What is a metaphor in "The Cask of Amontillado"?

A metaphor is a literary device in which a thing is compared to another, usually dissimilar, object. For example, by calling a member of one's family a "black sheep," one is not claiming that relative is actually a sheep with black wool—it is meant to highlight how different they are from everyone else within the family.

The main metaphor in Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado" is the nitre along the catacomb walls. Nitre is a mineral form of potassium nitrate which grows in damp places like caves or cellars. The farther Montresor and Fortunato go into the catacombs, the more nitre there is growing along the walls. At one point during their journey, Montresor makes a metaphor by comparing the nitre to a spider's web:

"It is farther on," said I; "but observe the white web-work which gleams from these cavern walls."

This is rather cheeky and ironic on Montresor's part. The metaphor refers to how Montresor is entrapping Fortunato in his twisted revenge scheme. By pointing out the web-like patterns of the nitre, both Montresor and Poe are practically begging the audience to elaborate upon the web metaphor in their minds. Montresor is like a spider, the catacombs are his web, and Fortunato is the unfortunate fly about to be destroyed. The deeper the two men proceed into the catacombs, the closer Fortunato is to his doom.

What is a metaphor in "The Cask of Amontillado"?

Montresor warns Fortunato quite a few times about the niter that encrusts the walls of his family burial vaults (where the supposed pipe of Amontillado is being stored), knowing full well that Fortunato's pride and desire to rub Montresor's error in his face will compel his enemy onward. Montresor knows that Fortunato will believe he's made an expensive mistake in purchasing such a large quantity of a rare wine, and he also knows that Fortunato will not be able to resist gloating. When they first descend into the catacombs, Montresor tells Fortunato to "observe the white web-work which gleams from these cavern walls." In this metaphor, he compares the crusted niter to a spider web, adding to the ominous mood of the story. It is as though Montresor is the spider and Fortunato is the unwitting prey that becomes entangled in his figurative web. Montresor's metaphor seems quite menacing and horrifying when you think about its implications in this way.

What is a metaphor in "The Cask of Amontillado"?

Let us remember that a metaphor is a form of figurative language that compares one thing with something else, normally something that is very different from it. It is different from a simile because a metaphor asserts a direct comparison and does not use the words "like" or "as." If we examine this excellent story closely, we can therefore see that it contains a number of different examples of metaphors. The first one that I came across comes just as Montresor and Fortunato are entering the catacombs:

He turned towards me, and looked into my eyes with two filmy orbs that distilled the rheum of intoxication.

Notice the way that this metaphor compares the eyes of Fortunato to "two filmy orbs." Such a description, combined with the words that follow, serve to highlight the way that Fortunato is drunk and not in control of his actions--a fact that Montresor of course exploits to the full.

Can you identify examples of figurative language in "The Cask of Amontillado"?

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 straightforward while the second definition is usually ironic or inappropriate. Poe utilizes double entendres a couple of times throughout the short story.

When Montresor and Fortunato are walking through the catacombs, Montresor encourages him to turn around because of his health, and says, "You are a man to be missed" (Poe, 3). This phrase has two meanings. The first meaning is that people will literally miss Fortunato's company while he walks through the vaults, and the second meaning is that people will miss him because he will never return from the catacombs.

Later on, when Fortunato says that Montresor is not a mason, he replies, "Yes, yes . . . yes, yes" (3). Montresor's affirmative answer has as an ominous double meaning. Montresor proceeds to show Fortunato a trowel, which indicates that Montresor actually meant that he is a mason, which implies that he will build a wall around Fortunato.

Simile: A simile is when two different things are compared using the words "like" or "as." While Montresor and Fortunato are walking through the catacombs, Montresor uses a simile to describe the appearance of the nitre on the walls of the vaults. Montresor says, "The nitre! . . . see, it increases. It hangs like moss upon the vaults" (5).

Can you identify examples of figurative language in "The Cask of Amontillado"?

That's a good question!  The answer is: Yes!  "The Cask of Amontillado" contains good examples of figurative language.

First, let's work from a common definition of "figurative language."  This literary term refers to the use of words and phrases that go beyond a literal meaning.  The most common examples of these are: metaphor, simile, symbolism, and personification.  There are others that are a little rarer, but these are the big ones.

