Examples Of Irony In The Cask Of Amontillado

Irony is a literary device in which the actual meaning is the opposite from the implied meaning. Irony is used in all types of literature because of its extreme importance to a story. Irony deepens the meaning of literature and impacts our understanding of it. Irony plays a pivotal role in “The Cask of Amontillado” because it captures the attention of the readers and helps create an exciting plot that generates curiosity. Poe uses irony to help make us feel like we are part of the story because we know more than the characters. An example of irony used immediately in the story is the name Fortunato. Fortunato means fortunate, but as we know Fortunato is not very fortunate at the end of the story. Poe uses three types of irony throughout his

story. These are verbal, dramatic, and situational irony.
Dramatic irony, which is when the audience knows something that the characters do not, is used in “The Cask of Amontillado” to create curiosity and anticipation. Throughout the story we know that Fortunato is not going into the catacombs for wine, but to be killed. To help foreshadow Fortunato’s death, Montresor states the family motto “Nemo me impune lacessit,” and Fortunato replies “Good.”(Poe 232) This family motto means “no one harms me with impunity” and it represents that fact that Fortunato harmed Montresor and is not going to get away with it. This is an example of dramatic irony because Fortunato does not know Montresor is implying that since he harmed him he will need to be punished. Another way Poe uses dramatic irony is when Fortunato says, “The cough is a mere

nothing; it will not kill me. I shall not die of a cough. ” and Montresor replies “True, True.”(Poe 232). What Fortunato means is he will not let this cough kill him, he will not let himself die from a cough. This is dramatic irony because we all know that Fortunato is not going to die of a cough because he is going to be murdered, but Fortunato does not know that. This draws our attention to the story and makes us wonder what is going to happen next. Dramatic irony contributes to Poe’s writing because knowing information that the characters are not aware of leaves us on the edges of seat waiting for them to figure it out. When dramatic irony is used, especially with verbal and situational irony, the story becomes more suspenseful and dramatic which makes it overall more interesting.

Verbal irony is when a character says something but means the opposite.

In “The Cask of Amontillado” Fortunato gets lead to his death because of Montresor’s verbal irony and reverse psychology. Montresor tells Fortunato “Come, we will go back; your health is precious.” (Poe 235) Montresor knows by implying Fortunato can not handle the catacombs and insisting they go back, Fortunato will want to stay. This contributes to the thrilling plot because it draws Fortunato deeper into the catacombs and closer to his death. In the beginning of the story Montresor says, “My dear Fortunato, you are luckily met”(Poe 234) trying to make Fortunato feel comfortable and trust him. This is verbal irony because Fortunato is not luckily met by Montresor for the reasons he believes, Fortunato is “luckily met” by Montresor because Montresor has devised a plan to murder him. This begins the dark journey to Fortunato’s death, and begins the exciting story. Verbal irony is the most used form of irony in the story and can be found included into the other types or irony such as

situational.
Situational irony, which is when the expected results are different from the actual results, is another form of irony used in “The Cask of Amontillado” to help establish a dramatic and depressing mood.

The setting of the story is greatly influenced by situational irony because Montresor made sure there was no one around to watch him commit murder. He said, “There were no attendants at home; they had absconded to make merry in honor of the time. I had told them that I should not return until the morning and had given them explicit orders not to stir from the house.”(Poe 235) We would expect there to be servants around and for Montresor not to go home until the next day, but none of this happens. Instead Montresor returns to a house full of no servants, just like he wanted. This was the ideal setting to commit a crime. Besides using situational irony Montresor also uses reverse psychology to draw his servants away from the house. If not for this use of irony we would not of had a setting that made the story fascinating and created a dark, evil mood. This dark and evil mood created the perfect environment for Fortunato to be killed in. After committing the murder Montresor says, “My heart grew sick” (Poe 237 ) meaning that he doesn’t feel well. However, this is not because he just committed murder and now feels guilty, it’s because of the damp, cold, and moldy atmosphere of the catacombs. These unexpected outcomes are what makes “The Cask of Amontillado” a creative story full

of plot twist that engages the reader. Situational irony, although the least used irony in the story, plays a vital role in the story just like verbal and dramatic irony.
Irony in the three forms of verbal, dramatic, and situational, have a crucial importance in Poe’s story “The Cask of Amontillado.” These three different types of irony work together to create an exhilarating plot, that draws our attention to the characters, setting, and mood. Without the ideal setting in “The Cask of Amontillado” we wouldn’t have been as engaged in the story. Irony also makes the mood darker and creates tension.