The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe
Short story as a genre in literature (Edgar Allan Poe)
Term ‘genre’ implies types or classes of literature. A short story is fictional work of prose that is shorter in length than a novel. Poe has also described the short story as a prose narrative,
“requiring from half an hour to one or two hours for its perusal”.
Edgar Allan Poe, in his essay “The Philosophy of Composition,” said that a short story should be read in one sitting, anywhere from a half hour to two hours. In contemporary fiction, a short story can range from 1,000 to 20,000 words.
A primary idea that Poe focused on was the importance of brevity — telling and keeping the principal elements of a text but in fewer words. Poe firmly believed that anything non-essential needed to be eliminated, which meant the rest of the elements in the text had to be strengthened. The main characteristic of Poe’s short stories is the existence of what is so called a single emotional effect: all incidents in the story, the words and details that create the incident, must point toward this single, effect. Regarding the structure of a short story,
“Poe was the first to consider endings as crucial elements in compositional strategies and defined the short story in terms of reading experience”.
Poe is known as the possessor of one most original imagination. Edgar Allan Poe was the first great master of the modern short story. In his short stories, we encounter various fictional genres, such as science fiction, detective fiction, etc. Although it had its literary beginning in America, the influence in other parts of the world was immense. Guy de Maupassant, the eminent French short story writer was greatly influenced by Poe.
What’s with the title?
Amontillado, literally, it’s an alcoholic beverage, closely related to sherry (Reference=CASK OF SHERRY, another short story by Poe). Casks, by the way, are barrels for storing wine or other drinks, and they come in many sizes. The title is ironic in a sense that the word cask is derived from the same root word used to form casket, meaning coffin. Thus, the cask figuratively represents Fortunato’s casket. Montresor tells Fortunato he has a “pipe of what passes for Amontillado.” In this context, “pipe” and “cask” mean the same thing. The cask of Amontillado represents Fortunato’s arrogance and weakness, his love for wine is what leads to his death by the hands of Montresor.
Poe’s stories are strongly psychological. Everything in a Poe story represents an aspect of the human mind. Poe tells us that there are figurative meanings. He gives us lots of clue, one way to get at this mysterious Amontillado is to consider what it means to each of our two characters. For Fortunato, Amontillado symbolizes pleasure and enjoyment in the extreme. He’s willing to travel through the nastiest graveyards to get what he wants. He would probably do just about anything for it, but it betrays him. In the end, for Fortunato, Amontillado means imprisonment by his own desires. He’s trapped, and he can’t do anything but die — though, alternatively, death can be considered freedom from desire. For Montresor, Amontillado means something slightly different. Instead of being ruled by it, he uses it to get what he wants, which is the power to make Fortunato feel his revenge — permanently. In the end, Montresor is freed from his desire — for revenge, at least. The title of the Edgar Allan Poe short story, “The Cask of Amontillado,” is a highly appropriate one since it serves Fortunato into his final resting place.
What are the characters in the play?
Major characters include:
Montressor: Montresor is a complex and intriguing character whose desire for revenge drives the story. Given that his family motto is Nemo me impune lacessit, which means
“no one insults me with impunity,”
Poe seems to suggest that this drive is one that defines his existence. His noble lineage seems to be at least part of what makes him murderous. From the start of the story, his vengeful nature sets the tone for the acts that will follow. One of the first things that Montressor narrates to the reader about Fortunato is that he
“…must not only punish but punish with impunity”.
Montressor is also manipulative, as he tells Fortunato that he will have someone else taste the Amontillado, knowing that by doing this Fortunato will feel compelled to taste the wine himself. He says he has cause for seeking revenge — that Fortunato has insulted and injured him — but he never gives any specifics. The cause of his injured pride, then, is unknown and may be imaginary.