Now, let's look at the text to try to find examples.  I can give you three pretty easily:

1. "THE THOUSAND INJURIES of Fortunato I had borne as I best could." Well, here we are with one of the "rarer" ones (I guess they are not all that uncommon after all!)  This is an example of hyperbole.  This is the fancy name given to when a writer makes an exaggeration.  In this case, I doubt the narrator could have actually endured "1000 injuries."  He just says that for effect.
2. “I drink,” he said, “to the buried that repose around us.” “And I to your long life.” There is a bit of irony used here, considering what the narrator has in store for Fortunado.
3. “A huge human foot d'or, in a field azure; the foot crushes a serpent rampant whose fangs are imbedded in the heel.” This is his family "sign."  It is a great symbol. Just look at what he is doing...he feels that Fortunato has wronged him (the snake) and it is his destiny to crush him (the foot.)

These are just a few...if you look closely I am sure you will find others.

Can you identify examples of figurative language in "The Cask of Amontillado"?

I would say that Montresor's coat of arms is a really good symbol to analyze in this story. The coat of arms comes up in conversation between Fortunato and Montresor.

“The Montresors,” I replied, “were a great and numerous family.”

“I forget your arms.”

“A huge human foot d’or, in a field azure; the foot crushes a serpent rampant whose fangs are embedded in the heel.”

“And the motto?”

“Nemo me impune lacessit.”

It's a great little exchange because it carries a lot of meaning. Let's start with the motto. It means "no one attacks me with impunity." That references Montresor's opening statement that he plans to get revenge against Fortunato for the "insults." That fits perfectly with who readers understand Montresor to be; however, the motto is the motto for the Royal Stuart dynasty of Scotland. Montresor is not Scottish, so it quickly becomes clear that Montresor is lying. The image on the coat of arms is symbolic too. Montresor is the foot that is crushing the snake (Fortunato). Readers can assume that Fortunato is the snake that bit Montresor, and Montresor is now crushing his enemy beneath his boot/house.

What are some similes in "The Cask of Amontillado"?

As the other educator pointed out, a simile typically compares two unlike things; therefore, comparing two people isn't an incredibly strong simile because two people are not so very different, but Montresor does use a simile to compare Fortunato's current state to the way Montresor was in his own past. He says, "You are rich, respected, admired, beloved; you are happy, as once I was."  Montresor is attempting to flatter Fortunato, telling him how much he would be missed if something happened to him because he is so important to the life of the community; Montresor further flatters Fortunato by implying that Montresor, himself, is no longer important in this same way, though he "once was." Therefore, Montresor compares the Fortunato of the present with the Montresor of the past.

What are some similes in "The Cask of Amontillado"?

There are multiple examples of similes in Edgar Allan Poe's short story The Cask of Amontillado. To begin, one must understand what a simile is so that they can identify them within a text.

A simile is a comparison made between two, typically, unlike things using the words "like" or "as" in the comparison. An example would be: She sings like a nightingale. (A metaphor is very similar, but does not use "like" or "as" in the comparison. Instead the comparison is direct. For example, She is a nightingale.)

Use caution when looking for similes though--just because the word "like" or "as" appears does not make something a simile. Be sure that there is a comparison being made.

As for the text itself, there are only two examples of similes.

"The nitre!" I said: see it increases. It hangs like moss upon the vaults.

Here, the nitre (chemical (KNO3) deposits which collect in caverns) is compared to moss hanging down.

In painting and gemmary, Fortunato, like his countrymen, was a quack.

In this example, Fortunato is compared to his countrymen (very weak simile though, given the comparison made is not necessarily unlike).

Is personification used in "The Cask of Amontillado"?

While walking through the vaults, Fortunato begins to cough violently, perhaps as a result of the niter that covers the walls of the catacombs. Niter is another name for potassium nitrate, a kind of white salt that is naturally produced and used in a variety of ways. It, apparently, is affecting the air below ground, and this exacerbates the cold symptoms Fortunato already has. Montresor offers him some wine, to take the edge off Fortunato's cough, and Fortunato says,

"I drink [...] to the buried that repose around us."

The word repose may constitute an example of personification. It can describe the action of one who lays down or rests, as though they are sleeping. There are several definitions of the word that could personify the dead, discussing them as though they are still alive and yet merely resting. However, the word can also be used to describe the posture of an inanimate object, like a body, and so, using this definition, it would not be personification.

In the final paragraph, Montresor says, when Fortunato goes silent within the wall, "My heart grew sick." His heart cannot actually grow sick, but people can, and so Montresor personifies his heart in order to express how ill—perhaps with guilt or fear or remorse—he feels. Since the heart is often associated with emotion, it makes sense that Montresor is describing negative emotions and not a physical ailment.

Is personification used in "The Cask of Amontillado"?

