At the end of "The Cask of Amontillado," Montresor chains and walls up his enemy, Fortunato, in a dark, damp catacomb where nobody will hear him, no matter how loudly he screams. In the final paragraph of the story, Montresor puts the last stone in place and then puts back the pile of bones that hide the wall. He says that the bones have been untouched for fifty years, meaning that nobody has ever discovered the body.

Montresor has gotten away with the crime. He ends his tale with the words "In pace requiescat," which mean "rest in peace." While it appears that he is addressing the long-dead Fortunato, he could also be addressing himself, as many critics interpret this story as a deathbed confession told to a priest. He may also be, perhaps ironically, advising the priest not to stay up at night after hearing this horrible tale.

Although Montresor has insisted that he deserves revenge on Fortunato, we never learn what Fortunato has done to Montresor to invite such a horrible fate as being walled up alive and left to die. Although he has carried off the perfect crime, even Montresor seems to have second thoughts as he puts the final stone in place. He says he feels heartsick, then blames this on the damp of the catacombs, but a reader cannot help but imagine that he feels some sense of horror or remorse.

What is the climax of "The Cask of Amontillado"?

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 intent. When he moans, he is no longer in a drunken stupor but the acknowledgement of his situation. When Montresor has the mason work so that it is level with his breast, he flashes the light of his torch within.  He is greeted by the bursting forth of "loud and shrill screams."  At this climactic moment, Montresor is unnerved by what he has done.  He reacts with screams of his own until, from behind the reassuring stone wall, the screams are silenced.

I placed my hand upon the solid fabric of the catacombs, and felt satisfied. I reapproached the wall; I replied to the yells of him who clamoured. I re-echoed, I aided, I surpassed them in volume and in strength. I did this, and the clamourer grew still.

In the resolution, as Montresor places the last brick in the wall, he thrusts a torch behind the wall and the only response was the jingling of bells from Fortunato's costume. At this point, Fortunato is dead.  Montresor has been avenged. 

What is the climax of "The Cask of Amontillado"?

I had scarcely laid the first tier of the masonry when I discovered that the intoxication of Fortunato had in a great measure worn off. The earliest indication I had of this was a low moaning cry from the depth of the recess. It was not the cry of a drunken man. There was then a long and obstinate silence. I laid the second tier, and the third, and the fourth; and then I heard the furious vibrations of the chain. The noise lasted for several minutes, during which, that I might hearken to it with the more satisfaction, I ceased my labours and sat down upon the bones. When at last the clanking subsided, I resumed the trowel, and finished without interruption the fifth, the sixth, and the seventh tier.

The climax of "The Cask if the Amontilado" comes as Forunato's drunkenness begins to wear off and he realizes what is happening; his "friend" had played on his pride and is sealing him up in the wall.  Montressor tells his audience that he realizes his cries have changed from that of a drunken man to that of a man who is crying out to save his own life.  However, Montressor, proud of his actions, ignores his friends calls for help and, brick by brick, encloses his friend behind the way.

At the end of the story, 50 years have passed since Montressor murdered his friend, and while he wishes he friend to "In pace requiescat!" ("Rest in Peace") he shows no remorse.

What is the climax of "The Cask of Amontillado"?

In a story, the climax is that moment of greatest emotional intensity. In "The Cask of Amontillado," it comes when Montresor walls Fortunato up in a niche in the wall of the catacombs and Fortunato realizes what's happening to him. Prior to this moment, Fortunato didn't really know what was going on. He certainly had no idea of the gruesome fate that Montresor had in store for him. In addition, Fortunato was quite tipsy, which further impaired his judgement just when he needed it to be working properly.

Once Montresor has built the wall so that it's level with his chest, he shines a torch so he can see inside. At that moment, Fortunato lets out a series of blood-curdling screams which unnerve Montresor but not enough for him to free the hapless Fortunato from what will be his final resting place.

