can get into an argument and some things can hurt them, but not to a point where they want to hurt each other physically. Vengeance can bring justice to someone, but as well bring pain to the other. Revenge is a horrible emotion which can lead someone to do horrible things. Two companions, Montresor and Fortunato, destinies are controlled by one thing only, vengeance and murder. In the story, the narrator seeks revenge on Fortunato because he mortally insulted him. Montresor succeeds in luring Fortunato to his death without raising any suspicion. A horrible revenge made significantly more awful by the way that the retribution is being taken when no genuine offense had been given. In the short tale, “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar A. Poe, the major conflict of revenge is between Montresor and Fortunato, but it is interesting because Montresor is the only one who is aware of the conflict. The author uses the conflict to build suspense and to change the mood of the reader.