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Ironies in the cask of amontillado
Ironies in the cask of amontillado
Dramatic irony in the cask of amontillado
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Edgar Allen Poe wrote many great stories in his lifetime including “The Cask of Amontillado” which is a suspenseful story about a man named Montresor getting revenge on a jester named Fortunato for insulting him and ruining his family name. Montresor got revenge by leading Fortunato to his family catacombs and trapping him in the wall for all eternity, by using suspense, verbal irony and foreshadowing Poe brought us to this climactic point in the story. In the “Cask of Amontillado” Poe tells a story about a man, Montresor, getting revenge on the one who tarnished his family name, Fortunato. Poe starts off the story with a monologue from Montresor talking about how he will get revenge on Fortunato for insulting him Montresor said “at length I will be avenged” (83) showing Montresor plans to get his revenge no matter what.
“The Cask of Amontillado” is an ironic short story written by Edgar Allen Poe. Poe used symbolic irony to describe who his characters were, how they dressed, and the settings in which the events took place. In this short story symbolic irony was used to define how Montresor, one of the prominent characters, sought his way to redemption by repressing his friend Fortunato to his demise. Poe’s two prominent characters in “The Cask of Amontillado” was Montresor and Fortunato. Montresor, whose name means “to show fate,” is a man with a bitter heart seeking for revenge.
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
“The Cask of Amontillado” is one of Edgar’s Allen Poe best short narratives with its vengeful characters and eerie and horror-filled atmosphere. The story was published in 1847, to later be known as a classical tale of revenge. Both Fortunato and Montresor were the protagonist and antagonist that kept his short narrative alive and suspenseful to the audience. What also kept his story full of life was what happened to between these characters that made this story revengeful. Though what is revenge?
The Chilling Tale of An Unsolved Murder: The Cask of Amontillado Edgar Allen Poe’s, “Cask of Amontillado”, tells a tale of a man who seeks revenge for a crime never actually spoken of. The narrator, Montresor, pursues our victim, Fortunado, by convincing him to stray away from the local festivities and providing him with the temptation of the ever sought-after, Amontillado. Of course, this highly popular wine is hidden away beneath the depths of Montresor’s property, within the dampened tunnels leading to Fortunado’s eventual crypt.
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.
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.
Poe often uses words and actions to imply the opposite of their literal meanings this is called literary irony. Poe makes great use of two of the three types of literary irony in his story, “The Cask of Amontillado.” Verbal irony takes is when the speaker says something but it actually means two completely different things. The dialog between the two main characters in Poe’s story are full of verbal irony.
Another example of the irony used would be the reference to Montresor’s family arms and family motto. His family arms depicts the scene of a foot of gold stepping on a serpent “whose fangs are imbedded in the heel” (Poe 118). His family motto is “Nemo me impune lacessit” which means “No one provokes me with impunity” in Latin (Poe 118). Both the arms and the motto symbolize Montresor’s intended revenge against Fortunato. To the audience, the irony is glaringly apparent.
The Ultimate Revenge in “The Cask of Amontillado” Edgar Allen Poe’s twisted nature is well represented in the unique writing style of “The Cask of Amontillado”. This short story takes the reader into the mind of a vengeful murderer who seeks the ultimate revenge. Throughout the writing, Poe combines emotion and imagery to impact to the reader. The construction of this dark and sinister work is manipulated by Poe by using the theme, point of view and tone.
As stated in the beginning of the story, Montresor talks about how he seeks revenge on Fortunato. Fortunato is the complete opposite of a friend to Montresor. Another example of irony is when Fortunato develops a cough while in the catacombs of Amontillado. The irony develops when Montresor comments that the cough will not kill him but inevitably he will die from the dampness of the catacombs because Montresor traps him in the
Absence of Justice “The Cask of Amontillado”-by Edgar Allan Poe, a story of revenge and murder that shows a tragic injustice by giving judgment without a proof and not that only, but an execution as well. Poe illustrates in the story that is not necessary for a person to be mad in order to make wrong decisions; however, a person can be fully aware of what is happening but still wants to do the wrong thing. The story is horrific from several aspects such as the setting of the story and where it occurred, the characteristics of Montresor and Fortunato, and the humor that eventually leads to death.
Edgar Allan Poe is most famous for the gothic themes he presents in his writings, this was no exception for Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado”. Several important ideas are brought up about the story’s central theme of revenge. These ideas can be broken down into 3 parts: the incentive, the extent, and the reaction of the person partaking in revenge. It is essential to consider these ideas while reading Poe’s story, in order to comprehend his views on revenge. It also provides the reader the ability to question their own views on revenge as well as compare it with Poe’s.
“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.
Irony is used as a symbol in the short story as Fortunato and Montresor both set forth toward the catacombs, Fortunato starts to cough for "many minutes" and Montresor asks if he is alright and Fortunato answers him in the most ironic way replying "the cough is a mere nothing; it will not kill me. I shall not die of a cough." "True—true" Montresor answers in sharp irony. A cough will not kill Fortunato, because Montresor will ("Explanation of The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe"). The thousand injuries that Fortunato had on Montressor is what caused him to vow for revenge towards Fortunato.