This is a moment of great emotional intensity as it's not entirely clear what Montresor will do at this point. Maybe he'll come to his senses and set Fortunato free, or perhaps he'll still exact revenge but in a less cruel and inhumane manner. But Montresor goes ahead with his wicked plan, and the resolution comes when he finished walling up Fortunato inside the niche, after which there are no more screams to be heard.

What is the rising action in "The Cask of Amontillado"?

Since the rising action is what leads up to the climax (or the moment of most tension) of the story, in order to ascertain what the rising action is, it might be helpful to first determine where the climax occurs.

I would argue that the moment of most tension in the story is when Montresor finally reveals to Fortunato that he has been tricked as a result of his own pride and will soon die because of it.  Montresor chains him to the wall, and Fortunato is still too dazed to understand at first.  Montresor says to him,

"Pass your hand [...] over the wall; you cannot help feeling the nitre.  Indeed it is very damp.  Once more let me implore you to return.  No?  Then I must positively leave you.  But I must first render you all the little attentions in my power."

We can imagine him saying this with a terrible sneer since Fortunato obviously cannot now turn back.  All along, Montresor has been -- seemingly earnest -- imploring Fortunato to turn back knowing full well that he will not.  Montresor pressed him to consider his health and the dampness of the catacombs, and he's even suggested that they should "'go back ere it is too late,'" some major foreshadowing of what's too come.  He knew, however, that Fortunato's incredible pride would keep him going until they reached the Amontillado, and it is at the moment cited above that Fortunato begins to understand what Montresor has done: exploit his one "weak point," his immense pride, to get him to walk right into his own coffin. 

Therefore, all of the action leading up to this moment would be considered the rising action: Montresor affecting to bump into Fortunato on the street, taking him back to his home (which he ensured would be empty of servants that night), walking through the catacombs, getting more and more drunk, all of the times Montresor suggested that they turn back, and so on up until the moment when Montresor reveals the purpose of all of these actions.

What is the climax of "The Cask of Amontillado" by Edgar Allan Poe?

I am in agreement with the answer provided above. The climax occurs precisely, I should say, where Montresor says, "Withdrawing the key I stepped back from the recess." In the paragraph that ends with this sentence, he has encircled Fortunato's waist with a very short chain and locked it with a padlock. This is not the kind of padlock most of us are familiar with, the kind that is snapped shut with a spring lock. Rather it is an old-fashioned padlock that has to be locked with a key. The modern kind would be easier to pry open if Fortunato had any kind of tool to work with. One of the many reasons Poe has dressed his character in a "tight-fitting" jester's costume is because such an outfit probably wouldn't have any pockets, and therefore Fortunato couldn't be carrying anything he could use against the chains or the padlock, such as a pocket knife, a set of keys, or a nail file.

What is the climax of "The Cask of Amontillado" by Edgar Allan Poe?

The climax of the story is when Montresor, having led a drunken Fortunato deep into the catacomb, chains him inside a vault and begins to brick in the enclosure, burying him alive.

A moment more and I had fettered him to the granite. In its surface were two iron staples, distant from each other about two feet, horizontally. From one of these depended a short chain, from the other a padlock. Throwing the links about his waist, it was but the work of a few seconds to secure it. He was too much astounded to resist. Withdrawing the key I stepped back from the recess...I soon uncovered a quantity of building stone and mortar. With these materials and with the aid of my trowel, I began vigorously to wall up the entrance of the niche.

We do not know exactly what offenses have driven Montresor to exact this horrible punishment, but the entire course of the story has been leading to this moment, when he gains his revenge. Fortunato, screaming and moaning, watches as Montresor closes him up, brick by brick, inside the vault, literally sealing his doom. As Montresor says at the end of the story, the bones have not been disturbed for fifty years, which demonstrates that he got away with the act.

What is the climax of "The Cask of Amontillado" by Edgar Allan Poe?

