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Literary analysis of Edgar Allan Poe's work
Literary analysis of Edgar Allan Poe's work
Literary analysis of Edgar Allan Poe's work
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In 1846, Edgar Allan Poe wrote the story The Cask of Amontillado. The story is about a dispute between characters Montresor and Fortunato. When Fortunato questioned Montresor’s honor, Montresor thought up an elaborate scheme to kill Fortunato in the catacomb where all his family is buried and, as it turns out, Amontillado. In this short story, Poe uses irony to emphasize Montresor’s dislike for Fortunato, how their names are different from their personalities, and ultimately, Fortunato’s death. One example of how Poe uses irony is to emphasize Montresor’s dislike for Fortunato. Up until the end of the story (before it was revealed that it was a flashback), Montresor pretended to be Fortunato’s friend. When Montresor was coming up with the plan
Poe uses irony in his story to engage the reader throughout his text, build suspense and create tension. Poe’s story uses information that readers already know and consequently uses irony in order to sustain the readers interest. He uses dramatic irony, since Fortunato is unaware that Montresor attempts to kill him, but the readers know that he will. Montresor reveals early that he is seeking revenge on Fortunato, therefore, when Montresor expresses concern about Fortunato’s health in line 36, "Come," I said, with decision, "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. (36), the reader already knows his plan. He is just trying to trick him into believing him that he cares about him to gain his trust. He also uses verbal irony, "Enough," he said; "the cough's a mere nothing; it will not kill me. I shall not die of a cough.” (Poe37), but Fortunato already knows how he will die later on. This example illustrates how vague Fortunato is and has no clue of Montresor’s evil intentions. The situational irony Poe uses in the story is when Montresor kills Fortunato and walks out of the catacombs. Montresor says, “my heart grew sick; it was the
Irony and foreshadowing are literary devices used in literature. Foreshadowing is when an element in the story is used to hint an event that will occur further along in the story. There are many different types of Irony. One of these is dramatic irony, which refers to when a character thinks something is true yet the audience know the actual truth of the situation. Another type of irony is verbal irony, which is when a character says something but means something different. These two types of irony are ones Poe uses the most in “The Cask of Amontillado.”
Verbal irony occurs when speakers or writers say the opposite of what they mean. One example of verbal irony in The Cask is when Montresor first sees Fortunato at the carnival. This is ironic because Montresor acts like he is pleased to meet Fortunato but he really is not. For example, Poe writes, “My dear Fortunato you are luckily met. How remarkably well you are looking today” (237) Moreover, what Montresor really means is that the meeting is lucky because it presents a good time to murder Fortunato. Another reason that Montresor acting like he is pleased to meet Fortunato is ironic is that Montresor wants to murder Fortunato. Montresor is mad because of Fortunato’s unknown insults toward him but is acting nice. Montresor is acting nice so that he can disguise his motives to kill Montresor.
Irony is used in writing to add new interest to a seemingly ordinary subject. Richard Connell's The Most Dangerous Game and The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allen Poe use irony throughout their stories, creating unique works. To recognize Irony, you must first understand it, then you can see how it is used in these two works. Irony is a word with many meanings aside from what we often think of as irony.
Montresor explains to Fortunato that he is of the masons. Fortunato asks Montresor for a sign of being a mason. This is an example of dramatic irony because even though the reader knows the truth behind the story, Fortunato does not. In the passage Poe states, “It is this, I answered, producing a towel from beneath the folds of my roquelaure.” (pg. 239). Poe also states in the passage, “You are not of the masons.” (pg. 239). Montresor is trying to put himself on the same level of Fortunato, which Fortunato does not ever let him, and that causes part of the feud that Montresor has for Fortunato. Another example of dramatic irony is Fortunato develops a cough and has become sick which leads him to believe that is what he will die from. This is dramatic irony because the reader fully knows that Fortunato is going to die, but because of a cough. It states in the passage, “the cough is a mere nothing; it will not kiss me. I shall not die of a cough.” (pg. 238). Montresor leads on Fortunato by stating, “we will go back; your health is precious.” (pg. 238). Montresor shows Fortunato that he cares about his health when in reality he wants him dead. Fortunato has no idea that he is going to end up dead, but the reader is fully aware of what is going to happen to
Irony is used very often by Poe. Irony is when something occurs that is the exact opposite of how it should be or seem. Irony varies in that it may be displayed through someone’s actions or an ironic happening. An example of irony in someone’s action are in the Cask of Amontillado is when Montressor repeatedly seems concerned for Fortunato’s health, even though his real intentions are to kill him. It also may be considered ironic that Poe named the enemy of Monstressor, Fortunato. Being that Fortunato means fortunate or lucky in Italian, it is ironic that he is very unlucky in that he his buried alive in a wall.