Montresor shows his skill at deception by how he tricks Fortunato, and his skill at planning how he sets up the final resting spot in the catacomb and guides Fortunato to it. While there is one moment that seems to give him pause (when Fortunato screams), he is ultimately cold, calculating, and relentless. Montressor dons a “mask of black silk” and a heavy knee-length cloak (76–77). Montressor’s clothes seem to indicate his wanting to conceal himself so he can carry out his devious plan. He also displays condescending traits; Montressor addresses Fortunato in the catacombs saying,
“your health is precious. You are rich, respected, admired, beloved; you are happy as once I was. You are a man to be missed”.
Montresor’s character is a favorite of scholars because he is an example of Poe allowing us into the mind of a sinister schemer. Montresor instigates a larger study into themes and elements within the story such as the competing desires to do good or evil: Montresor’s name seems evil, similar to a “monster”, while Fortunato is supposed to be lucky. Fortunato indeed does not find luck in this story, however, the reader may assume that one of the reasons Montresor enacts revenge on Fortunato is that he is typically lucky in other suits. In the story, Montresor mentions how loved, rich, and respected Fortunato is, and hints that he, himself, does not have these qualities. Montresor’s murder plot to bury Fortunato alive is particularly evil, nonetheless he feels that he is doing rightful work. The reader must make the decision as to which side they will take.
Fortunato: Fortunato first appears in the story through Montresor’s discussion of how Fortunato has hurt him. When he appears in the story in person, he’s wearing a costume — specifically, motley — clothes a jester or fool would wear a:
“tight fitting parti-striped dress, and his head was surmounted by the conical cap and bells”
These two factors largely frame Fortunato’s role throughout the story. At first glance, Fortunato seems easier to identify with than Montresor. It’s much simpler to relate to the victim than to the victimizer. But, in some ways, he seems even more foreign to the reader than Montresor. Part of this is because Montresor is telling us the story, and he doesn’t give us much information on his prey. Readers experience Fortunato through Montresor’s narrative, which is clearly biased and likely insane — and Fortunato himself plays the fool at many turns, missing clues and making choices that make his fate worse. Fortunato’s ego, greed, and competitiveness cloud his judgment.
Fortunato has a lot of weaknesses including his addiction to wine. He’s already really drunk when he meets Montresor, and he thinks the Amontillado can help him take it to the next level. Right up until the end, he thinks of Amontillado, and only Amontillado. Plus, he lets Montresor get him get even drunk down in the catacomb. His addiction leaves him vulnerable to Montresor’s attack. Whether he really hurt and insulted Montresor or not, he’s so insensitive, he doesn’t notice that Montresor is mad at him, something any fool can see. And he just guzzles Montresor’s wine without even saying “thank you.” Because he’s so insensitive, he’s a poor judge of character. He’s either too proud or too greedy. Maybe Montresor doesn’t need to bring up Luchesi to get Fortunato down in the hole, but it doesn’t hurt. Fortunato either wants to prove that he’s a better wine taster than Luchesi, or he wants to make sure Luchesi doesn’t get his hands on the Amontillado. Being too trusting can be a weakness and that weakness led to his downfall. Montresor says he made sure Fortunato had no reason to doubt him. But still, Fortunato should know better than to follow a masked man into a catacomb.
“For the love of God, Montresor!”
Fortunato addresses this plea — his last spoken words — to Montresor, the man who has entombed him alive.
Minor characters include:
Luchesi: Luchesi is another wine expert. He does not appear in the story in person, but Montresor repeatedly mentions him to Fortunato. Montresor pretends he is on his way to see Luchesi to ask about the value of the Amontillado he supposedly has found, but really he is just using Luchesi as a foil to goad Fortunato into descending into his vaults.
The servants: Montresor’s servants do not appear in this story in person. Judging by Montresor’s references to them he does not have a high opinion of their work ethic or honesty. He says he explicitly ordered them not to leave the house, fully expecting they would leave as soon as his back was turned to join in the carnival festivities.
Themes in the short story.
Here are some prominent themes of the short story ‘The Cask of Amontillado’ by Edgar Allen Poe:
Revenge
Edgar Allan Poe explicitly signals that revenge will be the focus of “The Cask of Amontillado” in its opening line:
“The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could; but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge.”
