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The cask of amontillado symbolism and theme
The cask of amontillado symbolism and theme
Motifs of revenge tragedys
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Slosh! Down flies the dirt on the soon to be dead, a million thoughts running through his head. In “The Cask of Amontillado” Montresor is seeking revenge on Fortunato for an unknown insult. He does so by getting Fortunato impaired and burring him in the catacombs. The utilization of verbal irony maintains intrigue and edge. In Edgar Allan Poe’s demented “The Cask of Amontillado” he uses verbal irony to build the plot and to portray the characters.
Throughout the short story, Poe uses verbal irony referencing Fortunato’s health and life. The use of verbal irony increases the tension. When Montresor says “‘your health is precious’ … ‘you are a man to be missed’” (2), he has a scheme of revenge and an ultimate death. Montresor never intends
Fortunato “takes possession” of Montresor’s arm, for which he suffers (716) in order to carry out his plan. Poe’s use of possession and suffer give the impression that Montresor is being afflicted again by Fortunato. Once Montresor reveals this meeting at this evening is no coincidence by divulging he made sure none of his attendants would be home. By giving the direct orders to be home. Poe shows us that Montresor was not respected or feared by his servants’ actions. The servants’ leaving after being given a direct order to stay does give credence to the fact that Montresor must be very methodical and unyielding to his schedule. Only once Fortunato to the catacombs does he betray his own premise. Montresor refers to Fortunato as his “poor friend” (716). At this point Poe has depicted this instigator of a “thousand injuries” as a drunken jester that can barely catch his breath at this point in the story. Now Montresor is showing some sympathy towards him. At this point the transition is complete. Where the two men stopped at the entrance to Fortunato’s tomb, this is the moment that leaves no doubt that Montresor is the villain and Fortunato is the
Irony is the expression of ones meaning by using language that usually signifies the opposite. There are three different types of irony; verbal, dramatic, and situational. Edgar Allen Poe uses verbal and dramatic irony in The Cask of Amontillado to depict a deeper meaning of Montresor’s hate towards Fortunato.
Montresor proves not to mess with someone's feeling. He explains, “I must not only punish, but punish with impunity” (Poe 372). Fortunato does not know that he is going to die, yet Montresor and the reader do know, making the situation dramatic irony. By punishing him with impunity he is going to get revenge that he has wanted now for years ever since he did wrong to Montresor and now that he finally gets the chance of course he will seek revenge on Fortunato. And it is dramatic irony because Fortunato is oblivious to the situation. Montresor proves that one should be careful on what they say. He speaks, “I continued, as was my wont, to smile in his face, and he did not perceive that my smile now was at the thought of his immolation” (Poe 372). Montresor is saying
One of the most horrifying lines in the story is given by Montresor after Fortunato says, “I will not die of a cough” (Baym ). Montresor says, “True— true....” (Baym ). It seems that Montresor 's murder plot became subconsciously manifest in those two words. Dramatic irony is irony that is inherent in speeches or a situation of a drama and is understood by the audience but not grasped by the characters in the story (“dramatic-irony”) and Poe uses this effectively in this story. For example, Montresor expresses concern about Fortunato and says, "Come, I said, with decision, we will go back; your health is
Hoping to obtain revenge, Montresor, the narrator, lures Fortunato, one of his friends, into the depths of his catacombs to be murdered. Montresor says, "The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as best I could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge"(149). This is the first line in the story, and this is why Montresor seeks revenge. There is no explanation of the insults that Montresor received, so the reader may infer that Montresor is just lying. The insults that were received could possibly be just outdoing in the business arena. Montresor might be using that excuse for his desire to kill Fortunato, because he may be killing Fortunato out of jealousy. Montresor is likely telling this story to a family member, friend, or his doctor while lying on his deathbed. Montresor says, "…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."(150). Montresor just admitted that he knows Fortunato is better than he. Montresor may have been under the influence of jealousy. Redd 4 There are different theories to ...
In this short story, examples of irony and foreshadowing are presented very often in between lines. One of the very first things that I find as the biggest irony in this short story fiction is the victim’s name “Fortunato”. As I looked up the definition of the name, Fortunato means fortunate which is very ironic due to the fact that he is going to die, and be walled up in the catacombs. Aside from that, I also found a verbal irony at the very beginning of the story when Montresor first sees Fortunato at the carnival and says “My dear Fortunato, you are luckily met,” (Poe) .I found this to be very much ironic because, Fortunato is not actually lucky to have met Montresor who is actually going to murder him.
