Literary Elements in A Cask Of Amontillado Essay

A Cask of Amontillado

A Cask of Amontillado, by Edgar Allen Poe, is the story of a young man named Montresor who is seeking revenge on a wine connoisseur named Fortunato, because Fortunato insulted Montresor. Montresors plan for revenge includes taking Fortunato down into the catacombs beneath his estate and leaving him there to die. But in the end, rather than being happy, Montresor questions what he has just done. In this story, Edgar Allen Poe use foreshadowing and irony to prove that while revenge may be tempting, it is not as satisfying as it may seem.

Throughout the story, there are points where Fortunatos death is foreshadowed. When Montresor introduces the situation in the beginning of the story, he tells us that when the person commits their act of revenge, the wrong is unredressed when retribution overtakes its redresser(172) and is equally unredressed when the avenger fails to make himself felt as such to him who has done the wrong(172). Fortunato explained that should the person committing the act of revenge feel remorse, or be found out, that the wrong against the person still remains unaddressed. This is foreshadowing Montresor murdering Fortunato, but its also foreshadowing Montresor regretting it, and possibly being discovered. Montresors theory of being discovered and regretting his decision foreshadows that he will actually regret his decision, and not enjoy the revenge he had anticipated for so long. If someone as intent on exacting revenge upon someone else and not being caught as Montresor can feel remorse, then revenge in general must not be worth it. The foreshadowing Edgar Allen Poe uses in A Cask of Amontillado represents the fact that revenge is not always as sweet as it seems.

In A Cask of Amontillado, dramatic irony and ironic situations prove to the reader that revenge is not always worth committing. As Fortunato and Montresor are walking through the catacombs, they decide to have some wine and make a toast. Fortunato toasts to the dead lying around them, but Montresor says he toasts to your [Fortunatos] long life(175). This is ironic, not only because Montresor actually ends up killing Fortunato, but also because after Montresor is so indifferent about lying to, and killing one of his best friends, he regrets his decision to kill Fortunato and end the long life he not only toasted too, but also could have allowed. Montresors regret is clear, because he tells the reader for half a century no mortal has disturbed them(178). The story is his murder confession, and the only reason Montresor would go against his theory of the perfect act of revenge and admit to killing Fortunato, would be because he felt bad for what hed done. The irony Edgar Allen Poe uses in A Cask of Amontillado contradicts Montresors original beliefs that revenge will make him happy, and proves that revenge will not satisfy someone, it can only make things worse.

Throughout the short story A Cask of Amontillado, by Edgar Allen Poe, several literary devices are used. The foreshadowing of Fortunatos murder, as well as the irony of Fortunatos death and Montresors regret, were used by Poe to convey a message to the reader. He used foreshadowing and irony to prove that although revenge seems to be the best method to restore someones happiness, it can only cause more problems, and is never as satisfying as it may seem.