Much of the story’s following two paragraphs explore Montresor’s ideas about revenge. From there, Poe moves to Montresor’s discussion of how he plans his revenge on Fortunato. This strategy echoes the idea of the dramatic monologue in poetry and the monologues of Shakespeare’s plays, where the villain reveals himself to his audience.
Several things are striking about Montresor’s commitment to revenge. The first is how powerful and allconsuming it is. This is a man who keeps track of how other people insult him and how many times. He plans ahead, first to deceive Fortunato and then to kill him. This calculation is part of what makes this story so hypnotic: Montresor’s act is the opposite of a crime of passion. Poe emphasizes this opposition by having Montresor pull a trowel out from under his robe. Trowels have very specific purposes, and no one except a skilled tradesperson is likely to carry one.
Almost as striking as his commitment and calculation is the fact that revenge is the Montresor family tradition. It is so central to who they are as a family that it is the theme of their coat of arms and their motto’s message. In his fiction, Poe often portrayed characters that developed intense passions, and some of these are even aligned with revenge, as in “The Tell-Tale Heart” or “The Black Cat.” In Montresor, however, Poe gives readers something unique: a character for which revenge are a defining characteristic and a family value.
“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”.
This establishes Montresor’s very specific idea of justice. If someone is punishing another person for an offense, he is only successful if he doesn’t suffer himself and if the other person knows what is going on and why.
Suspense
Throughout the story, Edgar Allan Poe creates events in which he builds suspense. The author keeps his readers on their feel by having a surprise at every corner. Edgar Allan Poe demonstrates in “The Cask of Amontillado” how he uses the conflict to show the build of suspense, change of mood of the reader, develop the theme, and reflect a change in the character/characters. Poe let the readers know that Montresor was out for revenge in the first line of the story. This keeps the readers at the edge of their seat because the readers can assume that there is going to be a fight or death occurrence at some point in the story.
Folly of Pride
Pride is a central motivation in this story, and foolish pride is one of the themes that affect both main characters throughout. Montresor concludes he must have revenge on Fortunato because of his wounded pride. Fortunato may be full of himself and a bit foolish, but nothing in this story suggests any of the “thousand injuries” he did to Montresor were intentional. They might not even be real offenses. Instead, they might be Montresor valuing his pride and his family legacy of being proud so highly that he takes offense even when none is meant (or given). Montresor is rich enough to have a house with servants and enough spare time to plot this elaborate revenge, but he is not, as he says, happy. He compares himself to Fortunato and finds himself wanting.
Fortunato’s foolish pride is just as central to this story, but is a bit coarser and more clownish. He is dressed for a party (as a fool, notably) and clearly has plans, but he abandons those plans in a flash as soon as Montresor taunts him with the threat of asking Luchesi about the wine. His outsized pride continues to motivate him throughout the story. Fortunato is clearly unwell and has a terrible cough. However, rather than protecting his health, he insists on going deeper into the catacomb, spurred on by the mere mention of Luchesi’s name.
Delusion
Both of the main characters in The Cask of Amontillado suffer from different kinds of delusions. Though Fortunato does come across as foolish, he is never shown to be intentionally evil. Montresor never elaborates on any particular incidents where he felt slighted by Fortunato and it is possible that he suffered from the delusion that Fortunato was trying to antagonize him when he actually wasn’t. Montresor also lives in the delusion that revenge is a valid reason to murder someone, even when the perceived insults are not intense but just numerous. The story was terrifying for people when it came out because Montresor is a dispassionate killer who does not feel remorse and is never punished for his crime. Even as an old man he claims that he would have done the same again.
Fortunato on the other hand has delusions about his own importance. He considers himself well-liked and respected and does not realize that most people find him irritating. He is blinded by his own sense of selfimportance. Montresor uses this to create a plot to lure him to the catacombs where the murder finally takes place. He also lives in the delusion that Montresor is actually his friend, a trust that Montresor takes advantage of.
