The Cask of Amontillado

Verbal irony can be defined as the expression of the opposite of what one actually means. Sarcasm is a particularly good example of this. In "The Cask of Amontillado," the wicked Montresor uses...

If Fortunato's name is anything to go by, we might expect him to encounter nothing but good fortune. “Fortunato” is the Italian word for fortunate, and so we might think that Poe chose to give him...

For one thing, it is worth noting that, in Edgar Allan Poe's opening paragraph, Montresor declares his intentions where Fortunato is concerned, stating: The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had...

In some ways, almost the entire story can be seen as an example of dramatic irony. This kind of irony is created when the reader or audience knows something that one or more characters do not....

The setting of Poe's classic short story "The Cask of Amontillado" takes place at an Italian carnival and later in the depths of Montresor's extensive catacombs. The initial carnival setting...

Poe wanted to write a story in which one man lures another into the underground catacombs and leaves him to die in chains. The only thing that could lure such a man deep underground would be wine....

"The Cask of Amontillado" is a tale of extreme revenge in which a man dies in one of the most frightening ways that can be imagined. Given this premise, the story is surprisingly lacking in overt...

Montresor's rather diabolical nature is conveyed as early as the first paragraph of the text when he explains his philosophy regarding revenge. He says that he must not only punish, but punish...

This is certainly debatable, as some readers believe that there is no evidence of guilt on Montresor’s part; however, I argue that there is evidence to support the idea that he feels guilty. When...

In "The Cask of Amontillado" by Edgar Allan Poe, the narrator lies to Fortunato repeatedly from the time he encounters him on the street until the time he shackles him to the wall. There is no...

There is enough evidence to suggest that Montresor is certainly an unreliable narrator in Poe's classic short story "The Cask of Amontillado." In the opening paragraph of the short story, Montresor...

Double Entendre: A double entendre is a literary device in which a word or phrase is used which can be interpreted two different ways. The first definition of the word or phrase is typically...

The mood or atmosphere of this story is one of foreboding, fear, unease, and anxiety. This dark mood is conveyed through both the setting and the dramatic irony created by the words of the...

There are several uses of symbolism in this story. The carnival: Montresor refers to 'the supreme madness of the carnival season' during which the story takes place, and which may represent his own...

We never learn what, specifically, the "thousand injuries" Montresor refers to initially are. However, we do see Fortunato insult Montresor in the story itself, in more or less obvious ways. When...

Montresor carefully plans his revenge by behaving amiably towards Fortunato and treating him kindly in order to avoid suspicion and earn his trust. Montresor also chooses an advantageous time...

1). Montresor carries out his wicked revenge on Fortunato during a carnival. This means that everyone will be out and about enjoying themselves, and so there won't be anyone around to notice...

The Cask of Amontillado takes place in Italy during Carnevale: a festive time in the country similar to Mardi Gras in the United States. We start there, at night, in the madness, but are then taken...

Montresor describes his family's coat of arms as follows: "A huge human foot d'or, in a field azure; the foot crushes a serpent rampant whose fangs are imbedded in the heal." There is a dramatic...

"The Cask of Amontillado" is shaped by the dramatic irony that is created out of its very first two paragraphs. Here we learn that Poe's narrator (Montresor) desires vengeance against Fortunato and...

Fortunato appears to be an extreme extrovert. He likes to get drunk. He has a lot of money and evidently enjoys spending it on his own enjoyment. He is wearing a jester's costume when Montresor...

The internal conflict in "The Cask of Amontillado" besets Montresor and may be described as the conflict of character against self, while the external conflict is a subtle one between Montresor and...

In Poe's classic short story "The Cask of Amontillado,” Montresor is the unreliable narrator and protagonist who is obsessed with seeking revenge on his enemy, Fortunato. Before Montresor...

The setting of the story is absolutely crucial to establishing the overall mood. The story takes place against the backdrop of a carnival when everyone's out and about enjoying themselves, getting...

A trowel is a tool used to spread the cement or mortar that holds bricks or stones together. For that reason, it has become a sign of the Freemasons (or Masons), a secret fraternal organization....

