Edgar Allen Poe creates suspense within “The Cask of Amontillado” by foreshadowing events, using irony and withholding information to influence the reader to continue on reading and to recognize the secrets of the story. Foreshadowing is an essential part of suspense that is widely used by Poe to give a brief insight of the outcome of the story to the reader. At the beginning of the story Montresor is presented wearing “a mask of black skill”(5). In contrast, Fortunato perceives to be wearing a “conical cap and bells” (4). The difference between the two characters foreshadows what kind of personality they posses and their true intentions. Considering that the reader is already given evidence that Fortunato will be harmed: “I will not only …show more content…
punish, but punish with impunity” (1). The difference of colors prevail how an evil human is associating with a happy individual that is blinded by his naiveness: “and he did not perceive that my smile now was at the thought of his immolation.” (3).
Fortunato is trusting Montresor and thinks that harm will not come his way. Poe uses Montresor’s line to foreshadow the damage that will soon come to Fortunato. To the reader this is a confirmation that Montresor desire for revenge will come true, which engages the reader to the story. Right before Montresor leads Fortunato to hell: “arrived at a deep crypt, in which the foulness of the air caused our flambeaux rather to glow than flame” (7). Montresor offered Fortunato a wine by the name of “De Grâve” (7). If read in English the wine can be read as “the grave”, which is ironic but at the same time foreshadows the death of Fortunato. The wine’s name clearly represents that fortunato will end up in a grave. Considering that Fortunato “emptied it at a breath” foreshadows that Fortunato is going to fall for Montresor's punishment that is planned with “impunity” …show more content…
(1). This makes the reader really intrigued to find out how Montresor is going to carry on his plan. Edgar Allen Poe uses an immense amount of Irony in the “The Cask of Amontillado”. The character who is in danger and presumably killed is named Fortunato, whose name originates from late latin for fortunate and happy. Suspense is used by Poe when situational irony is used. Fortunato should be a lucky man, but in the story he is the opposite. Verbal irony or sarcasm is applied multiple times by the author. Montresor is a very sarcastic character, he uses words such as, “friend, beloved, respected, rich, [and] admired” to a describe the man he hates most. Suspense starts to impact the reader through this verbal irony. The reader does not quite understand why Montresor is referring to Fortunato in such nice manners, which indulges the reader to continue on reading. Montresor goes out of his way and even asks Fortunato to be careful down the staircase: “I passed down a long and winding staircase, requesting him to be cautious as he followed.”(5). With this use of irony and suspense, the reader does not have a choice but to continue reading to discover what awaits Fortunato. Dramatic irony is also in place in the story. After Fortunato insults Montresor’s family name, the motto of Montresor’s family is revealed to the reader: “Nemo me impune lacessit” (6). The motto is translated to be “no body injuries me and gets away with it”. Clearly, the reader recognizes that because of the insult Montresor is not going to let Fortunato get away with it. The dramatic irony comes to place when Fortunato says, “Good” (6). Undeniably, Fortunato is not slightly aware of what Montresor meant. This excites the reader since the reader recognizes Fortunato’s fate before Fortunato can himself. This engages the reader to the story, and makes the story more enjoyable. Withholding information is a way to provoke suspense that Edgar Allen Poe uses throughout “The Cask of Amontillado.” At the very beginning of the story, Montresor claims that he wants to avenge himself by punishing Fortunato: “At length I would be avenged…..
