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Irony In Edgar Allan Poe's The Cask Of Amontillado

Decent Essays

A motto is a phrase meant to formally summarize the general motivation or invention of an individual or family. A family motto can lead a person to do extraordinary things. In the Cask of Amontillado, by Edgar Allan Poe, Poe demonstrates how pride lead to death by using verbal irony, metaphors, and allusions. Verbal irony is used throughout the short story to show how pride lead to Fortunato’s death. For example, ‘“My dear Fortunato you are luckily met”’(Poe 374). In the beginning when Montresor and Fortunato met at the carnival,it could be called parasitism because Montresor benefits from the death of Fortunato in the end,it was Fortunato who was harmed in the process. Fortunato’s encounter with Montresor was unlucky therefore, showing irony in not only his murder but also in the relation his name has with the meaning of the word fortunate.Verbal irony is also showed before you read the short story, in the title The Cask of Amontillado. An Amontillado is a rare wine that Montresor used to entice Fortunato,knowing that he would not give up the opportunity to taste it. Fortunato’s pride and curiosity resulted in him being buried alive. The cask is where Fortunato's body is buried and the word cask could mean similar to the word ‘casket’.Poe broadened his use of literary techniques and used metaphors to convey the events that occurred between Montresor and Fortunato. The Cask of Amontillado used metaphors to take the literature to a very detailed and vivid profundity.It compelled readers to examine the short story in different extents to fathom what occurred and why it did. Fortunato was deluded and overtaken with pride, and he discarded all mechanisms that would sense danger.The quote “We came at length to the foot of the descent and stood together on the damp ground of the catacombs of the Montresor's”(Poe 375) is related to the trip they took to the catacombs,and can be seen as a metaphor.Some could agree that Montresor taking Fortunato underground to the catacombs could be seen as a trip to tophet because Montresor took Fortunato underground to the realm of the dead,where he was burned and also pronounced dead.Another metaphor that could enlighten readers of this great work of literature would be the

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