In the story "The Cask of Amontillado", Edgar Allen Poe tells the story of Montresor and Fortunato. This story has a much lighter mood to it, but from the beginning there is some tension between Fortunato and Montresor. The story its self has a
In the short story, “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe, Poe uses two types of irony, dramatic and verbal. Dramatic irony is when the reader perceives something that a character in the story does not. Poe uses this type of irony in the character Fortunato. Verbal irony is when the character says one thing and means something else. This type of irony can be recognized in the statements that the characters, Fortunato and Montresor, say to one another.
In many occasions, symbolism and irony are the best way to explain an object. While using symbolism you can make the reader understand a different point of view they would had never expected. It helps catches the reader attention in a way that it opens more doors to a short story, novel, etc… For example Montresor represents pride. He is living by his family motto “Nemo me impune lacessit.” (No one provokes me with impunity.) Symbols are also used in backgrounds of movies giving symbolic messages to the viewers. The only way the viewer can pick up on them is by searching them up or by already knowing what that symbol represented. Irony is used a little less more profoundly in the story, yet it plays a big role in leading the reader into the right path with its situations. Irony is when a statement contradicts itself or another object. For example Fortunato means fortunate but ends up not being fortunate while meeting his own death. They’re many examples of symbolism and irony in “The Cask of Amontillado.”
In the story “The Cask of Amontillado”, the author uses lots of verbal irony to emphasize the evil intentions of Montresor.One of the examples of verbal irony in the story that he uses is “The cough’s a mere nothing; it will not kill me. I shall not die of a cough.” and “true--true, I replied.” The effect of this irony is it that Montresor already knows how Fortunato will die.Another example of verbal irony used in the story was when they did a toast to each other. “I drink”, he said, to the buried that repose around us.”
Dramatic irony is used when we know, or draw a conclusion of, what will happen to Fortunato, although he continues his descent into the catacombs in pursuit of the Amontillado. The sense of revenge reaches its highest peak when Poe uses irony for Montresor to inform us that he will smile in Fortunato's face while using his wine to lure him into the catacombs to taste his imaginary Amontillado. During this scene like a fool in his costume while Montresor is leading him to his death bed. This whole time Montresor plays very innocent.
Edgar Allan Poe is one of greatest American authors and poets. He is well-known as a master of using irony in his story. “The Cask of Amontillado” is a horror story about revenge of Montresor upon Fortunato. Fortunato believes Montresor is his good friend, but he ends up with being chained and walled in to the catacombs. There are three types of irony used in this short story: verbal irony, dramatic irony, and situational irony. Using these ironies, Poe wants the readers to understand about Montresor’s “friendship” with Fortunato.
Poe's, The Cask of Amontillado is a story about fear and revenge. The story begins with Montressor's vow of revenge, foreshadowing future actions. "The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as best I could; but when he ventured upon insult vowed revenge..." Montressor had to be sure not to raise suspicion of what he was going to do Fortunato. Montressor knew that Fortunato had a weakness that he could use towards his advantage.
Edgar Allan Poe is a famous writer in writing detective stories and horror stories. One of his horror stories, “The Cask of Amontillado” was talking about how a man took his revenge to his friend. However, to look deeply in this story, I found that this story was not just simply a horror tale about how a man gets his revenge in the safest way. Instead, it also demonstrates much irony in several areas: the title, the event, the season, the costume, the environment, the characters’ personalities, a man’s dignity and cockiness and at the end, the public order. he are
Poe starts out with a man, by the name of Montresor, wanting revenge on another man, named Fortunato. Most of the story takes place deep in the Montresor family catacombs. As Montresor lures Fortunato into the catacombs, he chains Fortunato up to a small hole in a wall, bricks it over, and leaves Fortunato to die. Even through the traits of anger, hatred, and revenge, as the story progresses on, Montresor, the main character in “The Cask of Amontillado”, starts to show signs of feeling guilty for wanting to murder Fortunato.