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The Cask Of Amontillado Literary Analysis

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Edgar Allan Poe is an American author known for his short stories and poems in the genre of Gothic Fiction, which includes stories like “The Raven,” and “Tell Tale Heart,” which revolve around the themes of insanity and death. Poe is also known for what he described as a Unity of Effect, where every detail or element of a story should create an emotional impact. One of Poe’s most well known stories for showing this Unity of Effect is “The Cask of Amontillado.” In “The Cask of Amontillado” Poe uses certain literary terms to try and mask the insanity of the narrator throughout the story, the three most effective terms used are irony, foreshadowing, and symbolism. One of the most prominent and effective terms used in “The Cask of Amontillado” is irony. Early on in the story the narrator, …show more content…

““You? Impossible! A mason?” “A mason,” I replied “A sign, said Fortunato” “It is this”, I answered, producing a trowel from beneath the folds of my roquelaire.” Poe uses the trowel as a representation of a mason, the kind who works with stone or brick, to make Fortunato seem like the crazy one thinking it is impossible for a wine connoisseur like Montresor to be a mason, a freemason. The author also uses the topic of being a mason to divert the reader's attention away from the fact that Montresor is carrying a trowel, to lay stone or brick, down into the catacombs in which he is leading Fortunato through. “Thus speaking, Fortunato possessed himself of my arm. Putting on a mask of black silk, and drawing a roquelaire closely about my person. With the mask of black and the cloak, Montresor looks like he fits in with carnival, with a Death, or Grim Reaper look. It seems like Poe was trying to represent that Montresor might be taking the life of someone. Irony, foreshadowing, and symbolism are all used in “The Cask of Amontillado,” nevertheless, there are other terms used as

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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)

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Examples Of Foreshadowing In The Cask Of Amontillado

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Edgar Allan Poe is one of the best at writing stories in a dark or creepy way. The mood of Poe’s short story, “The Cask of Amontillado”, is suspense. He creates this suspense by the use of the setting, foreshadowing, and Montresor’s character throughout the book. Poe makes the catacombs dark and creepy which makes the setting help provoke the suspense of the story. Poe also creates foreshadowing throughout the book which creates tension in the story.

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Comparing Cask Of Amontillado And The Tell-Tale Heart

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Poe’s stories “Cask of Amontillado” and “The Tell-Tale Heart” display the dark romantic theme of a man’s soul by the development of the setting, plot, and characterization. As both stories begin, the initial device used to advance the theme is setting, which remains grim and sinister throughout the duration of both stories. Accompanying these physical details is the plot, each of which includes the murder of an innocent man. Most notably, the characterization of each piece’s narrator allows the audience to fully understand their internal struggle and its final resolution. While “Cask of Amontillado” contains an overall intriguing and unexpected plot as well as setting, the narrator’s characterization proves this story to conclude in a less

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Examples Of Verbal Irony In The Cask Of Amontillado

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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”.

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In the “Cask of Amontillado” Montressor is a very angry and vengeful man. He says that he was insulted by Fortunato, but fails to give a reason as to why or how. He begins to enact his revenge by luring Fortunato in with the rare wine and when his “friend” Fortunato is drunk, he t proceeds to bring him deeper and deeper underground, while telling him to turn around repeatedly. Once he reached a place where no one can hear them, Fortunato walked into what he thought was another corridor, but it would turn out to be his grave! For as soon as Fortunato hit the wall, Montressor chains him against it.

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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.

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The fictional short story “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe takes place in the catacombs of Montresor’s palace, during the carnival’s climax. The story begins when Montresor, the villain of the story, vows revenge on Fortunato. Throughout the story, the author doesn't tell us what the revenge will be, but his choice of words in the details creates a mood in the reader. The author’s detailed description in the short story creates different moods in the reader like anger, satisfaction, curiosity, and victory because the chosen words connect with the audience.

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His greatest enemy was the boy next door. They were always competing for something, everything. He came undone when his next door neighbor stole the girl he had been hopelessly in love with since fourth grade. That was the final straw, he decided to take action against his neighbor. He sought out for revenge.

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Cask Of Amontillado Symbolism Analysis

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This trowel that Montresor pulls out is not a symbol of the free masons. Montresor’s trowel symbolizes the ending of the story when he uses it to build a wall of bricks to burry Fortunato. Edger Allen Poe uses this trowel to give us a hint at the ending to the story. As we can see in The Cask of Amontillado there are several uses of symbolism to convey to the audience the ending of the story. We see from the title of the story how it is Montresor tricks Fortunato into the catacombs.

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The Cask Of Amontillado Literary Analysis

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General notions often state that wine improves with age. Although the process of aging may alter the flavor compounds, texture, or color of the beverage, neither improvement, nor deterioration are guaranteed. Centuries have passed since the death of a gullible fool, yet the taste of his murderer’s Amontillado wine remains bittersweet. This certain cask of wine, however, never existed. Despite its physical absence, “The Cask of Amontillado” provides an emotional and dismal libretto, depicted as a tale of revenge and a murder in cold blood.

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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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484 Words | 2 Pages

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.

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Cask Of Amontillado Analysis

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The author Edgar Allen Poe was born in 1809, he is a well-known and spoken author, known for the portrayal of gothic and morbid writing techniques. Understanding the world view and living conditions Edgar Allan Poe experiences while writing the Cask of Amontillado, helps with the readers appreciation and understanding of the writing. According to, Biography.com, Poe had a hard life of trials but found joy in his writings also making most of his stories about personal life situations and hardships. Edgar Allan Poe’s short story, “A Cask of Amontillado,” portrays foreshadowing through irony, Montresor leading Fortunato to the catacombs, and the trowel that Montresor kept in his coat. The first literary technique that Poe utilizes in, “A Cask of Amontillado” to portray foreshadowing is irony.

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