When comparing the two texts "A Poison Tree" by William Blake and "The Cask of Amontillado" by Edgar Allan Poe, several noticeable similarities can be found. The most obvious connection between the poem and the story is the theme of revenge, although that is not the only reason these writings correspond with one another. Murder is commited in the poem and the story by both the speaker in "A Poison Tree" and Montresor, the protagonist of "The Cask of Amontillado". Lastly, both characters use some form of deceit in order to get revenge on their foes (death). Deceit, murder, and revenge are three ways that the two pieces of text are similar.
To start, revenge is the common topic among "A Poison Tree" and "The Cask of Amontillado". In "A Poison Tree", the speaker discusses his growing hatred towards the foe in the first three stanzas, but revenge does not occur until
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the fourth stanza where they state "And into my garden stole, When the night had veild the pole; In the morning glad I see; My foe outstretched beneath the tree." This describes the foe entering the "garden" and stealing the apple on the tree, but the speaker is joyful that they have passed, thus proving that the narrator did, in fact, desire revenge and achieved it. Montresor in "The Cask of Amontillado" blatantly says at the beginning of the story: "It is equally undressed when the avenger fails to make himself felt as such to him who has done the wrong." Montresor is referring to Fortunato supposedly ruining his life and how he plans to make him feel the same way, by killing him. The texts both have themes involving revenge as well as endings that result in an enemy being murdered. The foe described in "A Poison Tree" and Fortunato in "The Cask of Amontillado" are antagonists, and the two die by the hands of their enemies. Fortunato's death occurs due to Montresor chaining him to a wall, deep inside of his family's catacombs. It is said in the story: "I thrust a torch through the remaining aperture and let it fall within. There came forth in return only a jingling of the bells." The lack of a response from the imprisoned Fortunato indicates that Montresor's actions caused him to perish. Similarly, in "A Poison Tree", the final line describes the speaker being glad seeing his deceased foe beneath the tree. "In the morning glad I see; My foe outstretched beneath the tree." Fortunato as well as the foe passed because of those that despised them, showing the connection between the poem and the short story. Montresor and the speaker of the poem, in order to take the lives of Fortunato and the foe, had to use deceit in one way or another. Trickery was necessary for Montresor and the person speaking in "A Poison Tree" to murder the antagonists of their respective texts.
In "The Cask of Amontillado", Montresor says "My dear Fortunato, you are luckily met. How remarkably well you are looking to-day. But I have received a pipe of what passes for Amontillado, and I have my doubts." He then goes on to mention another wine connoisseur and tells Fortunato not to bother. Montresor used reverse psychology to cause Fortunato to want to examine the nonexistent Amontillado. Montresor lying about the wine is the only reason Fortunato followed him to the catacombs. Going back to "A Poison Tree", the speaker describes his revenge as an apple in the following lines: "And it grew both day and night, Till it bore an apple bright. And my foe beheld it shine, And he knew that it was mine." The foe goes on to steal the "apple", which happens to be poisonous, killing him. The speaker deceived his enemy by disguising his wrath as something nice and sweet, like an apple. The apple was then stolen and the speaker's foe fell victim to the fatal plot for
revenge. "A Poison Tree" by William Blake and "The Cask of Amontillado" by Edgar Allan Poe have very similar plots, both relating to revenge and murder. While revenge is the easiest to notice, murder and deceit also play a large role in how the poem and story are similar. Both enemies are killed at the end of the texts after being tricked by the protagonists. Murder, deceit, and revenge are the three major ways the two texts are similar.
In the short story of “ The Cask of Amontillado” written by Edgar Allen Poe and the poem” A Poison Tree” by William Blake a theme about revenge is used for both the story and the poem. The theme that is used is when anger is nurtured it can turn into a poisonous revenge. To develop the themes of revenge, both writings both the authors used dramatic irony and sensory details.
Evil exists naturally in the world, and there are many acts that are considered evil. As a result, evil is often a theme in literature. “The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark” by William Shakespeare, and “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe each rely heavily on evil to portray a message. Out of all of the evil acts that exist, exacting revenge is the evilest act that a person can make, for a person’s rash decision to exact revenge will ruin their sense of morality. The characters of Hamlet and Laertes in “Hamlet” each commit terrible acts of revenge, as does Montresor in “The Cask of Amontillado.”
