What are Fortunato's last words to Montresor in 'The Cask of Amontillado'?

As the unfortunate Fortunato is being walled up alive inside the catacombs, he makes a last, desperate plea to Montresor, the man who is about to kill him:

For the love of God, Montresor!

The precise meaning of Fortunato's last words has been the subject of much scholarly contention. But on the whole, it seems reasonable to argue that, with these words, Fortunato is desperately trying to get Montresor to see sense and let him go.

Before uttering his last cry, Fortunato might well have thought—against all the evidence, one should add—that Montresor was pulling a prank on him. But if that was what Fortunato seriously believed, then he certainly doesn't believe it any longer.

There's real desperation in his voice as he begs Montresor to let him go. Fortunato hopes against hope that by invoking the name of the Almighty, he might be able to get Montresor to realize the sheer enormity of what he's about to do. But it's all to no avail. Montresor sarcastically throws Fortunato's words right back in his face:

Yes, for the love of God!

It's notable that, after this final insult, Fortunato doesn't say a word. This isn't because he's dead—the jingling of the bells on his jester's costume proves that he's still alive—but because he realizes that anything he will say will only give Montresor more sadistic satisfaction.

What is the last line of "The Cask of Amontillado"?

Following Montresor's successful plot to lure Fortunato into his catacombs on the pretense of sampling a rare bottle of Amontillado, Montresor enacts his revenge in Edgar Allan Poe's short story, "The Cask of Amontillado." He chains Fortunato to a corner, and then walls up the remaining side, leaving him to die a horrible and lonely death. Telling his story a half century in the future, Montresor reveals that no one has ever discovered the body or his act of murder. The story ends with the line

In pace requiescat!

It is Latin for "rest in peace."

What is the last line of "The Cask of Amontillado"?

Edgar Allan Poe's short story "The Cask of Amontillado" begins with the following paragraph:

The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge. You, who so well know the nature of my soul, will not suppose, however, that gave utterance to a threat. At length I would be avenged; this was a point definitely, settled—but the very definitiveness with which it was resolved precluded the idea of risk. I must not only punish but punish with impunity. 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. It must be understood that neither by word nor deed had I given Fortunato cause to doubt my good will. I continued, as was my in to smile in his face, and he did not perceive that my to smile now was at the thought of his immolation.

There is a great deal of material for psychological analysis in this opening. The first sentence is a paradox, as it says that Montresor has many reasons for wishing to take revenge on Fortunato but does not explain what any of those reasons are—a failure of reasoning and explanation. The second sentence suggests that Montresor is addressing the story to somebody he knows, though it may be that his confidential tone is the result of derangement.

Perhaps the most intriguing insight in the story's opening is given by Montresor's remarks on the nature of revenge. He gives two preconditions for a revenge to be effective. In the first place, it must go unpunished, and in the second, the avenger must make himself known as such to the wrongdoer. On the first count, Montresor certainly seems to have succeeded. No one has discovered Fortunato's body in fifty years. On the second, it is arguable that he does not succeed completely. Fortunato knows that Montresor is killing him but does not seem to understand why, which means that he has not made himself known in his capacity as avenger. The really important point here, however, is that these words show how long Montresor has meditated on the topic of revenge. His elegant formulations on the subject reveal his obsession.