Substance Abuse
The only drug that is mentioned in The Cask of Amontillado is alcohol but addiction is a running theme throughout the story. Montresor is addicted to revenge whereas Fortunato is addicted to feeling important and the intoxicants that make him feel good. The story takes place during Carnival, a time of drunken revelry when people are allowed to behave excessively.
The fact that Fortunato is known to love alcohol is an important piece of information for Montresor’s revenge plan. He chooses Carnival as the time to carry out his plan because he knows that Fortunato will be intoxicated. He uses the lure of a cask of Amontillado, a rare type of brandy, to convince Fortunato to come with him. He further makes sure to continue plying Fortunato with drinks along the way so that he stays drunk and does not feel in danger.
Edgar Allan Poe himself battled alcohol and substance addictions in his own life and many of his stories have the theme of substance abuse in it. In this case, however, it is not the main character who suffers from a substance abuse issue but the object of his vengeance who does. Written towards the end of Poe’s life, The Cask of Amontillado themes, including substance abuse can be seen as issues he considered important in his own life. Pride is a drug in “The Cask of Amontillado.” Fortunato is addicted to wine; but Montresor has his drinking under control.
Freedom
Freedom is another important The Cask of Amontillado theme. Montresor wants to be free of his desire for revenge and believes the only way is to act upon it. Fortunato is literally walled into a small area at the bottom of a catacomb. It is interesting to consider why Montresor chose this method of murder. Apart from being the perfect way of hiding away a body, he may be motivated to take away Fortunato’s freedom the same way Fortunato’s insults built up into an all-encompassing hatred that took away Montresor’s freedom of thought.
Remorse
Remorse is one of the themes of The Cask of Amontillado that is somewhat complicated. Montresor is so fixated on revenge that he does not consider the emotional consequences of murder. After walling Fortunato in the catacombs, he feels strangeness in his chest but attributes it to the dampness. 50 years later when he tells the story, he still does not regret his actions and is unapologetic. This is one of the reasons why people found the story so disturbing; the coldness of Montresor and the fact that he escaped punishment. In the modern context, it can be speculated that Montresor is a sociopath; an idea that still scares people in today’s world.
Fortunato on the other hand has no opportunity that the audience is aware of to feel remorse. Montresor never tells him why he is exacting vengeance, and Fortunato is too self-deluded to reflect on the thousands of small insults. Both of the characters in the story do not feel remorse for their actions, but for very different reasons. Written at the end of Poe’s life, this The Cask of Amontillado theme may be an insight into the great author’s mind and his considerations of remorse.
Pride
Pride, as the precursor to revenge, is one of the main The Cask of Amontillado themes. Montresor feels as if his pride has been wounded by Fortunato. Even though he is unable to state any particular instances, he still feels wronged and this is what motivates his desire for revenge. His sense of superiority may have caused him to exaggerate the offenses in his mind. Despite being wealthy he still does not feel happy and believes that his family’s legacy and his own pride are the most important things.
Fortunato has a very different kind of pride but one that is just as silly and destructive. His delusional sense of self-importance makes him unaware of his status amongst people. He dresses as a clown for carnival as an excuse to behave like the fool that he actually is. Montresor uses the threat of asking a competitor to taste the cask of Amontillado as a way of poking at Fortunato’s pride and convincing him to go with him. Even as Fortunato descends deeper into the catacombs and his cough gets worse his pride does not allow him to turn back.
Freedom and Confinement
The contrast between freedom and confinement is extreme in “The Cask of Amontillado.” For one character to be free, another must die. Most of the story takes place in a vast and incredibly foul smelling catacomb, or underground graveyard. Dead bodies (or at least bones) abound. Freedom becomes less and less of a possibility as the characters move into smaller and smaller crypts, each one more disgusting than the last. Such confinement makes both the readers and the characters appreciate the deliciousness of fresh air. Hopefully, it makes us, the readers, think more deeply about what makes us feel trapped, and what makes us feel free. Even though Fortunato dies and Montresor lives, Fortunato is still the freer character of the two.
