1. “The Cask of Amontillado”
Edgar Allan Poe
English 9A Mr. Shimizu Oct./Nov. ‘13

2. Who was Edgar Allan Poe?
Mom died of TB and dad abandoned the family a year after he was born … raised by wealthy Allan family.
Kicked out of West Point for ditching class, not attending church; disowned by foster dad
Fled to NYC to be a poet, married his cousin when she was 13 and he 26; she died at 24 from TB;
Died mysteriously in 1849 (theories range from alcoholism, drugs, suicide, rabies)
Recognized master of gothic mysteries and horror stories
“Philosophy of Composition”: Stressed that the best stories featured a “unity of effect”

3. SETTING IN “CASK”
Catacombs are underground passageways where people have been buried since ancient Roman times … shallow recesses (niches) would be carved into the walls and people would be laid out in these spaces … wealthy families built private catacombs beneath their mansions (palazzos in Italy) and buried members of their family there … since these spaces were colder than aboveground, they made ideal spaces for storing wine collections. NOTE: may need to describe/draw on board what sconces (holder for a light source mounted on wall) and flambeaux (flaming torch) look like?
Niches and niter that adorn the walls of this catacomb

4. Imagine being led down these steps deep under ground …
Below are images of revelers during …
Montresor may live in a palazzo like this …
Carnevale precedes the start of Lent … it was a time of merriment and the loosening of morals … aristocrats of the time intermixed w/ the populace wearing masks and used this opportunity to conduct themselves in ways they could not at other times of the year (consider how Montresor uses the “supreme madness” of this event to cloak his disordliness, just as a mask hides the true appearances of the revelers).
… the yearly festi-val known as Carne-vale

5. Mood: The dominant feeling the reader experiences while reading a piece of literature
The way the author describes the setting (diction and imagery) can cause the reader to feel certain emotions (react a certain way).

6. Characters + Point of View
MONTRESOR: the protagonist and first-person narrator; a member of a once-great family
FORTUNATO: Montresor’s “friend”; a wine connoisseur and member of the Freemasons
LUCHESI: another connoisseur of wine; only talked about and does not appear in the story
NOTE: The carnevale costume at the right is an example of the motley Fortunato is wearing in the story

7. In the story, Montresor says one thing but he almost always means something else … this is what is called VERBAL IRONY.
VERBAL IRONY= a statement in which the speaker uses words that suggest the opposite of what he/she really means or wants to say
Sarcasm vs. verbal irony= sarcasm is more direct and ridicule is more important in sarcasm than in verbal irony

8. Preview of Conflict
In this story, Fortunato commits a “thousand injuries” against Montresor, and Montresor decides to take revenge on him … what type of conflict is this?
Preview of Conflict
In this story, Fortunato commits a “thousand injuries” against Montresor, and Montresor decides to take revenge on him … what type of conflict is this?

9. Preview of Theme
“To refrain from imitation is the best revenge” -Marcus Aurelius
“While seeking revenge, dig two graves— one for yourself.” Douglas Horton
Have you ever wanted revenge? What would you be willing to do to get it?
Tell your neighbor about a time you or someone you know tried to get revenge … what happened? Were you successful? Did you get in trouble? How did you feel afterwards?
Preview of Theme
Have you ever wanted revenge? What would you be willing to do to get it? Tell your neighbor about a time you/someone you know tried to get revenge … what happened (Successful? Did they get in trouble?)?
Marcus Aurelius: “To refrain from imitation is the best revenge”
Douglas Horton (American priest): “While seeking revenge, dig two graves—one for yourself.”

10. Let’s look at the first line of “The Cask of Amontillado” …
“The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as best I could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge.”
What does this line mean? Tell your neighbor what you think this line means.
Keep in mind:
Borne = past-tense of to bear (to endure, to suffer)
Ventured = past-tense of to venture (to dare, to take a risk)
Strategy for reading Poe: look for the main subject, the main action (delete all the extra clauses set off by commas) … once you have the main subject/action, only then do you start looking at how the clauses work to add detail/description/info
Use the 1st paragraph of story: “You, who so well know the nature of my soul, will not suppose, however, that I gave utterance to a threat.”
Include the opening sentence before this one and explain it
Give them minute or two to read the “You, who so well know …” sentence in pairs: what can we take out of this sentence?

11. “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as best I could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge.”
I tried my best to take the thousand injuries Fortunato gave me, but when he dared to insult me I vowed to get revenge on him.

12. Let’s look at the second sentence:
“You, who so well know the nature of my soul, will not suppose, however, that I gave utterance to a threat.”
If you have complex sentences with many dependent clauses (often indicated by commas), try taking them out to get the meaning.
“You … will not suppose … that I gave utterance to a threat.”
This sentence is about Montresor telling the reader that he did not threaten Fortunato with revenge out loud (he made no “utterance”).
Once you get the meaning, plug in dependent clauses for more info.
“however” = Even though I vowed revenge, don’t think I actually told Fortunato what I was planning.
“…who so well know the nature of my soul …” = Montresor speaks to us as if we know him very well—but how accurate is this assumption? Does Montresor really mean what he says? Does anyone ever really know what’s in a person’s soul?

13. Some questions to think about as you read …
What kind of person is Montresor? How would you describe him, based on what he says and does?
How does Poe use his descriptions of the setting to frighten you? What details about the setting are intended to make you feel increasingly more fearful?
questions to think about as they read
What kind of person is Montresor? Look at what he says and what he really means by what he says
How does Poe use his descriptions of the setting to frighten you? What details about the setting are intended to make you feel increasingly higher levels of fear?