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Use Of Verbal Irony In The Cask Of Amontillado

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In his short story “The Cask of Amontillado,” Edgar Allan Poe digs deep into the depths of the human mind and explores the darker territories of human life. Poe suffered many losses during his life, and these loses allowed him to write about the downward spiral that accompanies the human mind. Throughout this story, Poe masters the use of verbal irony. One of the first times that Poe utilizes verbal irony is Montresor's encounters with Fortunato in the streets during the last day of the Carnival season. Montresor says, “' My dear Fortunato, you are luckily met ,'” (5). At first the reader might assume that this encounter is one of two friends happily meeting. However, with further analysis, the reader is made aware of the verbal irony taking place here. One friend, Fortunato, is genuinely excited to see the other. But Montresor, on the other hand, is only faking the …show more content…

Fortunato has a terrible cough and Montresor says to him, “' Come, we will go back; your health is precious,'” (35). And, once again, Fortunato urges that they continue forward to the Amontillado. Fortunato makes the decisions that they need to continue walking deeper into the catacombs. Fortunato still has absolutely no clue of what fate lies ahead of him. He has no idea that his best friend is going to bury him alive. The irony in this situation lies in the fact that Montresor says that he is worried about his friend's health, even though he intends to kill this so called “friend.” Edgar Allan Poe masters the art of verbal irony, and “The Cask of Amontillado” is crammed full of it. The use of verbal irony only strengthens the story. Because of Poe's dark and depressing history, he is able to masterfully explore the deep places of the human conscience. His experiences and his mastery of verbal irony create a twisted mangle of dark layers that truly make this story a gripping

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