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Situational Irony In Edgar Allan Poe

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Edgar Allan Poe was born on January 19, 1809 in Boston; unsurprisingly, he had a rather dreadful childhood, his family was very poor and struggling to fend for themselves. By 1811, Poe’s father, David Poe abandoned the family. Subsequently, his younger sister died of tuberculosis. Shortly after Poe was then separated from his siblings and placed in a foster home. This early childhood may have influenced his point of view to be rather dark, grim, and covert, as his writing reflects the hardships in his childhood. Stories and poems such as The Cask of Amontillado, The Tell-Tale Heart, and Annabel Lee are all works that will never be forgotten. For decades he has written various wondrous stories that entice readers to be pulled into the grim tales …show more content…

In the short story The Cask of Amontillado, the narrator seeks revenge against a man named Fortunato, who has insulted him. The narrator lures this man into the catacombs and buries him alive. The verbal irony in this story creates a sly, cunning, and clever outlook on Montresor, the main character. “We will go back, your health is precious (pg 114);” however, this is untrue. Montresor has nothing but evil intentions, not to care about health. This creates a rather unique point of view for the reader, to make the outlook of the character appear more sane at the time. Words such as “precious” almost further creates an underset tone. In The Tell-Tale Heart, the sanity of the narrator is questioned through the entire length of the story; however, the irony aids in showing the mindset of this character toward the end. "Villains!" I shrieked, "dissemble no more! I admit the deed! --tear up the planks! here, here! --It is the beating of his hideous heart (pg 65)!", as he killed someone and admitted to the deed through guilt. Words and phrases such as “villains” also add to the irony, as these “villains” are actually heroes from a different point of view. Irony in Poe’s stories moves the story forward, deepens its meaning, and sometimes helps reveal character personalities and

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Verbal Irony In The Cask Of Amontillado

185 Words | 1 Pages

Verbal irony occurs when what is said is different from what is meant. In Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado,” an example of verbal irony is the final line of the story when Montresor, the protagonist, has just killed Fortunato by walling him up in a tomb in the catacombs beneath Montresor’s palazzo. Montresor says, “In pace requiescat!” (214) which in English translates to “May he rest in peace!” This is verbal irony because, as Montresor has just murdered Fortunato, the reader can infer that Montresor does not wish Fortunato to rest in peace, though that is what he said.

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In the story “The Cask of Amontillado'', irony is seen in several ways throughout parts of the story. The first of the three ironies is ‘situational irony’, which accordingly means that something is supposed to happen but then unexpectedly does something else. There are certain situations in the story where situational irony comes in place like in Fortunado’s name for example; his name in Italian and Spanish means ``good luck” or “fortunate” but later in the story he dies from Montresor. Another form of irony is Dramatic; which means that the audience or the readers know something that the characters in the story do not. Another example for this is when Poe uses dramatic irony for when he has Fortunato dress as a jester, “a tight-fitting

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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.

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The Irony of ‘The Cask of Amontillado’ ‘The Cask of Amontillado’(Poe, 173) is a revenge story that involves two men named Fortunato and Montresor. Our main antagonist is Montresor, who fools and triumphs over the drunken prideful fool Fortunato. Edgar Allen Poe uses irony in a setting and action to foreshadow the demise of Fortunato. He uses a lot of foreshadowing along with verbal irony, dramatic irony, and situational irony to show Fortunato’s misfortunes which eventually lead to his death.

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This quote is excellent when talking about the short story “The Cask of Amontillado” written by Edgar Allen Poe because in the story you learn about the hatred that Montresor has for Fortunato. Poe was a great writer with many talents, one of which was writing with irony; he used this to enhance the already grim and mysterious stories. Understanding the various types of irony that Edgar Allen Poe uses in his writing will help you have a better understanding of his literature. Two of the different kinds of irony that Poe used in his stories were dramatic and situational irony.

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Edgar Allan Poe Literary Devices

945 Words | 4 Pages

--tear up the planks!-- here, here!--it is the beating of his hideous heart!(78)”. Secondly, in “The Masque of Red Death”, it’s ironic that after all of the Prince’s efforts to keep evil and death out, it was already inside : “And now was acknowledged the presence of the Red Death... And Darkness and Decay and the Red Death held illimitable dominion over all” (61). Before the quote, the Red Death led Prince Prospero through his six chambers in his castle, and in the last one they reached, the Prince pulled a dagger on the Death, only to fall to death, and so did the rest of the world. In both quotes given, the irony is, guilt came as a repercussion to your actions, and you can’t avoid death, it is

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552 Words | 3 Pages

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855 Words | 4 Pages

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484 Words | 2 Pages

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