In Edgar Allan Poe’s work “The Cask of Amontillado”, verbal irony used gives the reader insight on future events and the motives and reasoning of Montresor. Verbal irony is used to express the opposite of the speaker’s intended meaning. As Montresor and Fortunato extend their journey into the vaults, Montresor offers a drink of wine to Fortunato. The men make toasts and Fortunato asks about the Montresor family coat of arms and family motto. The latin motto, “Nemo me impune lacessit” (Poe 3) translates to “No one can attack me without being punished.” The Montresor motto allows the reader to further make predictions on the coming events in the story. Now, the reader can infer that Fortunato will indeed be punished because of his inflictions
