In “The Cask of Amontillado” Edgar Allan Poe uses verbal irony to emphasize the evil intentions of Montresor. Poe uses several instances of irony to demonstrate that Forntunato’s death is imminent and Montresor knows all along. One example of irony being used is when Fortunato says “the cough is a mere nothing; it will not kill me. I shall not die of a cough. ”(119)
In Edgar Allen Poe’s, “Cask of Amontillado”, Poe skillfully uses verbal irony in order to demonstrate the villainous intentions of Montresor. The first example of verbal irony is when Fortunato, the victim, toasts “to the buried that repose” and Montresor, the murderer, “And I to your long life”(page 119). By now the reader is beginning to understand. Montresor's murderous intentions by Poe’s verbally ironic statements about life and death. Another, example of verbal irony is the play of the word “masons”.
Edgar Allen Poe uses irony to tell the reader that the foe of the narrator, Fortunato, is going to die but he doesn’t know it. One example of irony is when Fortunato says, “‘the cough is a mere nothing; it will not kill me. I shall not die of a cough’”(Poe, 36). This is an example of situational irony because Fortunato doesn’t know, but when he said that the cough will not kill him, it might lead him to his death when the catacombs he will be sealed in will make his cough deadly. This use of situational irony conveys the theme because even from one insult from Fortunato drove the narrator to take revenge by killing him and he has a dark perspective of how he is going to end Fortunato’s life by making him suffer.
Poe carries verbal irony throughout the rest of the story, as well; Montresor refers to Fortunato as “my friend” in many instances, however, the reader knows
In the short story by Edgar Allen Poe, there are countless examples of irony to convey Montresor’s unlawful act, while applying an additional layer of irony to sabotage his revenge. An example of situational irony Poe uses in the story is simply the name Fortunato. Fortunato is an Italian name that means good fortune or luck. This is an example of situational irony because his name means the complete opposite of what he actually was.
In the story “The Cask of Amontillado,” by Edgar Allan Poe creates a mood that is dark and suspenseful and is developed by the image of the maze, the uneasiness of following, and the image of burying someone. First, the mood can be supported by a mental image on page four when it says “We passed through a range of low arches, descended, passed on, and descending again, arrived at a deep crypt.” For example, this gives us and dark mood because of the setting we can mentally see, followed by suspense of what is going to happen underground. Next, Poe’s astounding imagery can help us feel the suspenseful mood when he wrote “... as he stepped unsteadily forward, while I followed immediately at his heels,” also on page four. In other words, because
In “The Cask of Amontillado”, Edgar Allan Poe displays the theme of revenge and manipulation. The narrator Montresor pledges revenge on Fortunato for an insult that is never explained. He maintains an appearance of goodwill towards Fortunato and decides to make use of Fortunato's weakness for fine wines against him. During the carnival season, the narrator approaches Fortunato, telling him that he has come across something that could pass for Amontillado a rare and expensive wine. Fortunato being excited about the news insists on accompanying Montresor to the vaults to determine whether it is Amontillado or not.
In Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado,” irony is applied throughout to help foreshadow future and give more of an insight to the readers, all while adding some humor. Irony is divided into three main types: dramatic, situational, and verbal. Poe uses dramatic irony when he has Fortunato dress as a jester, “a tight-fitting parti-striped dress and his was surmounted by the conical cap and bells” (Poe). The get-up makes Fortunato looks foolish and foreshadows his actions of following Montresor into the catacombs to taste some wine. Montresor even compliments the outfit and says “My dear Fortunato, you are luckily met” (Poe), but it was not Fortunato who was in luck, but Montresor who would gain profit of their meeting.
The Ironic Truth Irony is a complex and important element of literature that can help discover hidden perspectives within characters or hide the truth in plain sight. The story by Edgar Allen Poe, “The Cask of Amontillado” is a great example the dark ironic twist that happen in the story. The main character, Montresor, is hell-bent on getting his revenge on the man who shamed him, Fortunato. The verbal and dramatic irony that is being used in the story “The Cask of Amontillado” helps hide the true intentions that Montresor has planned for Fortunato. Verbal irony happens when one character says one thing but actually means something completely different.
Issac Newton said that “I can calculate the motion of heavenly bodies, but not the madness of people. ”(Newton). “The Cask of Amontillado” written by Edgar Allan Poe is a story about hidden intrinsic lunacy of human by applying 3 literary devices to explain its theme: irony, symbolism and foreshadowing. Through the literary devices, the story succeeded to reveal peculiar atmosphere, features of characters and an allusion to Fortunato’s death. To start with the first literary device, “The Cask of Amontillado” used 2 kinds of ironies such as verbal and situational irony to imply Montresor’s murder plan.
Edgar Allan Poe’s short story “The Cask of Amontillado” is the narrative of a man named Montresor who seeks vengeance against a man named Fortunato. Fortunato insults Montresor. Next, Montresor meet Fortunato at a carnival, eventually luring him into the catacombs of his home to bury Fortunato alive. Moreover, different types of irony are portrayed in this short story. Dramatic irony consists of the character in the story knowing less about his or her situation than the reader.
Furthermore, Poe uses Montresor’s smile as a symbol that reveals that Montresor is malevolent. When Montresor gets closer to Fortunato, the narrator reveals “he did not perceive that my smile now was at the thought of his immolation”(59). This shows that Fortunato does not expect Montresor’s true intentions. Fortunato is blinded by the intoxication and flattery words Montresor uses, for he is too arrogant. The audience knows what Montresor’s intentions are, but Fortunato does not know them.
So although Fortunato believes he will ultimately reach a cask of wine, he actually meets his casket. In conclusion, in the story of ‘The Cask of Amontillado’ by Edgar Allen Poe, Poe uses irony and foreshadowing throughout the story to allow the reader inside knowledge on what is about to happen. Throughout the story examples of verbal, dramatic, and situational irony can be found easily and help with foreshadowing for what is going to happen. Works Cited Poe, Edgar Allen.
The story may seem simple at first, but Edgar Allen Poe littered it with ironies. Poe used both verbal and dramatic ironies. The ironies show a deeper meaning in everything Montresor says and in his actions. The first type of irony in the story, “The Cask of Amontillado”, is verbal irony. The first thing Montresor says to Fortunato is ironic.
“The Use of Irony in "The Cask of Amontillado" Edgar Allan Poe is a phenomenal writer and makes many points in his writings. There are three different ways in Poe 's writing of "The Cask of Amontillado" that irony is used: verbal, situational and dramatic. Verbal irony can be seen when Montresor first sees Fortunato at the carnival. Situational irony is also used and can be seen between the meaning of Fortunato 's name and his destiny, as well as Montresor 's response to his own. The last way irony is used is dramatic irony, this can be seen by any reader, this occurs when Montresor tells Fortunato he is also a mason.
