The Cask of Amontillado
The Cask of AmontilladoIn order to better illustrate his tale of revenge, Edgar Allan Poe uses three distinct types of irony in his short story “The Cask of Amontillado.” Irony is defined as a contrast between what appears to be and what really is. Poe’s subtle use of irony appears in three forms, verbal irony, a contrast between what is said and what is actually meant, irony of the situation, occurring when things turn out contrary to what is expected or intended, and finally dramatic irony, which occurs when a reader knows more about a situation then the characters do. Through his use of verbal, situation and dramatic irony, Edgar Allen Poe expresses an eerie and gruesome story of revenge. In the following paragraphs examples of the three types of irony used, verbal irony, irony of situation, and dramatic irony, and how their various uses contribute to the overall effect of the story. Verbal irony is used throughout the short story by Montresor in order to mock Fortunato. The first example occurs when Poe plays with the word mason. After Montresor fails to recognize Fortunato’s strange gesture, Fortunato says “Then you are not part of the brotherhood . . .You are not of the mason.” Fortunato is referring to a secret fraternal group known as the free masons. “Yes, yes . . . a mason.” replies Montresor, implying one who builds with stone or brick because he, in the end, was planning to kill Fortunato by imprisoning him behind a wall of bricks. Another example of verbal irony occurs when Montresor, in an attempt to manipulate Fortunato into falling into his trap, says “my friend, I will not impose upon your good nature.” Montresor is making it seem as if his intentions are benevolent, as if he were only asking a favor of a friend, when, in fact, he is intending to murder Fortunato and the cask of amontillado is the bait for the trap. Montresor knows Fortunato will not see his malicious intentions.
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