Consequences Of Irony In Poe's The Cask Of Amontillado

Edgar Allen Poe's brings us a twisted tale of vengeance and horror in "The Cask of Amontillado." Poe's character, Montresor, acts as our guide and narrator through this story. He grabs a hold of the reader as he tells the story from his own apathetic and deceptive mind to gain vengeance from the weak and dismal Fortunato. Montresor's mentality is disturbing as he uses his clever, humor, ironic symbolism, and darkness to accomplish this.

In “The Cask of Amontillado,” Edgar Allen Poe skillfully integrates dramatic irony and portrays Fortunato’s ignorance as a way to engage the reader. He utilizes the power of human emotions and compassion to capture the audience’s attention. In the story, Montresor uses reverse psychology to coax Fortunato deeper into the catacombs and towards his own death. An example of dramatic irony occurs when Montresor says, “‘Come, (...) we will go back; your health is precious. You are rich, respected, admired, beloved; you are happy, as I once was. You are a man to be missed. For me it is no matter. We will go back; you will be ill, and I cannot be responsible. Besides, there is Luchresi-’” (Poe 868). Only the reader and Montresor know of his plan to end Fortunato’s life. Through Fortunato’s point of view, it would seem that Montresor is trustworthy and worried about his health. However, Montresor could care less about Fortunato’s well being and is using this mask to hide his true intentions to complete his master scheme. At the end of this quote, Montresor sneakily mentions getting help from Fortunato’s rival Luchresi instead, knowing that Fortunato is extremely egotistic and greedy. Fortunato is the kind of man who thinks he is the finest and most sought after wine connoisseur in the area. He believes that Luchresi should not be trusted in the wine tasting business, especially with something as precious as Amontillado. This undesirable quality leads Fortunato to his death while the reader could do nothing to help. Unlike Fortunato, the reader can see Montresor’s tactics and can’t help but feel a twinge of sympathy for the victim. This emotional attachment intrigues the reader since they want to find out the result of the story and Fortunato’s fate. After taking another drink of Medoc, Fortunato performed a movement that symbolizes the Mason Brotherhood. Montresor did not understand what he meant by this unpredictable action. Fortunato got a little suspicious and said “‘A sign, (...) a sign.’ ‘It is this,’ I answered producing from beneath the fold of my roquelaire, a trowel. ‘You jest,’ he exclaimed, recoiling a few paces. ‘But let us proceed to the Amontillado’” (868). At this point in the story, the audience knows

time to think about why he is chained and closed into a wall to die.

It is often said that irony is the vital literary element to a story because it gives the story character. Whether it changes the mood, creates suspense, adds foreshadowing, engages the reader or something else, irony can do many things for a story.

<br>The way the narrator treats his enemy is one of the clearest examples for ironic elements. When the characters meet, Montresor realises that Fortunato is afflicted with a severe cold, nevertheless he makes a point of him looking "remarkably well". Montresor acts in the most natural and friendly way towards the man object of his revenge, and even praises his "friend's" knowledge in the subject of wines. Also upon their meeting, Montresor begins a psychological manipulation of Fortunato. He claims that he needs his knowledge to ascertain that the wine he has purchased is indeed Amontillado. Furthermore, he acknowledges that Fortunato is engaged in another business (i.e.: the celebration of carnival), so he would go to Luchresi, who, one is made to believe, is a competitor of Fortunato's. To these words, Fortunato is forced by his pride to accompany Montresor to the vaults (where the Amontillado is kept), dissipate his doubts and also to prove his higher status than Luchresi as a connoisseur of wine. In fact, during their way down under in the catacombs, the twisted mind of Montresor, dares to give Fortunato the chance to go back, due to the almost unbearable dampness and foulness rampant in the vaults and Fortunato's state of health. The narrator clearly knows about the stubborn nature of Fortunato, and is

The Cask of Amontillado is about a man named Montresor who believes this other man named Fortunato insulted him. Montresor’s family motto is “no one insults me with impunity”, he feels justified in taking revenge on Fortunato. In the short story by Edgar Allen Poe, there are many examples of irony to convey Montresor’s crime, while using another layer of irony to undermine his revenge.