Betrayal
Betrayal drives the action in “The Cask of Amontillado.” One character’s betrayal sets off a hideous chain of retribution, enacted below ground in a mass grave. Behind all this revenge and death, the story is about trust. Without trust there can be no betrayal. The story has much to do with the lengths human being will go to feel better when they feel betrayed — and the tragedy that comes when those lengths hit murderous extremes. Fortunato betrays himself by not paying enough attention to his surroundings.
Mortality
“The Cask of Amontillado” has a frightening fixation on death, corpses, and bones. Edgar Allan Poe’s last short story, written only a few years before his death, is a precise and compact expression of anxieties concerning mortality. But don’t worry — Poe injects plenty of humor into all the doom and gloom. And in the end, we all feel a little happier to be alive. It’s ironic that, for Montresor to enjoy his own life, he has to take Fortunato’s.
Disguise
Disguise, both in metaphorical and literal terms, allows Montressor to carry out his crime. Both characters are literally in disguise because it is Carnival, which makes it logistically possible for Montressor to take Fortunato into the catacombs. With Poe’s use of dramatic irony the true meaning behind many of Montresor’s words and Montresor’s true intentions are disguised from Fortunato.
The Power of the Dead over the Living
Poe often gives memory the power to keep the dead alive. Poe distorts this otherwise commonplace literary theme by bringing the dead literally back to life, employing memory as the trigger that reawakens the dead, who are usually women. In “Ligeia,” the narrator cannot escape memories of his first wife, Ligeia, while his second wife, the lady Rowena, begins to suffer from a mysterious sickness. While the narrator’s memories belong only to his own mind, Poe allows these memories to exert force in the physical world. Ligeia dies, but her husband’s memory makes him see her in the architecture of the bedroom he shares with his new wife. In this sense, Gothic terror becomes a love story. The loving memory of a grieving husband revives a dead wife. “Ligeia” breaks down the barrier between life and death, but not just to scare the reader. Instead, the memory of the dead shows the power of love to resist even the permanence of death.
Self vs. Alter Ego
In many of Poe’s Gothic tales, characters wage internal conflicts by creating imaginary alter egos or assuming alternate and opposite personalities. In “William Wilson,” the divided self takes the form of the narrator’s imagined double, who tracks him throughout Europe. The rival threatens the narrator’s sense of a coherent identity because he demonstrates that it is impossible for him to escape his unwanted characteristics. The narrator uses the alter ego to separate himself from his insanity. He projects his inner turmoil onto his alter ego and is able to forget that the trouble resides within him. The alter ego becomes a rival of the self because its resemblance to the self is unmistakable. Suicide results from the delusion that the alter ego is something real that can be eliminated in order to leave the self in peace. In “The Black Cat” the narrator transforms from a gentle animal lover into an evil cat-killer. The horror of “The Black Cat” derives from this sudden transformation and the cruel act — the narrator’s killing of his cat Pluto — which accompanies it. Pluto’s reincarnation as the second cat haunts the narrator’s guilty conscience. Although the narrator wants to forget his murder of Pluto, gallows appear in the color of his fur. The fur symbolizes the suppressed guilt that drives him insane and causes him to murder his wife.
Poe’s usage of irony in ‘The Cask of Amontillado’.
Poe’s use of both verbal irony and situational irony adds to the chillingly humorous and unsettling tone of the story. The irony in this story becomes more grotesque once Fortunato realizes that Montresor is trapping him within the catacombs; they both speak a series of ironic falsehoods about Montresor allowing Fortunato to leave when both characters and the audience know that Fortunato will die there.
Verbal Irony
One of the literary devices used most effectively in ‘’The Cask of Amontillado’’ is verbal irony, or when a speaker says one thing but means something very different. Early in the story, Montresor runs into Fortunato at the carnival. Montresor says, ‘’I was so pleased to see him, which I thought I should never have done wringing his hand.’’
This early in the story, before the reader knows what’s going to happen, it would be easy to assume that Montresor was simply happy to see his friend and socialize. As we find out, Montresor is only glad to see Fortunato so that he can ultimately enact revenge on him.
