Edgar Allan Poe Dark Romanticism

Dark Romanticism, like Romanticism, was born in England and Germany in the early of the nineteenth century. The main authors creating the movement were Lord Byron, Mary Shelley, Edgar Allan Poe, and Charles Baudelaire. Dark Romanticism is mostly in style. It may represent a certain fascination with the dark side of all of us. This is why it takes the main themes of Romanticism but in a more dizzying, dramatic, mysterious, epic, exhilarating, and terrifying way. However, Dark Romanticism also has its own themes such as Evil, myths and legends, mysteries or even dark and destructive passions such as fatal love, jealousy, and revenge. Edgar Allan Poe, through his work The Cask Amontillado, plunged readers into the depths of the human soul while fully respecting the rules of this literary movement.

The topic of the story is a murder, by immurement, which is presented from the point of view of the criminal, this process is particularly used in American dark novels. The mystery lies in the motive of the murder because Montresor, the narrator, never explains the reasons for his act, except vague references to insults which his victim, Fortunato, would have watered several times. Because of these unclear reasons, several analysts of the work have concluded that Montresor must be crazy, despite the complex plan he used. Another explanation is that Montresor, who comes from a family that was once very respected but whose status has declined, would have liked to punish Fortunato for his good fortune, indicated by his name, and to have surpassed him socially despite his lack of refinement, which shows a form of sickly