The climax of a story is when the plot reaches its highest intensity and is considered the main turning point in the storyline. In Poe's classic short story "The Cask of Amontillado," the climax takes place when Montresor leads Fortunato to the most remote end of the catacombs and shackles him to a wall. After leading Fortunato through the extensive vaults, they reach a niche at the end, where he stands stupefied and perplexed. Montresor's plan has finally been realized and he quickly chains Fortunato into the recess by fastening the chain around his waist so that he cannot escape. In this climactic, suspenseful moment, Poe writes,

A moment more and I had fettered him to the granite. In its surface were two iron staples, distant from each other about two feet, horizontally. From one of these depended a short chain, from the other a padlock. Throwing the links about his waist, it was but the work of a few seconds to secure it. He was too much astounded to resist. Withdrawing the key I stepped back from the recess . . . I soon uncovered a quantity of building stone and mortar. With these materials and with the aid of my trowel, I began vigorously to wall up the entrance of the niche (4).

This specific moment is considered the climax because it is a significant turning point in the story and the moment of peak suspense. Fortunato is completely helpless and cannot escape Montresor's revenge. As Fortunato is chained to the back wall, Montresor proceeds to bury him alive by building a wall that encloses his body. Montresor's revenge is both unsettling and inhumane, which contributes to the appeal of the classic story.

What is the climax in "The Cask of Amontillado"? Provide an exact quote.

The story's opening sentence explains Montresor's objective.

The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge.

Montresor goes on to explain that he wants to punish Fortunato with impunity. As the story progresses it becomes evident that he wants to lure Fortunato into the catacombs beneath his palazzo and murder him. Montresor's problems in achieving his revenge make up the story's main conflict. He lies about having bought a "pipe" (i.e., 126 gallons) of Amontillado in order to entice Fortunato to his death. Fortunato is drunk, which helps a lot to deceive him, and Montresor keeps him drunk by giving him two bottles of French wine from his cellar when he gets him down the stairs.

One of Montresor's chief concerns is not to be recognized as Fortunato's companion. Poe achieves this through a stroke of genius. He makes Fortunato extremely conspicuous in a jester's costume with a cap and jingling bells. But this works in Montresor's favor. Fortunato is so conspicuous that no one notices his companion at all. Montresor is wearing a black cloak and a black mask. He must seem like a shadow of the boisterous and drunken jester.

Montresor must keep Fortunato following him through the catacombs to the niche where he plans to entomb him. He uses reverse psychology, urging him to turn back, knowing that this will have the opposite effect. For example:

"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. Besides, there is Luchesi" --

"Enough," he said, "the cough is a mere nothing; it will not kill me. I shall not die of a cough."

Poe invented the cough to keep Fortunato from asking a lot of obvious questions about this Amontillado. Where did he buy it? How much did he pay? Where in Spain did it come from?

The climax to the story comes when Montresor has achieved his objective and solved his problem.

From one of these [iron staples] depended a short chain, from the other a padlock. Throwing the links about his waist, it was but the work of a few seconds to secure it. He was too much astounded to resist. Withdrawing the key I stepped back from the recess.

Montresor still has to build the wall, but Poe covers this complex business with just a few sentences. The mortar is already prepared and has been kept moist by being covered with wet bones. After reaching the climax, Poe wants to wrap up the story as quickly as possible. Montresor specified that an essential part of revenge was to have the victim recognize the "redresser."

A wrong is unredressed when retribution overtakes its redresser. It is equally unredressed when the avenger fails to make himself felt as such to him who has done the wrong.

Fortunato has been quite drunk to this point, but he sobers up quickly when he realizes what has happened to him. Here Poe has him call Montresor by name for the only time in the story. This is in order to prove that the sober Fortunato understands what is happening to him and who is causing it. Fortunato's cry is printed in capital letters in the text:

"FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, MONTRESOR!"

When Montresor replies:

"Yes, I said, "for the love of God!"

he seems to be implying that that cry for mercy is what he had expected and exactly what he wanted to achieve complete satisfaction.