Later, as Montresor is taking Fortunato down into the cellar, supposedly to see the wine, Fortunato says that he is not going to die of a cough. ‘’True — true,’’ Montresor says, since he, in fact, knows exactly how Fortunato will die, in a manner unrelated to his persistent cough.
Point of View
Point of view is the perspective from which a story is told. The first sentence tells us that it is written in first person point of view: ‘’The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could; but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge.’’ We learn that the narrator is Montresor. The fact that he, who killed Fortunato, is telling the story, means that it’s told from his perspective.
Imagine how different the story would be if it had been told from Fortunato’s point of view; he might not have even known why Montresor wanted to get revenge, or he might have realized what it was but thought it was a small matter. If the story was told in third person point of view, maybe from the perspective of the person Montresor is telling this story to, we would probably have a very different story also.
Narration techniques: Flashback & Imagery.
The whole story is a flashback, in other words, the story is told after it happened, and as the narrator remembers it. In this case, the narrator is Montresor, and he is telling unknown listeners around 50 years later. Notice that the entire story is told in past tense. At the end of the story, we learn that Montresor is actually telling the story many years later: ‘’Against the new masonry I re-erected the old rampart of bones. For the half of a century no mortal has disturbed them.’’
Imagery helps readers to imagine the story in a more vivid way with phrases that help the reader see, hear, taste, or smell various aspects. In this story, imagery is used quite effectively. The outfit that the narrator describes Fortunato as wearing is a ‘’tight fitting parti-striped dress, and…conical cap and bells’’ meant to indicate fun and happiness. These party clothes are in direct opposition to the dark tone of the story and the murder that befalls Fortunato.
Some striking facts about the ending of the story:
What do you think if the last passgage of The Cask of Amontillado by E. A. Poe? I quote it here for your ease:
“Fortunato!” No answer still. I thrust a torch through the remaining aperture and let it fall within. There came forth in return only a jingling of the bells. My heart grew sick — on account of the dampness of the catacombs. I hastened to make an end of my labour. I forced the last stone into its position; I plastered it up. Against the new masonry I re-erected the old rampart of bones. For the half of a century no mortal has disturbed them. In pace requiescat!
You may think that what is so stricking about this ending? Why does he feels sick yet coldly ends with may he rest in peace. The ending of “The Cask of Amontillado” is striking for several reasons:
The ending is filled with irony. Despite Montresor’s meticulous planning and successful execution of his revenge, he ends up feeling sick. This sickness can be interpreted as a manifestation of guilt or a moral unease about his heinous act. The irony lies in the fact that he feels sick due to the dampness of the catacombs rather than the moral implications of his actions. It highlights his twisted morality and lack of remorse.
The ending juxtaposes two contrasting emotions. On one hand, Montresor’s heart grows sick, indicating a sense of discomfort or unease. This hints at the lingering guilt or remorse within him. However, on the other hand, he ends with the Latin phrase “In pace requiescat,” meaning “May he rest in peace.” This final statement demonstrates a cold and detached attitude, revealing that Montresor’s sense of satisfaction and revenge outweigh any remorse he may feel.
The ending provides insight into Montresor’s psyche. While he may experience a momentary feeling of sickness, it is quickly dismissed, suggesting that he is capable of suppressing guilt or rationalizing his actions. By sealing Fortunato behind the wall, Montresor effectively buries his guilt along with his victim. The ending underscores Montresor’s disturbed and calculating nature, as he is able to perform such a heinous act and then proceed to cover it up, both literally and metaphorically.
The ending of the story is striking because it captures the conflicting emotions and twisted mindset of Montresor. It combines elements of guilt, satisfaction, and a chilling detachment, leaving the reader with a sense of horror and an unsettling glimpse into the psyche of a murderer.
Some thoughts on the short story.
“Buried beneath the bones and guilt, a sick heart and a cold farewell, ‘The Cask of Amontillado’ invites us to ponder the twisted depths of vengeance and the haunting power of remorse.”
Until next time, have a nice day.
Sara Davil.
