The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe

“…but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge.” “The Cask of Amontillado” is the narrator’s account of his ability to carry out a chilling plot of revenge against his offender.

Terms to Remember

Mood Emotion evoked in the reader by a piece of writing Mood can be identified by descriptive details author uses NON-EXAMPLE: We walked down the hallway STRONG EXAMPLE: We crept down the long, dark hallway (you can identify the suspenseful mood by the vivid verb crept and the descriptive details long and dark)

Mood Words List POSITIVE MOOD WORDS Playful Tender Enlightened Optimistic Light-Hearted Warm Hopeful Nostalgic Peaceful Welcoming Harmonious Vivacious Confident Idyllic Joyous Dignified Ecstatic Empowered NEGATIVE MOOD WORDS Tense Gloomy Violent Deceitful (an untrustworthy individual) Pessimistic Confining Cold Hopeless Haunting Nightmarish Hostile Suspenseful Foreboding (a feeling that something bad will happen) Threatening Desolate (a depressingly empty location) Merciless Terrifying

Dramatic Irony What appears to be true to a character is not what the reader or audience knows to be true. STRONG EXAMPLE: A boy tells his mother he is late because he was at a friend’s house. The audience knows that the mother talked to friend’s mother and knows son was not there

Dramatic Irony “’I drink to the buried that repose around us,” says Fortunato. “And I to your long life,” Montresor replies.” Montresor is not really drinking to Fortunato’s long life; he is playing on the fact that he will soon kill Fortunato. What type of irony is this?

Carnival Carnival is a nonreligious holiday, but it evolved from the Christian observance known as Lent. Lent is a sincere forty-day period of fasting prior to Easter.

CARNIVAL Traditionally, the fasting during Lent involves abstaining from eating meat. Modern interpretations of fasting may involve abstaining from anything one enjoys.

Carnival in English = Carnevale in Italian Carne + Vale FLESH (Meat) + FAREWELL In anticipation of the seriousness of Lent, the celebration of Carnival evolved. Participants engage in excessive eating and drinking to bid farewell to meat-eating (and merriment).

Partying in the streets and masquerading are enjoyed.

European Carnival traditions survive in the United States in the form of Mardi Gras.

“ The Cask of Amontillado ” is set during the “supreme madness” of Carnival. In such a riotous atmosphere, it is easy to see how a crime could go unnoticed.

Clothing Fortunato Narrator in his Roquelaire

Lifestyles of the Rich Symbols of Wealth & Status Circa

The wealthy class enjoyed indulgences such as Gemmary

Paintings

Fine Wine (vintages)

Coat of Arms A Latin family motto is a claim of status. Translation: “No one provokes me with impunity” Mr. Young’s translation: “No one attacks me and gets away with it.”

Status Symbols

Status Symbols

Palazzos (mansions)

Vineyards, where the grapes for producing wine are grown, create picturesque settings for owners ’ estates.

The narrator plans for his revenge to take place in the catacombs beneath his estate. What are catacombs ?

Catacombs are characterized by extensive tunnels leading to chambers or recesses where the dead rest for eternity.

Catacombs: Cities of the Dead

The wealthy could opt for family catacombs beneath their estates.

The narrator of “ The Cask of Amontillado ” carries out his revenge within the catacombs beneath his mansion.

The narrator is able to lure his victim into the catacombs with the promise of amontillado, a fine sherry wine.

The Storage of Wine

For wines to maintain their best quality, they need to be stored at fairly cool and constant temperatures.

During the time period in which the story is set, modern electric refrigeration was not available. To protect wine collections, connoisseurs adopted the practice of storing wines under the ground where temperatures remain ideal year-round.

Basements, cellars, and even catacombs serve as excellent storage facilities for the precious vintages.

Where wine bottles intermingle with the bones of the dead, the narrator carries out his plan for revenge.

And just to think... This horrifying tale takes place on a festive night of Carnival