1. “The Cask of Amontillado”
Edgar Allen Poe

2. What is Amontillado? Sherry or a type of wine
Why would a story be named after an alcoholic beverage?

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

4. What happens during Carnival?
Carnival is a time of EXCESS and INDULGENCE.
BINGEING upon food and alcohol is common.

5. “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.

6. The Setting: Catacombs
Catacombs are underground tunnels or rooms dug out as tombs or sometimes used for religious worship.
From
1: a subterranean cemetery of galleries with recesses for tombs —usually used in plural
2: something resembling a catacomb: as : an underground passageway or group of passageways

11. Who are masons? From www.m-w.com: Definition of
1: a skilled worker who builds by laying units of substantial material (as stone or brick)