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.
In addition to verbal irony, Poe uses irony of the situation in his tale of vengeance. One example of Poe’s use of this form of irony is Montresor’s reply to Fortunato’s exclamation “I drink to the buried that repose around us.” “And I to your long life” replies Montresor. Montresor drinks to Fortunato’s long life even though he intends on ending his life very soon. A more glaring example is Fortunato’s name. His name comes from the word “fortunate,” but, in the end, Fortunato was not as fortunate as his name portrays him to be.
The last form of irony used by Poe, dramatic irony, occurs when Montresor announces his plans to the readers, but Fortunato remains unaware of his fate. Throughout the story the drunk Fortunato has been eagerly awaiting a taste of the amontillado. The amontillado, however, does not exist, Montresor lied about the amontillado in order to lead Fortunato into his vault. Fortunato does not realize this until the end when he is chained up. He exclaims “The Amontillado” realizing that the amontillado, for which he so eagerly awaited a taste of, was really the chains that awaited him in Montresor’s vault. Montresor replies “True, the Amontillado.” confirming Fortunato’s belief that the amontillado never existed and that he had let himself be led to his own death without ever having put up a fight.
Through the tempest of revenge and ill- fated irony of insatiable madness, Poe is able to convey the effects of irony perfectly. Poe’s use of irony effects the overall tone of the story. Irony gives the story a sort of comic twist and allows the reader to accept Montresor’s actions. The reader does not feel any remorse for Fortunato because he or she is led to believe that Fortunato deserves his fate. Poe’s use of irony allows us to view Montresor as the hero of the story. If this situation had been portrayed in any other light the reader would have condemned Montresor’s actions.