The Cask of Amontillado, by Edgar Allan Poe, is a short story told from the point of view of a man, Montresor, that’s filled with hatred and vengefulness towards Fortunato. Poe develops the hateful and vengeful theme of this short story through his usage of the literary elements, more specifically the point of view, the usage of irony, and the setting of the story. He also does a good job of developing the theme through his establishment of a suspenseful, disturbing tone. In his poem Fable for Critics (1848), James Russell Lowell calls Poe’s work “Three fifths genius, and two fifths fudge.” One could argue that “The Cask of Amontillado” is more genius then “fudge”.
One literary element that is essential to the development of the theme in The Cask of Amontillado is the point of view from which the story is told. The story is told by a first person narrator, Montresor, who is pretty open and adamant in his hatred for the only other character in the story, Fortunato. The story is told by Montresor, about 50 years after he murdered Fortunato …show more content…
They think of a Mardi Gras type celebration taking place as any rational human would. The setting also helps develop the theme of vengefulness because it does not give anything away. It actually makes the reader really think that about what the story could be about. In most cases what ended up happening at the end of this story probably was unexpected to the reader. It can also be said that the setting is an example of symbolism as well. On page 208 in the last paragraph, Montresor recalls that “one evening during the supreme madness of the carnival season, that I encountered my friend [Fortunato]. (208)” This ‘supreme madness of the carnival season’ could very well represent the madness of the mind of
One literary element that is essential to the development of the theme in The Cask of Amontillado is the point of view from which the story is told. The story is told by a first person narrator, Montresor, who is pretty open and adamant in his hatred for the only other character in the story, Fortunato. The story is told by Montresor, about 50 years after he murdered Fortunato …show more content…
They think of a Mardi Gras type celebration taking place as any rational human would. The setting also helps develop the theme of vengefulness because it does not give anything away. It actually makes the reader really think that about what the story could be about. In most cases what ended up happening at the end of this story probably was unexpected to the reader. It can also be said that the setting is an example of symbolism as well. On page 208 in the last paragraph, Montresor recalls that “one evening during the supreme madness of the carnival season, that I encountered my friend [Fortunato]. (208)” This ‘supreme madness of the carnival season’ could very well represent the madness of the mind of