In Poe's classic short story "The Cask of Amontillado," Montresor explains how he executed his careful plans and murdered his enemy named Fortunato. Montresor begins the story by defining the...

The entirety of The Cask of Amontillado is told with dramatic irony. Dramatic irony is when the audience knows something that a character in a story doesn't, it typically creates a feeling of...

The fact that it has been fifty years since Montresor has murdered Fortunato speaks to his pride in getting away with the crime. He isn't confessing in the traditional sense, as that implies some...

As Poe put nothing unintentional into his work, famously stating that every word had its purpose, we should assume that Montresor's statement that he belongs to the society of Freemasons has a...

In the first paragraph of the short story, Montresor provides insight into who he is speaking to by saying, "You, who so well know the nature of my soul, will not suppose, however, that I gave...

Montresor has not been telling Fortunato the truth since he encountered him on the streets and told him he had just bought a cask of Amontillado at a bargain price. Why should the reader believe...

Measured against some of the killers in contemporary America, Montesor follows the pattern of those who have posted manifestos before they slaughter their victims. Here is his: I must not only...

The insult is never named, or rather the "thousand injuries" were never named by Fortunato. We know that Montresor is an unreliable narrator because he never names the insults and his...

In "The Cask of Amontillado," part of Montresor's delight in committing what he regards as the perfect crime lies in giving the drunken Fortunato various clues to his fate, which he knows his enemy...

The easiest way to describe Montresor would be as vengeful, single-minded, and unforgiving. We know from the very beginning of the story that he is intent on exacting revenge for the “injuries” and...

One of the ways Poe builds this eerie mood is through crafting an unreliable narrator. We are told in the opening sentence that our narrator has withstood a "thousand injuries of Fortunato," yet we...

A court jester may have been considered a fool, a man with an abnormally low IQ, but Fortunato would not have chosen to wear a jester's costume if he wanted people to take him for a moron. A court...

There may be many morals to be drawn from "The Cask of Amontillado," but the moral which seems to pervade the whole story and to make it seem universally applicable might be expressed as this: We...

When Montresor encounters Fortunato on the street he twice pretends to believe that Fortunato has an "engagement," that is, that Fortunato is expected somewhere. Montresor would not like to lure...

In the first paragraph of "The Cask of Amontillado," Montresor explains his vow of revenge. The tone is foreboding already. He is vauge in how he will carry out his vengeance, but he is clear that...

Nitre is the British spelling of the word niter, which is the mineral form of potassium nitrate. It's common to find it in the crystallized form in caves. It is an irritant, and breathing it can...

Montresor is the narrator of the story and he is not a credible or reliable narrator. He is seeking the ultimate revenge against Fortunato who he believes has inflicted,"a thousand...

Montresor's vengeful personality is his most prominent character trait. Montresor's primary motivation for murdering Fortunato stems from his desire to avenge his enemy for causing him a "thousand...

The climax of "The Cask of Amontillado" comes when Montresor walls Fortunato up in a niche in the wall of the catacombs. Fortunato's drunkeness is beginning to wear off, and he realizes Montresor's...

In Poe's celebrated short story "The Cask of Amontillado," Montresor does not specifically state his reason for seeking revenge on Fortunato. In the opening line of the story, Montresor comments...

Poe is concerned in this story, as in all his literary work, to convey a sense of mood. His desire is to build a mood of growing horror in the reader. He does that through abundant use of imagery,...

The choice of the clown’s hat is appropriate because Montresor makes a fool of Fortunato. Montresor chose to kill Fortunato on the carnival holiday because it is a time when everyone is going to be...

Although Montresor states that it is the damp air of the catacombs that makes him feel sick at the end of the story, Poe hints that Montresor's sick feelings represent remorse for his actions....

A metaphor is a type of figurative language in which something is described as being something which it is not. It differs from a simile in that the device does not say that something is like...

Sinister is a good word to describe the main character in Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado.” Montresor has planned the perfect murder and carries it out. The reader knows this because...