Irony Developing Revenge

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Irony Developing Revenge Throughout “The Cask of Amontillado”
Revenge, a feeling that can consume the soul of a person till they no longer know themselves. Edgar Allan Poe is well known for writing poetry and short stories around the genres of mystery, horror, and insanity. “The Cask of Amontillado” is one of his short stories in which he demonstrates a feeling of vengeance. In “The Cask of Amontillado”, revenge is prevalent and is conveyed through irony within the story’s plot.
One of the most important examples of irony shown in the story is Fortunato himself. Fortunato’s name derives from the word fortunate yet this is an example of situational irony because as the plot progresses, Fortunato is indeed unfortunate (John). Montresor has …show more content…

Right after Fortunato yells his last words, Montresor says “Yes for the love of God” which “can be read ironically, in that his motives might be taken to pride” or that it could be read as though he has gone insane (John). When someone says “For the love of God”, they are urgently pleading for something. Whether their emotions are based on anger, or terror, they usually want that feeling to leave their minds. Montresor must have seen reality for a fragment of a second and his conscience must have told him, “What have you done?” He felt immediate regret, but there was no turning back now. What was done, was done. When Fortunato did not reply back, he grew impatient and called out for him twice. Here, it is implied that Montresor must have felt at least the slightest regret for poor Fortunato.
Throughout the plot of “The Cask of Amontillado”, irony takes a huge role in portraying the theme of revenge. Situational irony is represented through different scenes in the story like when Fortunato wore a jokester costume. Verbal irony is shown by Montresor for supposedly being Fortunato’s friend because he says things that show sympathy. Finally, dramatic irony is also in the story since the audience knows Fortunato is doomed, but Fortunato himself does not know that. Irony can help develop the feeling of vengeance and Edgar Allan Poe demonstrates this accurately though this particular short

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