“The Cask of Amontillado”, written by Edgar Allen Poe, is a classic tale of revenge. This flawlessly diabolical plan of revenge begins to take shape during a period of great celebration. The Cask of Amontillado begins during the carnival season of an unknown Italian city. Written in 1846, the story takes place on the streets of a carnival and moves into the dark and dreary crypt in the palazzo of the main character, Montressor’s . This location adds to the menacing atmosphere of the story. The scenes and different settings are limited; Poe chooses the perfect scene for the type f image he is trying to portray.
This enhances the mood of the story. After Montressor asserts: “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could; but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge… I must not only punish, but punish with impunity”, he takes it upon himself to devise a plan of vengeance. In the time following the insult, Montressor is very wary not arouse the suspicions of Fortunato. He has decided upon revenge and spends his days figuring out how and when his revenge will be most effective. Ultimately, Monteressor decides to use Fortunato’s strengths against him.
Since Fortunato is a connoisseur of fine wines, he plans to lure him with wine. One evening during the carnival season, Montressor encounters the drunken Fortunato dressed as a jester. He lures him back home with him because he exclaims that he is in need of advice. He offers to get the advice from another man, but Fortunato will not let his reputation as the best wine taster become blemished. Montressor explains that he has just purchased a cask of what seems to be “Amontillado” but he is not quite sure whether he was fooled. Fortunato offers to return home with him to settle the matter.
After Fortunato has taken the bait, the two proceed towards the palazzo of Montressor. Upon arrival, Montressor is excessively polite and offers to turn back due to the obvious cough and cold of Fortunato. Whether it is due to determination or sheer intoxication, Fortunato refuses to turn back. As they begin to venture into the vaults, Montressor sees his plan taking shape. They finally reach the most remote end of the crypt into a small less spacious room. In a deceitful manner, Montressor gets Fortunato to enter the room, which is no more than four feet deep, three feet wide, and six or seven feet tall.
The moment he enters the room, Montressor chains him. Implementing the final stage of his plan, Montressor walls Fortunato in the room using a pile of bricks that he has assembled. Too intoxicated to even attempt resistance, Fortunato spend the whole time screaming. In a last attempt at freedom, he even tries to play off the whole incident as a joke and asks Montressor to release him. Growing sick at heart due to the darkness of the crypt, Montressor hurries and finishes his plan. His revenge was complete. He lives up to the words on his family’s coat of arms: “Nemo me impune lacessit”, which means “No one ssails me with impunity. Discussion It is a rarity to find a story so rich in its symbolism and dramatic irony. Edgar Allen Poe undoubtedly captures the essence of fear and suspense while perfectly utilizing the aforementioned literary devices. It is through the use of these two devices that he delivers the quality that he is so well known for. From the beginning of the story the irony is apparent. The first ironic aspect of the story is the name Fortunato. This name suggests good fortune, when in reality; the character of Fortunato experiences quite the opposite.
He suffers a terrible death after being lured into a chamber by a friend. A second and perhaps less important example of irony in the story is the setting. The characters meet during a carnival. While carnival is thought to be a time of fun and celebration, it turns out to be a time of death and revenge. The way the narrator treats Fortunato is also very ironic. While the narrator makes it clear to the reader that Fortunato is suffering from a severe cold, he proceeds to complement Fortunato during the carnival on his “remarkable appearance. Fortunato is tricked and led nto a pride struggle when the seemingly friendly Montressor displays apparent concern. A perfect example of the obviously ironic and twisted nature of Montressor is when he offers to turn back on their way down into the crypt. He has his plan working perfectly and he risks messing things up by offering to turn back. This is ironic because in no way does he really want to turn back. It is simply an effort to appear sincere. Consequently, Fortunato leads himself to his own grave. The most ironic line of the story is when Fortunato says: “I will not die of a cough”.
To this, Montressor replies: “True, True”. Fortunato jokes of death as though it is a distant matter. Another ironic aspect of the story is the way the two characters talk about the masons. The author changes the topic of conversation before the reader has time to really get into the topic of the masons. After Montressor indicates that he is but a stonemason, we jump to another topic without paying too much attention to what this means. Ironically enough, we seemed to snub Montressor when it was indicated that he was not a member of the elite brotherhood.
Yet, what ould serve his purpose most??? The fact that he is a stonemason hints to the fact that he will be able to put his skills to use. The final ironic aspect of the story is the closing words. The narrator seems to display a sense of consideration when he says the words: “In pace requiescat! ” This means, “Rest in peace”. By saying this, it suggests that he cares for Fortunato and wishes him peace. This is not only ironic, but also a little sarcastic. He is the one who sealed Fortunato’s fate. Why then is he showing concern?? Symbolism is an aspect of the story that acts as a sort of emphasis of he mood and attitudes of the characters.
The main aspect of symbolism lies in the introduction of the characters. At the carnival, when the reader is first introduced to the characters, the author begins by describing their clothes. Montressor is appropriately dressed in a black mask and outfit. This signifies his role as evil and devil-like. On the other hand, Fortunato is dressed as a court jester. His attire already indicate to the reader that he will be the fool of the story, leading the more intuitive readers to question whether he will in fact be fooled.
This acts as ymbolism and foreshadowing as their outfits clearly illustrate their roles in the story. The strong images seem to be the absence of light and the damp and dark rooms. The crypt itself symbolizes death. The strong symbol of death is due to the fact that the ancestors of Montressor are all buried deep in the catacombs. Furthermore the skeletons on the ground depict the dread that the characters feel. This makes it an appropriate setting for the act that Montressor commits. The many aspects of the story combine to achieve the great sense of horror that we come to expect from Edgar Allen Poe.
