Irony In 'The Cask Of Amontillado'

The Use of Irony in “The Cask of Amontillado”
In Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado,” Poe uses various types of irony to develop his theme of revenge as tool of justice. Poe’s use of irony deals the audience a vast knowledge of the story’s conclusion, and gives the narrative a dark humor that was signature of his work. In this story of an unreliable narrator in the first-person point of view, the dark humor and irony makes this tale of cold-blooded murder interesting and entertaining to the reader. The first, and arguably the most abundant, use of irony in “The Cask of Amontillado” is verbal irony. Verbal irony is when a character says one thing but means another, or uses words to convey a meaning that is opposite of their literal meaning. When Montresor first greets Fortunado in the streets of the Carnival festival, he says, “My dear Fortunado, you are luckily met.” (5) In
reality, Montresor knows that this meeting is not lucky at all for Fortunado, as this is the day Montresor exacts his revenge. While they are travelling deeper into the catacombs, Fortunado begins coughing excessively due to the dampness and the nitre on the walls. In reply to Montresor, Fortunado says, “Enough, the cough is a mere nothing; it will not kill me. I shall not die of a cough.” (39) To this, Montresor says, “True-true,” (41) and you can almost sense the gleam in his eye as he thinks about the events about to unfold. This is ironic because Fortunado doesn’t know he is about to die, and at the hands of Montresor and not a cough. Then, they make a toast with some red wine. Fortunado toasts to the dead buried around them, and Montresor toasts to Fortunado’s long life. This is ironic because Montresor knows Fortunado is about to die, and Fortunado is about to become one of the dead in the catacombs. Farther along in the story, Fortunado asks Montresor if he is a mason when Montresor does not understand a gesticulation made by Fortunado. Montresor replies yes, but he means he is a brick layer, not a free mason. He is about to build a wall to enclose Fortunado in the catacombs forever. The last example of verbal irony I found was after Montresor had Fortunado bound to the wall. He says, “Once more let me implore you to return. No? Then I must positively leave you.” (71) This is ironic because he has been using reverse psychology throughout the catacombs to manipulate Fortunado to keep going even though his cough was worsening, by telling him he will have Luchresi sample the wine instead. Now he “implores” him to return, knowing he is bound to the wall and cannot leave. Another type of irony used in “The Cask of Amontillado” is situational irony. This is when there is a discrepancy between the expected result and the actual result. The word cask used in the story is similar to and from the same word as casket. While the audience (and Fortunado himself) expected Fortunado to find a cask of wine, he found himself in a casket of sorts, stored away like the supposed cask of wine they were going to taste. Also along those lines, we learn that Fortunado is a Mason, but Montresor ends up being that one doing the masonry (when he builds the brick wall). Also, in the beginning the reader might assume this was a recent event, but it is later learned that he is confessing something that occurred fifty years prior. Fortunado’s jester costume and the festive Carnival festival are also ironic, considering the grim events that are about to befall upon him. Another example is when we learn that Montresor has sent away his servants to enjoy the festival, but this was really to ensure no one would witness the murder. Even Fortunado’s name is ironic. In Italian, Fortunado means fortune. One might predict he is a lucky man, but in this story he is very unlucky. That last type of irony found in “The Cask of Amontillado” is dramatic irony.
Dramatic irony is when the audience knows something that the characters do not. The entire story is based on dramatic irony, given that the audience knows from the beginning that Montresor is plotting his revenge and poor Fortunado does not. A more specific example is the line where Fortunado says he will not die of a cough. The audience knows that he will endure Montresor’s revenge soon. When the characters first meet in the beginning of the story, there is also dramatic irony because Fortunado obviously thinks fondly of Montresor and is happy to see him. It is a very hectic and festive event, and Fortunado probably thought he was very lucky to chance upon Montresor and given the opportunity to help out a friend and sample some very expensive wine. The audience has the foreknowledge however, that this wasn’t a joyous occasion and that Fortunado was about to meet his untimely demise. Poe’s use of dramatic irony allows the audience to be a part of Montresor’s plan and gives a glimpse into his dark
mind. By using verbal, situational and dramatic irony, Poe is able to develop his theme of revenge in a unique way. The audience is able to have a front row seat and foreknowledge of Montresor’s plan for revenge. While the entire story is an example of dramatic irony, the frequent use of verbal and situational irony also make for an entertaining, enthralling and dark tale.

References
Poe, Edgar Allan. “The Cask of Amontillado.” Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing. Ed. Laurie G. Kirzner and Stephen R. Mandell. 8th ed. Boston: Wadsworth, 2013. 360-65. Print.