I must not only punish, but punish with impunity. (3). Clearly, information is being withheld from the reader. A few being why does Montresor want revenge? What did Fortunato do to Montresor? And why is Montresor writing about this incident after fifty years? All of these are questions that the reader is not given the answer to, which creates suspense. The first line of the short story clarifies that Fortunato harmed Montresor, but nothing more is provided for the reader: “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could; but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge”(3). Edgar Allen Poe’s introduction of the story presents readers with characters that are mysterious and a suspicious. With all of these unanswered questions, the reader can not do anything but to proceed reading the story. As the story progresses, Montresor starts revealing personal information about himself: “You are rich, respected, admired, beloved; you are happy, as once I was” (5-6). Montresor admits that he is depressed and not a man in his prime. Unlike Fortunato, Montresor is struggling and lost all of his pleasant attributes. Montresor's confession makes the reader sympathize with his struggles and try to understand what
horrible act did Fortunato commit. Montresor hints at his struggles when he says, “I did not differ from him materially: I was skillful in the Italian vintage myself,” (3). Montresor clearly stated that he is not different from Fortunato “materially”, meaning that both are not emotionally the same. Not knowing why Montresor is so distressed makes the reader continue on reading for answers. At the end of the story, Montresor manages to have a last talk with Fortunato when suddenly, Fortunato stops talking: “I hearkened in vain for a reply. I grew impatient. I called aloud: Fortunato! No answer. I called again: Fortunato! No answer still.” (10). Fortunato realizes that he is trapped, so Fortunato stops talking. This is disturbing for the reader since no actual answer is provided to why Fortunato accepts his faith so easily. The suspense that Edgar Allen Poe creates in those lines engage the reader to read until the very end hoping that a response from Fortunato can be read. The story ends when Montresor says, “In pace requiescat!” (10). This can be perceived as verbal irony since Montresor hates Fortunato and would not want him “to rest in peace”. It could have been closure to Montresor. It has been fifty years since the incident, meaning that Montresor is certain that Fortunato will never be found. The story clearly represents how proud Montresor is of his brilliant plan, but it also gives closure to Montresor. The reader tends to forget that it has been fifty years since the incident. Though Montresor hates Fortunato, he is now certain that his punishment succeeded and he can finally relax. So, Montresor feels that Fortunato should rest in piece, considering that Montresor got the satisfaction of closure from his death. In conclusion, Edgar Allan Poe uses irony, foreshadowing, and withholds information from the reader to create suspense and to reveal the secrets of the undiscovered punishment.
A main theme presented in “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe is that Montresor shows obsession with the murder of fortunato. This is exemplified by Montresor’s precise planning, carefulness and slowness of speed in the process.
For example, Montresor expresses concern about Fortunato and says, "Come, I said, with this decision, we will go back; your health is precious. Montresor does not want Fortunato to die from anything other than his own plan of slow death by asphyxiation. Symbolism in "The Cask of Amontillado" This story by Poe has numerous examples of symbolism. For example, the manner in which Fortunato is dressed is ironic for a man with societal prominence. Fortunato is a man of stature who is “rich, respected, admired” (Baym).
“The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe is a mystery that offers great suspense and interest. This is because of the irony that Poe creates and the setting that makes a dangerous mood and foreshadows the victim’s death. In the beginning of the story, the narrator meets a man named Fortunato at an Italian carnival with the intentions for murdering him in the foreseeable future. The narrator talks with Fortunato saying, “My dear Fortunato, you are luckily met,” (1). These first words spoken by the narrator show verbal irony because the narrator is not really saying that they met luckily. In fact, as I stated before, the narrator was planning this encounter, with the plan ending with Fortunato’s death. This proves to be suspenseful for the reader because they want to discover Fortunato’s actual fate while wishing they could tell Fortunato of the
When he does Montresor tries to be firm in his conviction of revenge, notwithstanding reacting briefly to Fortunato’s desperation, “I hesitated—I trembled” (Poe). After a
First, the journey that Fortunato and Montresor take is from the light and joy of a carnival through an underground tunnel that becomes darker, colder and more poisonous as they continue walking. Poe describes their descent into a "deep crypt, in which the foulness of the air caused our flambeaux rather to glow than flame," and talks about the nitre in the air around them as they go deeper underground and Fortunato comes closer to death. This slow, dangerous descent helps build suspense as the reader becomes increasingly aware of Fortunato's murderous plan. Similarly, Poe includes many symbols of death that become increasingly more macabre as the story continues. At the beginning of their journey together, Montresor draws a "mask of black silk" around him, as if he were on his way to a funeral.
The perils of vengeance and manipulation were evidently prominent in Edgar Allen Poe’s short story, The Cask of Amontillado. Through a unique application of first person narration, Poe captured the essence of suspense in a figure’s untrustworthy nature. Additionally, he used a strong foundation of character to introduce two critical members of the story who share an interesting relationship. For this particular story, the first person perspective was utilized quite effectively to develop the character Montresor. Depicting him was crucial to introducing Fortunato, the story’s second focus. A certain dramatic irony is noticeable throughout the sequence of events that eventually guides the reader to the story’s significant conclusion.
Vengeance and pride are fundamentally important to this short story. From the inception of the tale it is clear that the narrator is a proud, vindictive man; opening with, “the thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge,” the narrator immediately alerts the reader to the dark aspects of his own character. Because “insult” and not “the thousand injuries” caused the narrator to “vow” revenge, the reader can infer Montresor is prideful because, although he already had conflict with Fortunato, insult was what made the tense situation unbearable for Montresor––so much so that he vowed to take action. Use of the word “vow” is significant because it indicates that the grievance was meaningful in the mind of Montresor, allowing for the reader to more easily identify with the actions to be revealed throughout the course of the story; if the reader believes that Montresor was provoked in a profound way, ...
In Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado,” Montresor sets out on a vengeful mission that will end Fortunato’s life in an untimely fate. Montresor appeals to Fortunato’s love for wine to tempt the unsuspecting fellow to his impending doom. While Montresor tricks the foolish Fortunato frightfully, it is ultimately Fortunato’s pride that leads to his demise in the crypt. Poe uses several literary devices to foreshadow this murderous exploit of Montresor. Through the use of irony, symbolism, and imagery, the story entices readers to delve into the relationships and differences between Montresor and Fortunato.
Because Montresor narrates the story in the first person, the reader is able to perceive his thoughts and understand his motivations and justifications for his ruthless murder in a manner which a third person point of view would not allow. Montresor’s personal narration of the events of the story does not justify his crime in the audience’s eyes, but it does offer a unique opportunity for the audience to view a murder from the perspective of a madman killer. It is Poe’s usage of this unique angle that causes the story to be so captivating and gruesomely fascinating. As the story opens, Montresor explains why it is necessary that he “not only punish but punish with impunity” to avenge for Fortunado’s insult to him. This justification for his crime is a piece of information that the audience is able to learn only because they are permitted inside the mind of the protagonist. In the final scene, when Montresor is carrying out his murder pl...
The Cask of Amontillado is a short tale of revenge, written by Edgar Allan Poe. The two main characters in the story are Montresor, who is the murderer, and Fortunato who plays a wine connoisseur and the victim. In this dark story, we can see a lot of irony, hate and revenge coming from the main character who has been planning this all along. In this essay I will analyze, examples of irony and foreshadowing used by the writer, symbols and themes, among other things. (Hasanbelliu)
Foreshadowing is a literary device scattered throughout the story.Webster’s dictionary defines foreshadowing as a warning or indication of a future event. One can see signs of foreshadowing in the very early stages of the story with a single glance. The title “Cask of Amontillado,” closely resembles the word casket, hinting that the narrator plans to kill a character. This hint already frightens the reader and it gives of a dark tone The word cask and casket derive from the same latin root therefore creating a dark mood. Another instance in which Poe shows foreshadowing, “ I must not only punish, but punish with impunity.”(777) Montresor further stated that he “ vowed revenge.” Montresor created his plan behind the basis of revenge with impunity. This hints early on in the story that Fortunato will somehow be harmed in one way or another. We heard this hint directly from the words of Montresor, the readers know that the narrator is planning a murder. This creates a fear factor for the readers because they can see the fate unravel and they know there is going to be death. The idea of death itself
The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe describes how Montresor confesses the sequence of his well-designed or nearly flawless murder or revenge against Fortunato due to he is a threat to him. In his confession of a perfect crime, Montresor, who “vowed revenge” because of Fortunato’s “thousand injuries,” first say that his “heart grew sick” and then immediately add, “ it was the dampness of the catacombs that made it so because he believes Fortunato insults him many times that his hatred against him become bigger and bigger. This makes him cannot stand for Fortunato’s behavior anymore as well as the setting completely makes everything prefect as he believes Fortunato deserves the punishment. The nature and family hold a significant role
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.
The Cask of Amontillado, the narrator, Montresor, want to seek out revenge after Fortunato because Fortunato irreparably insulted him. Throughout the whole story, Montresor made it his mission to get back at Fortunato. The major theme is vengeance as it can drive a person to go as far as committing murder. The author uses many literary devices to elaborate this theme in the story, such as where the story is taken place, Irony, and Foreshadowing.
The major characteristics of the narrator and main character, Montresor, are anger, hatred, and revenge. In the story, he is angry with Fortunato because he believes that Fortunato has wronged and insulted him many times by saying, “thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as best I could…he ventured upon insult…” (Poe). In addition, Montresor’s hatred for Fortunato goes so far that he believes he must kill Fortunato. He mentions this in the story as, “[y]ou, who so well know the nature of my soul, will not suppose, however, that I gave utterance to a threat” (Poe). He seems to say that his soul is made of hatred and goes on to say he must give Fortunato the utmost punishment: death. Montresor even shows traits of revenge when he says, “…but when [Fortunato] ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge.” and “...I would be avenged…” (Poe). He is saying that he will get revenge on Fortunato, whom he is angry with and hates for being insulted by.