What Is The Irony In The Cask Of Amontillado

Revenge, a thought that has crept into the minds of almost everyone yet, most would not kill to attain it. Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado” depicts the murder of a man named Fortunato at the hands of Montresor. “Revenge” being the justification for this cruel act makes the morals of Montresor questionable and gradually builds to form a terrifying story. The dialogue between the two characters and the imagery used to create the catacombs and the twisted carnival atmosphere ultimately makes up this dark story.

Throughout the narrative, the language used by Montresor shows deep emotion and disturbing passion for revenge and the punishment of Fortunato. At the beginning of the story Montresor states “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne

“We had passed through long walls of piled skeletons, with casks and puncheons intermingling, into the inmost recesses of the catacombs” (108-109), Is the description used to create a picture of the beginning of the vault. Words such as intermingling and inmost recesses paints a terrifying picture of a never ending vault and hope being lost. The long thought out descriptions also create suspense as they constantly show how deep the characters descend. “We passed through a range of low arches, descended, passed on, and descending again, arrived at a deep crypt, in which the foulness of the air caused our flambeaux rather to glow than flame,” (L 135-137). This particular description stood out as particularly somber. The description of the catacombs creates a kind of metaphor to hell as they go deeper, which very uniquely symbolizes the evilness of Montresor and his intentions. The sense of smell utilized here also vividly describes the stench and thickness of the air. The descriptions and senses such as smell and taste used give a very real and repulsive feeling to the story and the