Described as “melancholic”, Edgar Allan Poe, well-known for his short stories and poetry, is primarily recognized as a writer of “horror” stories such as “The Cask of Amontillado.” Poe’s main character in this story, Montresor, has dedicated several years of his life to plotting his vengeance against Fortunato; a man Montresor feels insulted him. Readers, however, are never made aware of what exactly has transpired between the two men to cause such hatred. Edgar Allan Poe, in “The Cask of Amontillado,” uses verbal irony to establish a suspenseful theme of revenge, carried out by an unreliable narrator.
Poe uses verbal irony at the beginning of the story to add suspense by signaling readers his protagonist, Montresor, is unreliable. Montresor,
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The reader, however, is privy to the fact this meeting did not happen by luck, it is the initial phase of Montresor’s plan to lure Fortunato to his vaults where he plans to exact revenge for the …show more content…
After Montresor successfully leads Fortunato deep within the vaults, he shows him an alcove where he claims the cask of Amontillado is stored. The room is very dark and filled with piles of human skeletons. Fortunato moves closer to the alcove and attempts to see the cask in the darkened area. Montresor seizes this opportunity and strikes him in the head with a rock. He then chains Fortunato to the wall, ensuring he cannot escape. Stunned, Fortunato does not understand the actions of his friend. Fortunato is further confused as he watches Montresor as he begins to move a pile of bones, revealing hidden building materials; items obviously placed there prior to their arrival. Montresor then begins to use the materials to build a brick wall that will seal Fortunato, alive, within the tomb. Fortunato, in his drunken state, initially thinks Montresor is joking, however, as Montresor continues building the wall it becomes obvious to Fortunato this is not a joke. Fortunato pleads with Montresor to release him; they can return to the party and pretend this never happened. Montresor has no intention of stopping and continues building the wall; taunting Fortunato as he works. With the wall completed, and Fortunato sealed within, Montresor leaves the vault and says, “In pace requiescat!” (Poe 194), a Latin phrase meaning “May he rest in peace” (Poe 184). Readers
Montressor had said “In pace requiescat!”, but rest in peace Fortunato did not. As Fortunato took his last breath he heard Montressor yell his name and then leave. A strange sensation then came over Fortunato and he could sense the energy flowing out of him, a rising feeling held him above the ground as he became a restless spirit. He thought to himself “Why am I not allowed to go? What must be keeping me here?”, and then recalled that it was Montressor that had done this to him, Montressor that had led him into the vaults and then sealed him up to die of pneumonia. Revenge, that was what had drove Montressor to murder, and what was keeping Fortunato in the mortal world. Fortunato realized that he must find Montressor, and exact his revenge before he would be able to pass over. And down there, in the deepest, darkest vault, he planned his revenge.
One catches a glimpse of Montresor’s lost happiness from his obscure past, moreover his distressed self-esteem, in this statement. His façade begins to slip. The strain starts to show. At last Montresor leads Fortunato to the remote niche and secures him to the wall. Surprised Fortunato does not immediately respond.
...or mocks him harshly about leaving him there and waits around the newly built tomb to be witness to his victim's dying words. Afterword he recants this entire story in narration on his death bed while mentioning that the wall he has entombed Fotunado isn't been bothered in 50 years. “THE thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge...For the half of a century no mortal has disturbed them.”(Poe)
He did not show even by words that he is going to kill. Also, he did not let Fortunato to know that he intended any grudge against him “..neither by word nor deed had I given Fortunato cause to doubt my good will... He did not perceive that my smile now was at the thought of his immolation (8-10).” One night while Fortunato was drunk, Montresor told him that he bought a barrel of wine called Amontillado “But I have received a pipe of what passes for Amontillado, and I have my doubts (25).” He understood that Fortunato “prided himself on his connoisseurship in wine (12).” He attracted him to going to his house to check the drink by saying that he might invite Luchresi to do it, a seeming rival of Fortunato 's, instead “As you are engaged, I am on my way to Luchresi. If any one has a critical turn it is he. He will tell me (37-38).” When they left, Montresor put on a mask and quickly took the way to his property. He was sure nobody could see them together on Fortunato 's last night. Moreover, Montresor completely knew Fortunato and used the knowledge versus him. He planned his deed carefully and carried it out slowly. It seems that Montresor anticipated his revenge with joy. While they traveled down the cavern, Montresor gives Fortunato many opportunities to leave. Fortunato looks weak against the niter, which is growing on the walls, and repeatedly coughs. Montresor commented on Fortunato 's health and asked
“The Cask of Amontillado” is a dark piece, much like other works of Edgar Allan Poe, and features the classic unreliable narrator, identified by himself only as Montresor. This sinister central character is a cold ruthless killer that is particularly fearsome because he views murder as a necessity and kills without remorse. Montresor is a character who personifies wickedness. Poe uses this character and his morally wrong thoughts and actions to help the reader identify with aspects of the extreme personage, allowing them to examine the less savory aspects of their own. The character of Montresor detailing the glorious murder he committed is a means of communicating to the reader that vengeance and pride are moral motivators that lead to treacherous deeds and dark thoughts.
