The Cask Of Amontillado Literary Analysis Essay

Edgar Allen Poe’s classic, “The Cask of Amontillado” tells us a tale of deceit, treachery, and murder in the name of revenge. But what is it about this particular piece of literature, first published in 1846, that helps the story remain so timeless and subject matter for analysis in literary classes still taught today? Poe’s story, set in what seems to be medieval Italy though not explicitly stated where, begins with the ruminations told from the point of view of our main character and narrator Montresor. His reflections are told from the future and then the story transitions to the past, during the season of carnival over 50 years before. Through the use of literary elements such as irony, foreshadowing, and symbolism, we see a narrative unfold in which Poe conveys a theme of darkness in relation to the pride and ego of man, the sum of which eventually lead Fortunado to his untimely death. In “The Cask of Amontillado”, our narrator and sole view into this world Montresor tells us that there happens to be a man by the name of Fortunado who has insulted him for the last time. Although Montresor never tells us specifically what the insult …show more content…
He knows Fortunado to be a proud wine connoisseur and a lush, and he easily lures him back to his home, which is vacant for the evening due to the fact that Montresor excused his house staff to go enjoy the carnival fun. Montresor takes Fortunado into a labyrinth of family catacombs built under his home, to the very deepest darkest corner where no one would ever venture to, chains him to a wall, and builds a stone wall, sealing him inside the catacombs and leaving him to die. In the stories conclusion we are brought one again to the present, and when speaking of the stones that made the wall that entombed Fortunado, Montresor states that, “For the half of a century no mortal has disturbed them.”