ipl-logo

Examples Of Irony In The Cask Of Amontillado

780 Words4 Pages

The Three kinds of Irony at Their Finest Edgar Allan Poe uses the literary device irony to further emphasize the message his stories. In his short story, “The Cask of Amontillado,” he masterfully incorporates irony into his story to make it more interesting. Montresor convinces Fortunato to come into the catacombs with him for a taste of a fine wine. Fortunato knows nothing about Montresor’s plan to murder him deep within these catacombs. Poe uses all three kinds of irony in this story to create a much more riveting tale. Poe uses Fortunato’s lack of knowledge in the situation at hand to create dramatic irony. Fortunato believes that he is going into the catacombs to drink a fine wine called ‘Amontillado’. He does not know about Montresor’s plan to trap him in the catacombs. The reader knows about Montresor’s true …show more content…

One use of this is the fact that Fortunato is dressed like a fool when he meets his demise. This whole story takes place during carnival season. This means that the whole town, including Fortunato, is dressed up for this occasion. Fortunato wore a “Tight fitting parti-dress,” and as well as having “bells” and a “Conical cap” on his head (73). This is situational irony, because at Fortunato’s death he is dressed like a joker. The reader would not expect this to happen. This situation also mimics the fact that he is a fool for going deep into the catacombs for a glass of wine. This scene is very ironic, and it helps to enhance the overall effect of the story. Another instance of situational irony is at the end of the story. Montresor describes how his “Heart gr[ows] sick” right after he walls up Fortunato. One would think that this is because he just killed a man. This is not the case at all. His heart grows sick because of the niter and the dampness of the air. This is situational irony, and it helps to show Montresor’s

Open Document