In the Cask of Amontillado, our narrator’s situation is one he is quite happy being in. Our narrator is Montresor, an Italian man rich with pride, and you quickly learn through his narration that he is intelligent, conniving, and extremely sinister. Throughout the story, everything Montresor does is motivated by one thing, his own thirst for vengeance. Montresor explains his actions are a result of Fortunato constantly abusing him and finally going too far, but he never explains anything Fortunato has done to insult him. When we meet Fortunato, he is extremely friendly towards Montresor, albeit a little intoxicated, so much that he makes Montresor’s story of “a thousand injuries” seem unbelievable (Cask 1). Compared to Gilman’s narrator whose spiral out of control was triggered by her forced seclusion from the outside world, it seems that Montresor’s insanity come from inside his own head. There is no evidence that suggest any attempts by Fortunato to belittle or insult Montresor in any way. I believe that Montresor may have been jealous of Fortunato’s success in life, and that is what drove him to vengeance. For example, on their way to the catacombs Fortunato makes a hand gesture of the Masons, a secret brotherhood, which Montresor doesn’t understand. Fortunato ask if Montresor is a Mason and for him to prove it, and Montresor lies and shows his trowel (Cask 5). This proves that
In “The Cask of Amontillado”, Montresor made up in his mind that he would carry out his act of revenge on Fortunato. Whatever offense Fortunato committed against Montresor drove him to the brink. The hatred inside was somewhat poetic. Montresor schemed to every detail how to carry out his revenge. The setting of the story is a dark, gloomy night at a celebration during carnival season. Montresor would be detailed in describing the monetary status of his enemy, his wardrobe or costume he wore to the celebration. He would set the mood as cheerful. Despite the ill feelings he has towards the now drunken Fortunato, Montresor pretends to care for his company to lure him towards his cunning plan. He strokes Fortunato’s ego and his love for wine to draw him towards the cellar. The dark, damp halls, the claustrophobia, and the human skeletons lying about the earth were all a foreshadowing of Motresor’s plan for the drunken Fortunato. It enhanced suspense to the story, building up to the climax which would be Fortunato entering into his grave. As they further enter the hal...
He uses the precise and cunning tactics to seek revenge against his acquaintance, Fortunato, but wishes to do so in a clever way that he will not get caught. He tells Fortunato that he has obtained a wine that could be Amontillado, but he does not invite Fortunato into his home. He knows Fortunato would never pass up an opportunity to test his intelligence knowledge of wine. By that way, Montresor can complete his plan without putting himself responsible.
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
In the short story "The Cask of Amontillado" a man that could possibly be insane seeks revenge on another man after being insulted. Montresor, being the one that was insulted conjures up a plan to get vengeance on Fortunato the man that insulted him so terribly. Montresor runs into Fortunato at a carnival purposely, he then mentions a unique rare wine named Amontillado. This rare wine attracts Fortunatos attention immediately and he becomes interested in this wines authenticity. Montresor teases Fortunato by mentioning Luchresi,implying that he didn't think of Fortunato first and was going to see Luchresi about the Amontillado. Fortunato insists that that he must try this wine and while doing so insults Luchresis' skills in wine judging. Montresor then invites Fortunato to try the wine in his "vaults" where the wine is kep...
Hoping to obtain revenge, Montresor, the narrator, lures Fortunato, one of his friends, into the depths of his catacombs to be murdered. Montresor says, "The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as best I could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge"(149). This is the first line in the story, and this is why Montresor seeks revenge. There is no explanation of the insults that Montresor received, so the reader may infer that Montresor is just lying. The insults that were received could possibly be just outdoing in the business arena. Montresor might be using that excuse for his desire to kill Fortunato, because he may be killing Fortunato out of jealousy. Montresor is likely telling this story to a family member, friend, or his doctor while lying on his deathbed. Montresor says, "…your health is precious. You are rich, respected, admired, beloved; you are happy, as once I was. You are a man to be missed. For me it is no matter."(150). Montresor just admitted that he knows Fortunato is better than he. Montresor may have been under the influence of jealousy. Redd 4 There are different theories to ...