When Montresor gives Fortunato some Medoc to drink, the author notes that Montresor knocks the "neck" off of a bottle. This is a common term for the top, slender part of any bottle. But it is an example of endowing an object with human characteristics. 

There is a better example of personification near the end of the story. Montresor and Fortunato are deep into the crypt. Three of the walls are lined with bones. The fourth wall is not because the bones had fallen down. Poe describe it like this: "the bones had been thrown down, and lay promiscuously upon the earth, forming at one point a mound of some size." Promiscuous means impure, random, haphazard, or careless. To be clear, having the quality of randomness does not imply personification. But since these were once bones in a human body, and given the morbid tone of this story, Poe is giving the bones an eerie notion of personification. It is subtle but the intention is to suggest that the bones are communicating a sense of randomness or carelessness and maybe even impurity. In other words, the bones are suggesting these notions. To suggest something, they would need to be sentient and be conscious. These are human traits. 

What are four non-symbolism examples of figurative language in "The Cask of Amontillado"?

Figurative language adds value beyond the literal meaning of the words.

One example is when Montresor picks up a wine bottle in the catacombs so that he can keep Fortunato drinking as they walk. Montresor says that he plucks the bottle from the "long row of its fellows."

Montresor could have simply said that he picked the bottle from a long row, but he personifies the bottle by saying it is among its "fellows," as if they are human beings. This characterizes Montresor's affection for his wine.

Montresor, who also has a drink, says, "My own fancy grew warm with the Medoc."

What he means is his imagination got excited as he drank. Imagination is an abstract quality: it cannot get warm as a human can, but the figurative language of personification captures his growing sense of anticipation as he gets closer to revenge.

Montresor uses a double entendre, or a word with more than one meaning, when he says he is a "mason." Fortunato takes that to mean that Montresor is a member of the freemasons, a secret society Fortunato is part of. Montresor means really means is a mason or bricklayer, because he is about to wall Fortunato up.

Finally, Montresor notes that when he placed the last brick and heard nothing more of Fortunato, "my heart grew sick." He didn't literally develop heart disease. By this, he means he felt emotionally unhappy for an instant at the reality of what he had done, though he quickly covers this up by saying his heart's sickness was a physical response to the damp catacombs.

What are four non-symbolism examples of figurative language in "The Cask of Amontillado"?

The first line of the story actually contains an example of figurative language. Montresor says, "The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could." This is an example of hyperbole, an exaggeration made in order to emphasize the truth. It is unlikely that Fortunato has injured Montresor a thousand times, but Montresor feels as though he has— the effect has been as though Fortunato had done so—and so Montresor exaggerates as an expression of his feelings.

A bit later, as Montresor is leading Fortunato down into the vaults, he stops to warn Fortunato about the niter that encrusts the walls and makes it hard to breathe. He says the pipe "'is farther on . . . but observe the white web-work that gleams from these cavern walls.'" Montresor uses a metaphor, a comparison of two unalike things where he says that one thing is another, to compare the niter to a spider's web. It is as though Montresor is the spider and he is capturing Fortunato, his prey.

Montresor gets Fortunato drunker and drunker as they progress through the vaults, until "The wine sparkled in his eyes . . ." Drinking so much has evidently made Fortunato's eyes become glassy, and Montresor uses a metaphor to compare the glassiness of his eyes to sparkling wine, perhaps to emphasize how inebriated (and oblivious) the man truly is.

Montresor also uses a simile to describe the niter on the walls. He says to Fortunato, "'see, it increases. It hangs like moss upon the vaults.'" A simile is a comparison of unalike things where the writer says that one thing is like or as another. Here, Montresor uses a simile to compare the niter to a thick moss, emphasizing how much more is present than before, when it was only a "web-work" of white.

What are four non-symbolism examples of figurative language in "The Cask of Amontillado"?

Well, of course, symbolism is a very, very subjective literary device, so some may argue that objects or actions are symbolic whereas others would disagree. But anyway, it would be well worth you re-reading this excellent short story and trying to detect some of these examples of figurative language for yourself. Poe is a master of description and is able to imbue a setting with menacing undertones, so there are plenty to look for! Here are a few to get you started:

He turned toward me, and looked into my eyes with two filmy orbs that distilled the rheum of intoxication.

This is a metaphor that compares the eyes of Fortunato to two "filmy orbs", which emphasises how drunk he was.

There are a number of examples of onomatopoeia to describe various sounds and emphasise the horror of the situation. For example, chains "clank", Fortunato "moans" and "clamors." All of which of course serves to heighten the terror of this short story that shocks us so much.

I hope this will help to get you started. Good luck with looking for others!