One of the most horrifying lines in the story is given by Montresor after Fortunato says, “I will not die of a cough” (Baym ). Montresor says, “True— true..” (Baym ). It seems that Montresor's murder plot became subconsciously manifest in those two words. Dramatic irony is irony that is inherent in speeches or a situation of a drama and is understood by the audience but not grasped by the characters in the story (“dramatic-irony”) and Poe uses this effectively in this story.
In Edgar Allan Poe’s, “The Cask of Amontillado,” the main character and narrator, Montresor begins the story by expressing how he has put up with many insults from a man named Fortunato and that he has had enough and vows revenge against him. Montresor lures Fortunato into the catacombs to taste the Amontillado so as to kill him secretly. Montresor portrays in the beginning of the story that he is going to be lying to Fortunato’s face, acting one way while really thinking another. This fact indicates that Montresor is an unreliable narrator for telling the story because he lies to people he knows, gives hints that he is jealous of Fortunato, does not offer an explanation for wanting to murder Fortunato and his tone of narrating the story.
Poe does a stupendous job when incorporating both dramatic and verbal irony, giving the "ahh" to his readers. One of the more prominent examples of dramatic irony occurs when Montressor approaches the intoxicated Fortunato. In hopes of revenge, Montresor is quite excited to find his friend in such a state. Furthermore, adding to the dramatic effect, Poe names the intoxicated character Fortunato, which means, the fortunate. The irony becomes recognizable when Fortunato's dreadful fate is determined. Fortunato was led to a blind death by someone who he feels is a "friend," but in actuality, a past friend who is seeking revenge, that was pretty unfortunate. Poe's use of verbal irony is apparent when Montresor suggests Fortunato to go home because he is ill. Fortunato’s response was “I shall not die of a cough.” And Montresor’s replies, "True –true.” This is ironic because Montresor knew that the intoxicated Fortunato is not aware of his surroundings and he knows that the journey to his death will continue no matter what. Montresor gave Fortunato countless times of being free, but due to his intoxication, he does not realize the chances to live Montresor has thrown at
In this short story a man named Montresor takes revenge on his enemy Fortunato for insulting him. He uses Fortunato’s soft spot for alcohol to manipulate Fortunato into trusting him. Montresor leads Fortunato into the deep catacombs of his home, getting him more and more drunk the deeper they travel. Once the two men reach a chamber in the home of Montresor’s home, Montresor ties Fortunato to a wall and buries him alive. “ The thousand injuries of Fortunato [Montresor] had borne” were no match for the hate he had for Fortunato (The cask of Amontillado, 1). Edgar Allan Poe uses Irony as a literary device to show the theme of revenge. The irony of forgiveness and compassion shown by Montresor not only gives him more character, but emphasize how true the hatred is toward
Edgar Allan Poe is one of greatest American authors and poets. He is well-known as a master of using irony in his story. “The Cask of Amontillado” is a horror story about revenge of Montresor upon Fortunato. Fortunato believes Montresor is his good friend, but he ends up with being chained and walled in to the catacombs. There are three types of irony used in this short story: verbal irony, dramatic irony, and situational irony. Using these ironies, Poe wants the readers to understand about Montresor’s “friendship” with Fortunato.
Carefully, cautiously the Montresor plotted precisely how he would exact revenge upon Fortunato. Much time and great energy was devoted to this plan, selecting a time that would be best: during carnival when the town would be celebratory, his servants apt to run off and join the celebration, when the two could silently disappear without notice or question. No detail is forgotten; he allows for no deterrents. He follows through with such a confidence that never does he stumble or hesitate in carrying out his plan. The Montresor indicates that he had never given. To continue with this ploy, he even goes so far as to express false concern for Fortunato as they pass through the catacombs. Blaming the nitre and damp, the Montresor suggests that they turn back as not to compromise Fortunato’s ill health, though he has no intent of doing so. Never once until the very end did Fortunato have cause to suspect that there were any foul plans afoot.
When they arrive at the Montresor estate, Montresor leads Fortunato down the stairs into the catacombs. Down here is where the Amontillado Fortunato is going to taste and where the revenge of Montresor is going to take place. As he get closer and closer, the narrator opens up more and more to how he is going to kill his "friend". It sound like it is a premeditated murder. Montresor seems so inconspicuous that he acts like he cares about Fortunato which is still a part of his plan.
Despite being urged against it several times; he ventures on willingly to his tomb. The warnings also serve another purpose; Montresor offers his prey a way out in exchange for Fortunato’s pride to be injured. Accepting the invitation of heading back would mean weakness, but possibly would have saved Fortunato’s life for losing his pride.
The first indirect factor that could contribute to Montresor’s vengeful act, and thus the story’s theme of revenge, is the character of Montresor. Montresor tends to harbor feelings of resentment and has a hard time not taking things out of context (Womack). He also plans the murder of Fortunato in advance and devises it in such a way that he will not be caught. In killing Fortunato, Montreso...
Even though Montesor has his traits of anger, hatred, and revenge on Fortunato from firmly believing in his family motto and arms, he shows signs of feeling guilty for wanting to kill Fortunato. He attempts to keep Fortunato from following him into the catacombs even though Fortunato still refuses, not know what was going to happen to him. However, at the very end of the story, Montesor seems to have lost all feelings of guiltiness when he says, “For half a century no mortal has disturbed [Fortunato’s grave]. In pace requiescat!” (Poe). ‘In pace requiescat, to me, means, “Rest in peace!” He finally done the deed and feels prideful.