Montresor in "The Cask of Amontillado" is similar to the narrator in "The Tell-Tale Heart" in that his obsession with consuming the soul of Fortunato influences his every action. However, it is with Fortunato himself that he is obsessed. He feeds off of Fortunato's pain, unlike the narrator in "The Tell-Tale Heart" who's obsession is with destroying a menacing inanimate object. Montresor's entire conspiracy is focused around making Fortunato suffer, and for him to know just who is causing this suffering. This is why he goes to such lengths to put together this intricate strategy. It could have been so much easier to kill Fortunato in some easier, quicker way. Instead, he dedicates himself to torturing Fortunato. He creates a plan that leads Fortunato into the depths of the catacombs beneath his home, and kills him in an excruciating manner.
In the short story “The Cask of Amontillado” Montresor who has been so humiliated by Fortunato that the only way Montresor can be satisfied is with revenge. So Montresor decides that Fortunato is going to get the worst punishment ever. Therefore the night of the Carnival Montresor invites Fortunato to this palazzo. He tells him that he needs help with an Amontillado (sherry wine) because he has doubts about it. Montresor decides to tease Fortunato because he knows Fortunato has too much pride and he tells him “ I am in my way to Luchresi. If anyone has a critical turn it is he. He will tell me.” (Poe 20) There was
Unlike “The Tell Tale Heart” were the narrator loved the old man just hated his eye, the narrator of “The Cask of Amontillado” hated Fortunato but did things that make it look like he loved him. Montresor approaches Fortunato with claiming to have acquired something that could pass for Amontillado. Here Montresor may seem like he is being nice but he really just using Fortunato’s love for wine against him. As they went through the catacombs Montresor gave Fortunato enough wine so that he would be drunk and would be oblivious of what was happening as they went deeper and deeper into the catacombs. Fortunato never expected this to be the plan but just as a simple act of kindness from Montresor. As mentioned in the introduction of this paper the narrator of this story wanted revenge. Why does the Montresor want revenge? Well it is mention in the story on page three “THE thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could; but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge” but never gives us a full reason just that Fortunato insulted the Montresor in some
The villainous protagonists from Poe's stories, "The Tell Tale Heart" and "The Cask of Amontillado", are quite similar in their murderous ways. Both killers are deceptively devious in the manner they go about achieving a certain amount of trust between themselves and their ill-fated victims. The two men had shown an eerie likeness in their homicidal cunningness; however, their display of behavior varied as well. Their thought process varied. And their motivations differed. The outcome of each would also take them to completely altered fates.
The Cask of Amontillado is an eloquent story narrated from the murderer’s point of view. Montressor seeks revenge against Fortunato for numerous insults the reader can only imagine. In order to determine the severity of the apparent injustices, Fortunato himself must be understood. Montressor describes him as being “rich, respected, admired, [and] beloved,” as well as “a man to be … feared” (Poe 274-276). Fortunato was a flawed individual, however. His greatest imperfection was his love for wine. Fortunato’s “connoisseurship” (274) of wine resulted in his intoxicated state throughout the short story. His physical and mental capacities were impaired by his drunkenness, and as a result, he was unable to resist Montressor’s lure into the catacombs.
Hatred and revenge can come upon all of us but in “The cask of amontillado” by: Edgar allen poe and “the poison tree”by: william blake hate rages a little too far. In “The cask of amontillado” a insult goes too deep making revenge over rule the human mind. In “the poison tree” a feud with an enemy intensifies more making hatred and revenge boil up inside and one bite of an apple kills the feud. Both the poem and the short story are about hatred and revenge with an enemy.
Montressor used the amontillado to get Fortunado to go to the catacomb. He uses the amontillado because he knows that Fortunado is a wine conessoir and he will not resist the urge to try the wine that he has not tasted before. Amontillado symbolizes pleasure, and Fortunato is willing to travel through a graveyard to get what he wants. The wine betrays him and the Amontillado signals his death. This is the most important lessons that can be learned by reading this story because Fortunado was lured into the catacomb because of his addiction to wine. If he was