Theme Of Irony In Cask Of Amontidallo

In Edgar Allen Poe’s story, “Cask of Amontidallo”, Poe uses irony to show that revenge is not always as satisfying as humans want it to be. Poe uses elements, such as, the characters’ dress, the coat of arms to hint towards the ironic end. In the story Montresor, our protagonist, laments the many wrongs committed against him by Fortunato, the careless victim of Montresor. The action of the story occurs on fat Tuesday of Carnival in Italy. This is why both Montresor, and Fortunato are in bizarre costumes. This was also Montressors excuse to give the staff the day off as Jamil Mustafa said, “Montressor had given his servants ‘explicit orders to not stir from the house’ during Carnival.” This ensured no witnesses would be there to see Montressor. Montresor is dressed in, “a mask of black silk”, and “a roquelaire” (Poe 544). His costume is reminiscent of death; this detail foreshadows Fortunato’s death at Montresor’s hands. He is portrayed as death leading Fortunato from his world of pleasure to be chained in hell below. This is in stark contrast to Fortunato’s costume which represents a court jester, or a fool; “He had on tight-fitting parti-striped dress and his head was surmounted by a large conical hat with bells” (543). This foreshadows Fortunato’s foolishness in his willingness to be so easily manipulated by Montresor.

Montresor is filled with regret that he took revenge so cruelly, “My heart grew sick,” (Poe 548). He was manipulated by his own pride and became the fool in the end, rather than Fortunato. Poe displays the Fortunato as a proud man at first, however Montresor’s pride is shown when he feels the first pangs of guilt but refuses to release Fortunato. He regretted his decision to kill Fortunato, however Montresor’s pride wouldn’t allow him to stop. Poe used these moments to subtly reveal Montresor’s