Many times, the word pride has a negative connotation attached to it. The reason being, is that too much pride skews the perception of reality. This concept is underlined in Edgar Allen Poe’s story, “The Cask of Amontillado,” through the character Fortunato. Montresor allows Fortunato opportunities to escape from his deceitful plan, but Fortunato’s pride gets in the way. Although the emphasis in “The Cask of Amontillado” seems to be focused around Montresor’s revengeful murder of Fortunato, a closer look at the tone, structure, and setting of the story, reveals that Fortunato’s pride and unhealthy lifestyle is what ultimately leads to his demise. Through this we begin to understand that too much pride in one’s life blinds him or her from reality.

Most who have read Edgar Allen Poe’s poems, short stories, and other writings, would come to the general consensus that he has a very dark, cynical, mind. Not only is Poe known for his twisted texts, but for using many literary elements within his writing. One main element that he uses is irony. Irony is “a figure of speech which is a contradiction or incongruity between what is expected and what actually occurs” (The 3 Types of Irony 1). There are also three types of irony, which includes verbal, dramatic, and situational. Poe offers multiple examples of irony in the short story, “The Cask of Amontillado”.

Dramatic irony was also used when Fortunato and the Montresor were in the dark catacombs. After briefly entering the catacombs, the Montresor tells Fortunato to be mindful of the nitre that encrusts the walls. But in that instant, Fortunato starts coughing uncontrollably. The Montresor tells Fortunato that he is a man of great status and insists that it would be in their best interest to go back and leave his vaults. He says, “Come, we will go back; your health is precious. You are rich, respected, admired, beloved; you are happy, as once I was. You are a man to be missed. For me it is no matter. We will go back; you will be ill, and I cannot be responsible” (117). The Montresor pretends that he is concerned about Fortunato's precious health, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. The reader knows the Montresor is only concerned about his plan to lure Fortunato further into the catacombs and carryout out his revenge. The Montresor also pretends to be responsible for Fortunato's death. He does not want Fortunato to die of a cough or from the nitre in the catacombs, but from his own plan of murder. But despite all of this, Fortunato still fails to understand the

It is known that Edgar Allan Poe was a short story writer, novelist, essayist, poet and an editor. His background created a foundation in short fiction and the effects of it. In Poe’s short story, “The Cask of Amontillado” he tells a short story of great tension and revenge. The author uses many different literary elements in his story including irony.

Edgar Allen Poe tells his macabre story “The Cask of Amontillado” through the eyes of a man so obsessed with family pride that he turns his back on acceptable society and gets swept away by his thoughts of revenge and murder. The reader watches as Montresor leads his victim, Fortunato, deeper into the catacombs of his family home to exact his murderous vengeance. However, it is not madness that led Montresor, a noble aristocrat, to murder, nor is it passionate love or hate. It is pride that led to Montresor’s murder of Fortunato, but not just Montresor’s pride in his family. A combination of Fortunato’s foolish self-pride and Montresor’s deadly pride in his family lead to Fortunato’s untimely death. The central theme of Poe’s story is deadly pride, as represented through Fortunato’s actions, Montresor’s actions, and how, eventually, it leads to their downfall.

In “The Cask of Amontillado”, Poe shows how the pride of a man can lead to his death. Montresor took pride in his family name and vowed to seek revenge. “When [Fortunato] ventured upon insult [Montresor] vowed revenge” (739). Montresor family motto, “Nemo me impune lacessit” (741), means no one dare attack me with impunity. Fortunato pride led

"The Cask of Amontillado" is one of Edgar Allan Poe's greatest stories. In this story Poe introduces two central characters and unfolds a tale of horror and perversion. Montresor, the narrator, and Fortunato, one of Montresor's friends, are doomed to the fate of their actions and will pay the price for their pride and jealousy. One pays the price with his life and the other pays the price with living with regret for the rest of his life. Poe uses mystery, irony, and imagery to create a horrifying, deceptive, and perverse story.

Like many things, pride can be a source of joy in small amounts but can harm in excess. In Edgar Allen Poe’s short story “The Cask of Amontillado”, Montresor plans to kill Fortunato, who once insulted him, by burying him alive in the catacombs. To achieve this, Montresor uses Fortunato’s pride to his advantage when leading him to his death. In the story, Poe reveals that too much pride can lead to one’s downfall.

“The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe is a story full of irony. Irony is defined as a literary technique in which what appears differs radically from what is actually the case. In addition, irony can be divided into three groups: dramatic, verbal, and situational. Dramatic irony is when the readers notice something before the characters do. Verbal irony is when the characters say something that differs significantly from what they really mean. Situational irony is when the actual result is different from what was initially expected. In “The Cask of Amontillado,” Poe combines all of these ironies to tell the story and to construct the personalities of the characters in an entertaining way.