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Examples Of Verbal Irony In The Cask Of Amontillado

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Verbal irony in literature occurs when one thing is said but means something else, situational irony is present when the reader’s expectations of what is going to happen differs from what actually happens, and dramatic irony is when the reader knows more than the characters. Throughout the story “The Cask of Amontillado” Edgar Allen Poe uses irony to prefigure Fortunato’s imminent death. “The Cask of Amontillado” is a dark story involving two men, Montresor and Fortunato, who were at one point friends. Fortunato wronged Montresor many times, but when he made an unknown insult towards him it sets Montresor on a path of revenge and murder (Poe 108). Montresor lures Fortunato to his home with the promise of some Amontillado (Poe 109). Montresor …show more content…

The title of the story begins the irony held within. The word cask, which means wine barrel, is from the same root word used in casket, or a coffin. The cask is a representation of Fortunato being entombed within the crypt (Poe 112-113). Another form of verbal irony happens when Montresor runs into Fortunato and he say’s “[m]y dear Fortunato, you are luckily met” (Poe 108). Fortunato is actually very unlucky to have run into Montresor due to the grisly plans that he has in store for him. Verbal irony is also present when Fortunato says, “Luchresi cannot tell Amontillado from sherry” (Poe 109) due to Amontillado being a type of …show more content…

Montresor sees Fortunato during carnival season and he lets the reader know that Fortunato is wearing motley (Poe 108). Motley was the traditional costume of the court jester, or fool, and Fortunato proves how foolish he is by following Montresor to his fate. During the story Montresor gives his attendants explicit orders not to leave his home, knowing they will do so anyway (Poe 109), thus leaving no witnesses for Fortunato’s demise. Another occurrence is how Montresor gets away with premeditated murder after 50 years (Poe 113). Dramatic irony happens when Fortunato asks Montresor if he is a member of the Free Masons, and Montresor responds that he is. Fortunato asks Montresor for a sign so he shows him a trowel, a tool used by mason workers. Fortunato brushes Montresor having the trowel off, when he should have wondered why he was carrying it with him (Poe 111). Another instance of dramatic irony is when Montresor “broke and reached him a flacon of De Grave” (Poe 111). De Grave can be translated to of the grave so Poe was letting the reader know through irony Fortunato’s soon to be

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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

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The irony in both the short stories The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allen Poe and The Ransom of Red Chief by O. Henry is used to create contrast between the route the reader thinks the story will go down, or the route that seems more obvious to the reader, and the reality presented, while adding touches of humor and foreshadowing. The irony in The Cask of Amontillado adds a dark layer of humor that tells the reader about how ego can get in the way of common sense, and foreshadows to the gruesome end. Montresor is practically a master at using reverse psychology, an example of verbal irony, to manipulate others into doing what he wants. The only time Montresor ever has to use physical force on Fortunato is at the very end, when he is chaining him up. Fortunato begs to stay in

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Bill Nye once said, “Humor is everywhere in that there's irony in just about anything a human does.” Bill Nye touches on the fact that irony is just something we can’t escape in our day to day life. Irony is also a large part of literature and movies. In the story “The Cask of the Amontillado” the main character Montresor is murdering a man deep underground, while a joyful parade is going on above. This is situational irony, one of three types of irony in literature and life.

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In the story “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe, Poe uses irony throughout story to allow the reader a little inside and humor on what is about to happen. Throughout the story examples of verbal, dramatic, and situational irony can be found easily and are helpful is foreshadowing what is to come. Verbal irony is when one thing is said, but another is meant. For example, when Montresor runs into Fortunato at the beginning of the story, he says, “My dear Fortunato, you are luckily met” (237); However, he actually means that he himself is happy to see Fortunato because he will profit from this meeting, not Fortunato.

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Poe’s use of dramatic and verbal irony creates Montresor’s sick sense of humor and adds to his overall personality. When Montresor comments on Fortunato’s coughing Fortunato responds, “‘The cough’s a mere nothing; it will not kill me. I shall not die of a cough’”, Montresor then responds “‘True-true’” (Poe 61). Montresor’s response contradicts the already stated fact that Montresor is planning to murder Fortunato himself, therefore making this statement dramatic irony.

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The protagonist, Montresor, plans to seek revenge on Fortunato, who insulted him, by killing him. Poe uses dramatic irony in the first paragraph by writing that Montresor is planning to kill Fortunato and get away with murdering him. Dramatic irony creates suspense, due to only the reader and Montresor knows that Montresor is premeditating Fortunado's murder. Verbal irony is utilized to create suspense when Poe writes of Montresor and Fortunado making toasts, and Montresor saying, "And I to your long life" to Fortunado (Poe 347). Perfectly aware that he is going to murder Fortunado, yet Montresor toasts to Fortunado's long life to make the reader to feel as if Fortunato is going to somehow foil Montresor's plan.

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One way Poe uses situational irony is when he starts to describe how Montresor was dress and the what carnival was like. In the story Poe describes how Montresor is dress like a joker. Poe also describes how the carnival is not a fun and exciting place to be. While Montresor was dress like the joker it distracts Fortunato so he does not expect anything horrible to happen to him. Which is not really true because Fortunato is still going to be the victim of a heinous

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“The Cask of Amontillado” is a morbid story written by Edgar Allan Poe. In the story, Poe writes in first person point of view, from the prospective of Montresor, the narrator of the estory. Montresor is a bitter man who seeks revenge after years of being humiliated by Fortunato, a man who constantly humiliates him unknowingly. Throughout the story, Poe uses symbols such as: the characters’ names, the title, and the setting to add excitement as well as depth to the plot. The first major symbol starts with the characters’ names.

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“The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe is a story about a betrayal and revenge, which depicts how Montresor uses weakness as a tool to successfully lure Fortunato into his trap. Fortunato himself plays a vital role in being murdered by Montresor. There are lots of traces in the story which point out Fortunato’s weaknesses and his foolishness. When Montresor suggests Fortunato to return home, Fortunato exclaims, “The cough is mere nothing; it will not kill me” (Poe) which suggest that, although receiving enough opportunities, Fortunato neglects the fortune he was being offered. Fortunato’s weaknesses resulting in his own death include his love for wine, his immense pride and his trusting nature.

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Irony is an event that seems deliberately contrary to what one expects. The story “Ruthless” by William de Mille tells the story of a man who leaves a bottle of poisoned whiskey for the unknown people who have been entering his house while he is away. The author advocates irony to introduce the central idea of what goes around, comes around. In the narrative, the protagonist, Judson Webb, does and says things that recoile back onto himself, leading him to his death.

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After that, Montresor leaves the catacombs for Fortunato to die. In Poe’s story, “The Cask of Amontillado,” the theme of revenge controls the story through irony, symbolism, and the setting. Revenge is the recurring theme throughout the story. This is obvious in the first sentence, which says, “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge” (Poe 236). The use of irony is in use throughout the story as well as showing the theme of revenge.

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Montresor is very angry with Fortunato, but yet he knows he must not act in such a hostile way, as to not raise the suspicions of Fortunato. Montresor convincingly asks Fortunato to come down to the catacombs with him to “verify” some wine which Montresor has “bought”. Montresor knows that he must not blow his cover, and the story goes into great detail as to how Montresor keeps luring Fortunato down to

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The short story of “The Cask of Amontillado” was written by Edgar Allen Poe. This is a gothic narrative about Montresor exterminating Fortunato out of vengeance and getting away with it without any consequences. As he leads Fortunato to his death by using his weakness. Montresor is the narrator of the story. Montresor is an effective murder as he uses manipulation and cautious tactics to his benefit.

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“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.

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