Montresor's Unsuccessful Revenge: Subtle Irony in "Cask of Amontillado" by Edgar Allan Poe

It is often said that irony is the vital literary element to a story because it gives the story character. Whether it changes the mood, creates suspense, adds foreshadowing, engages the reader or something else, irony can do many things for a story.

In Edgar Allan Poe’s, “The Cask of Amontillado” begins by telling us that Montresor feels as Fortunato has hurt him. Fortunato has greatly insulted him, “the thousands of insults of Fortunato I had borne as best I could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge.” (Poe 165) Although, the lack of evidence throughout the story, we readers never know what the insult ever was. Montresor must get revenge. As Montresor is conducting hits revenge on Fortunato, it is the week of Carnival in Italy and people were dressed up in all sort of costumes. Fortunato was dressed in a jester’s outfit that later provides irony in the short story because he is a fool to go down into the catacombs and face his death. Montresor is engulfed with secret murder and revenge that he makes a grave pit in the wall for Fortunato because as the family motto of Montresor, “No one provokes me with impunity” (167). The coat of arms of Montresor was “A huge human foot of gold, in a field azure; the foot crushes a serpent rampant whose fangs are embedded in the hell” (167) which the foot represents Montresor and the snake would be Fortunato. Although Fortunato has hurt Montresor with his quick venomous insults, Montresor will ultimately crush him and arise the true victor.

Have you ever gotten so mad that you wanted to kill the person that mad you so angry? In Edgar Allan Poe's "Cask of Amontillado" Montressor, one of two main characters, did not feel satisfied after exacting his revenge because he did not find that finishing killing Fortunato, the other main character, was not as rewarding as to just keep torturing him. During the beginning when Montressor first took Fortunato into the catacombs Montressor loved tricking so he could lure Fortunato in the catacombs. When Montressor was torturing Fortunato he thought it was fun because Montressor was in total control of what happens to Fortunato. At the end when Fortunato is about to be left to die Montressor got a sick feeling because it brought back memories

Edgar Allen Poe is an American short story writer,poet and literary critic.His famous short stories are based on not only horrific events,but also on psychological distortations as in "The Cask of Amontillado".In his literary critic on short story writing style,he says a short story should turn around a central event and all the other things must have use for that main point.In this short story,his main point is the result of obsession of revenge with impunity and all the other actions serve for the protagonist's punishment against provoking.Poe uses the elements of symbolism generously and for this purpose,he benefits from mythology.He uses Dionysos,the god of wine,to define Montresor's inner self.He uses the feast for Dionysos,the time

Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado” is a detailed story of having too much wealth and power can go to one’s head and make them feel as if they can take anyone’s life away if insulted. During the time period that Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado” takes place in, has family as well as personal pride important above all else, so important that Montresor when disrespected lead him to commit a vengeful murder of his dear friend Fortunato.

Once Montresor has Fortunato in his home, he begins to express his dark and deceiving humor. I believe this is a necessity and one of the rules that Montresor must follow in order to feel full retribution. Montresor shows us this ironic behavior when he hands Fortunato a bottle of De Grâve to drink. Another humorous point of the story is

During the carnival season in Italy, Montresor planned murder to occur in an underground catacomb. In his short story, “The Cask of Amontillado,” Edgar Allan Poe describes Montresor’s scheme in which he takes drunk Fortunato’s life. Montresor’s perfect crime, created to take revenge on Fortunato, builds suspense, changes the mood of the reader, and develops an essential theme.

Edgar Allan Poe is one of the most celebrated literary authors of all time, known for writing very suspenseful, dramatic short stories and a poet; is considered as being a part of the American Romantic Movement, and a lesser known opinion is he is regarded as the inventor of the detective-fiction genre. Most recognized for his mystery and macabre, a journey into the dark, ghastly stories of death, deception and revenge is what makes up his reputation. The short story under analysis is a part of his latter works; “The Cask of Amontillado”, a story of revenge takes readers into the mind of the murderer.

In The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allen Poe, the dark side of human nature is exemplified through the character of Montresor and his victim, Fortunato. Montresor is a manipulative and vengeful person. These characteristics lead to the death of Fortunato, a man who has wronged him. Through the acts, words, and the thoughts of the character, one is able to see him carry out his plan for revenge.

When looked at for the first time, Montresor in Edgar Allan Poe’s The Cask of Amontillado may seem disturbing. Montresor has plans to murder a man, Fortunato, for insulting him and plans on doing so by walling him up in the catacombs under his home. Montresor devises a clever plan that will leave Fortunato clueless as to his intensions. Upon a closer look, this character is admirable. Montresor carries out his plan successfully without being caught. He does this by using traits that are commendable at the very least. Montresor is Poe’s most admirable character because he is patient, extremely confident, and very calculated.

Throughout analysis of Edger Alan Poe’s short story “The Cask of Amontillado” the readers are able to infer the intentions of the characters through Poe's use of irony. The character Montresor has been insulted by another character, Fortunato. As a result of Fortunato’s insult, Montresor vows to seek revenge on Fortunato by punishing him with impunity during the carnival season. To carry out his plot of revenge, Montresor creates a plan to sneakily rope Fortunato into examining a pipe of Amontillado because Montresor knows Fortunato prides himself on being a wine connoisseur. The Amontillado is supposedly located deep in Montresor's family vault which is where Montresor plans to bury Fortunato alive. Poe implements various examples of verbal irony throughout his story in order for the readers to see Montresor’s devious plan be carried out in a unique way.

In Edger Allen Poe’s The Cask of Amontillado the narrator, Montresor, seeks revenge against his friend Fortunato who he claims had cause him many injuries. The story takes place during carnival time and many are celebrating even Fortunato who was dressed as a clown and wore a colorful hat with bells. Fortunato had been drinking which made him even less aware of any sort of plot against him. Montresor lures him into his wine vaults and easily chains him to a wall deep inside a small crypt. Fortunato is too drunk to even comprehend what is happening or even resist. Finally Montresor builds a stone wall confining Fortunato inside to die. In the story we can distinguish many notable characteristics of Montresor. He may be perceived as heatless

“The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe is a story full of irony. Irony is defined as a literary technique in which what appears differs radically from what is actually the case. In addition, irony can be divided into three groups: dramatic, verbal, and situational. Dramatic irony is when the readers notice something before the characters do. Verbal irony is when the characters say something that differs significantly from what they really mean. Situational irony is when the actual result is different from what was initially expected. In “The Cask of Amontillado,” Poe combines all of these ironies to tell the story and to construct the personalities of the characters in an entertaining way.

Edgar Allen Poe is known for the various literary devices he uses in his works. One of the most famous devices he uses is symbolism. In many of his stories, including “The Masque of the Red Death,” “The Fall of the House of Usher,” “The Tell-Tale Heart,” and “The Cask of Amontillado,” Poe uses symbolism to further develop each story by the messages he writes between the lines. Symbolism is an important aspect of Poe’s many works, seeing as how it allows the readers to make connections within the stories. In “The Cask of Amontillado,” Poe represents symbolism through the title of the short story, the outfit Fortunato wears, and the Montresor family motto and coat of arms.

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.