The Cask of Amontillado

Analysis: Irony

Part of what makes Poe's story so seamless is his use of irony. Irony is a technique where the author uses the characters or even the plot to imply an idea that is actually opposite of what is stated. The most obvious ironic element of the story is Fortunato's name. He's clearly not fortunate in this story - far from it! In fact, there's a lot that is ironic about Fortunato beyond his name. First off, Montresor waits for acarnival to track down Fortunato, and the poor man is wearing a jester outfit, complete with bells. Normally, we would associate carnivals and jesters with being carefree and full of life.

Even the bells on Fortunato's costume would have been ironic to those reading the story during Poe's life. Premature burial was not uncommon during Poe's time. Sometimes corpses were buried with bells on their clothing in case they were accidentally buried alive. If the body moved, the bells would be an alert to open the casket. Of course, Fortunato is intentionally buried alive, not accidentally. But Poe's craft does not end there.

Montresor tells Fortunato, 'Your health is precious,' knowing, of course, his plan to end his life. Fortunato even drinks a toast to the dead when they are in the catacombs, not knowing that he will be joining them shortly. While these details may initially appear to be simply interesting pieces of the story, we can see that they are far more intentional, adding to the overall effect.

Analysis

Upon a first reading of "The Cask of Amontillado," we might be tempted to view Montresor simply as an unreasonable, cold-blooded murderer. He presents us with only a vague understanding of his motivations, and his pretense of good will and careful manipulation of Fortunato indicates the care with which he has planned Fortunato's death. We again have a classic case of Poe's unreliable narrator, whose guilt and occasional irrationality prevents him from presenting himself truthfully to the reader. However, closer inspection...