Examples Of Irony In The Cask Of Amontillado

In “Cask of Amontillado”, Poe includes many examples of irony to add suspense to the story so the reader will want to keep reading. One of the many examples of irony was presented while Fortunato and Montresor were walking through the catacombs under Montresor’s house. Montresor states, “Come,” I said, with decision, “We will go back; your health is precious”(Poe 61). Clearly, Fortunato’s health is not precious. The reader knows this because, if his health was precious, than Montresor would not be leading him to his death. Also, if Montresor thought his health was precious, he would not have made his sickness worse by leading him out into the cold weather and getting him intoxicated. This makes the reader feel suspense because if Montresor …show more content…
Other than the first example of irony in “Cask of Amontillado”, there are many others. Shortly after Fortunato and Montresor were walking through the catacombs, Fortunato and Montresor continued their conversation. “You are rich, respected, admired, beloved; you are happy as once I was. You are a man to be missed”(Poe 61). Maybe Fortunato is rich, respected, admired, and beloved, but he surely will not be missed by Montresor. The reason why Montresor is doing these certain things to Fortunato is because of revenge. Although, the reader do not figure out what Fortunato had done to Montresor, the reader still knows he did something bad resulting in Montresor killing Fortunato as revenge. This piece of irony adds suspense to the story because Montresor keeps telling Fortunato that he is loved and everybody will miss him and it provides the reader to second guess themselves on if Montresor will really kill Fortunato. Another taste of irony in the story was presented while Montresor and Fortunato were drinking wine. Before they took their first sip of wine, they made a toast. “I drink,”he said, “to the buried that repose around us.” “And I to your long life”(Pe 61). Fortunato does not know what Montresor has