“The Cask of Amontillado”

Edgar Allan Poe

English 9A Mr. ShimizuOct./Nov. ‘13

Who was Edgar Allan Poe?

Mom died of TB and dad abandoned the family a year after he was born … raised by wealthy Allan family.

Kicked out of West Point for ditching class, not attending church; disowned by foster dad

Fled to NYC to be a poet, married his cousin when she was 13 and he 26; she died at 24 from TB;

Died mysteriously in 1849 (theories range from alcoholism, drugs, suicide, rabies)

Recognized master of gothic mysteries and horror stories

“Philosophy of Composition”: Stressed that the best stories featured a “unity of effect”

SETTING IN “CASK”

Niches and niter that adorn the walls of this catacomb

Montresor may live in a palazzo like this …

Imagine being led down these steps deep under ground …

Below are images of revelers during …

… the yearly festi-val known as Carne-vale

Mood: The dominant feeling the reader experiences while reading a piece of literature

The way the author describes the setting (diction and imagery) can cause the reader to feel certain emotions (react a certain way).

Characters + Point of View

MONTRESOR: the protagonist and first-person narrator; a member of a once-great family

FORTUNATO: Montresor’s “friend”; a wine connoisseur and member of the Freemasons

LUCHESI: another connoisseur of wine; only talked about and does not appear in the story NOTE: The carnevale costume at the right is an example of the motley Fortunato is wearing in the story

In the story, Montresor says one thing but he almost always means something else … this is what is called VERBAL IRONY.

VERBAL IRONY= a statement in which the speaker uses words that suggest the opposite of what he/she really means or wants to say

Sarcasm vs. verbal irony= sarcasm is more direct and ridicule is more important in sarcasm than in verbal irony

Preview of Conflict

In this story, Fortunato commits a “thousand injuries” against Montresor, and Montresor decides to take revenge on him … what type of conflict is this?

Preview of Theme

“To refrain from imitation is the best revenge” -Marcus Aurelius

“While seeking revenge, dig two graves—one for yourself.” -Douglas Horton

Have you ever wanted revenge? What would you be willing to do to get it?

Tell your neighbor about a time you or someone you know tried to get revenge … what happened? Were you successful? Did you get in trouble? How did you feel afterwards?

“The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as best I could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge.”

Let’s look at the first line of “The Cask of Amontillado” …

What does this line mean? Tell your neighbor what you think this line means.

Keep in mind:

• Borne = past-tense of to bear (to endure, to suffer)

• Ventured = past-tense of to venture (to dare, to take a risk)

“The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as best I could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge.”

I tried my best to take the thousand injuries Fortunato gave me, but when he dared to insult me I vowed to get revenge on him.

Let’s look at the second sentence:

“You, who so well know the nature of my soul, will not suppose, however, that I gave utterance to a threat.”

• If you have complex sentences with many dependent clauses (often indicated by commas), try taking them out to get the meaning.

“You … will not suppose … that I gave utterance to a threat.”

• This sentence is about Montresor telling the reader that he did not threaten Fortunato with revenge out loud (he made no “utterance”).

• Once you get the meaning, plug in dependent clauses for more info.

“however” = Even though I vowed revenge, don’t think I actually told

Fortunato what I was planning.

“…who so well know the nature of my soul …” = Montresor speaks to us as if we know him very well—but how accurate is this

assumption? Does Montresor really mean what he says?

Does anyone ever really know what’s in a person’s soul?

What kind of person is Montresor? How would you describe him, based on what he says and does?

How does Poe use his descriptions of the setting to frighten you? What details about the setting are intended to make you feel increasingly more fearful?

Some questions to think about as you read …