You were not to be found, and I was fearful of losing a bargain (Poe 332)”. This revels Montresor notices that Fortunato is not able to tell Amontillado from Sherry as he is a great wine-lover. When Montresor is coughing, Fortunato is trying to convince him to leave: “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”. This shows jealousy and kindness of Montresor against Fortunato at the same time that is quite sarcastic. From this perspective, Montresor envious all of the things that Fortunato has and who is not reconciled to someone surpass him in the status. He mistakenly feels that this is the injury created by Fortunato resulting in his revenge. Therefore, he blame on Fortunato for all fault that he should eradicate him as soon as possible before he become a threatening when it is too late to take any action. Additionally, he does not even regret his choice and believes everything he does is right. This is because he tries so hard to makes an effort to draw Fortunato to his trap and put down his vigilance simultaneously by
Laverriere, Kristen. ‘Verbal and Dramatic Irony in “The Cask of Amontillado.” ’ WordPress. N.p. 5 Oct 2013. Web. 5 Apr 2014
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.”
In addition, a type of dramatic irony can see in the story. For example, Fortunato is dressed as a jester in the carnival. "The man wore motley. He had on a tight-fitting parti-striped dress, and his head was surmounted by the conical cap and bells," (Poe 208). His costume suggests that he is playing the fool and what an irony that Montresor actually treat him one.On the other hand, Montresor is dressed in a black-colored cloak and has his face covered with a black mask, which symbolizes the death of devil. These examples demonstrate Fortunato’s ironic misfortunes that lead to his ultimate death. Lastly, the end of the story is tragic because Fortunate keeps drinking wine even with a bad cough. “I drink,”he said, “ to the buried that repose around us,”(Poe 210). He drinks to the dead in the vault, and end up dead. I think Fortunato name itself is an irony. This name in Italian is for someone about to be walled up in the
Poe uses the aspects of dramatic and verbal irony, foreshadowing and symbolism to shape his tale of revenge. Fortunato's fate is death and Montresor tries to make his intentions seem honorable. His intentions were not honorable, just evil. He does however, manage to get what he set out for, revenge.
Poe does a stupendous job when incorporating both dramatic and verbal irony, giving the "ahh" to his readers. One of the more prominent examples of dramatic irony occurs when Montressor approaches the intoxicated Fortunato. In hopes of revenge, Montresor is quite excited to find his friend in such a state. Furthermore, adding to the dramatic effect, Poe names the intoxicated character Fortunato, which means, the fortunate. The irony becomes recognizable when Fortunato's dreadful fate is determined. Fortunato was led to a blind death by someone who he feels is a "friend," but in actuality, a past friend who is seeking revenge, that was pretty unfortunate. Poe's use of verbal irony is apparent when Montresor suggests Fortunato to go home because he is ill. Fortunato’s response was “I shall not die of a cough.” And Montresor’s replies, "True –true.” This is ironic because Montresor knew that the intoxicated Fortunato is not aware of his surroundings and he knows that the journey to his death will continue no matter what. Montresor gave Fortunato countless times of being free, but due to his intoxication, he does not realize the chances to live Montresor has thrown at
We see a lot of verbal irony throughout the story that shows Montresor’s motives and also adds a touch of dark humor to this Gothic tale. Fortunato retorts “the cough is a mere nothing; it will not kill me. I shall not die of a cough.”(Poe 228). Montresor responds by agreeing with him, the audience and Montresor both know the fate that lies for Fortunato. These ironic statements that Montresor makes in the story show the readers his dark motives even though Fortunato is unaware. The character’s name is also very ironic in the story. The name Fortunato is similar to fortunate, which would lead us to believe he has good fortune or lived a good life. In this case the opposite is true and Fortunato is subjected to death in a very unfortunate
Montresor uses situational irony in the beginning, as the two fellows begin on their trudge to the Amontillado. In line 31 of the story. Montresor inquires his friend about his persistent cough. Saying “My poor friend found it impossible to reply for many minuets.” (Poe, 33) Montresor urges Fortunato to let him walk Fortunato back. To prevent his illness to worsen from the poor conditions of the Catacombs. “The cough is a mere nothing; it will not kill me. I shall not die of a cough.” “Enough.” (Poe, 36). Montresor is satisfied with the validity
In “The Cask of Amontillado” Edgar Allan Poe takes us on a journey into the mind of a mad man. The story relates a horrible revenge made even more horrible by the fact that the vengeance is being taken when no real offense had been given. In a short space and with ultimate technical skill, Poe creates a nightmare, guaranteed to give the reader a sleepless night.