Negative Capability In The Cask Of Amontillado By Edgar Allen Poe

Negative Capability: An Analysis of the Ambiguous Motive for Murder and Class Conflict in the “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allen Poe

This literary study will define the ambiguous motives for murder in the theoretical framework of “negative capability” in the “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allen Poe. Poe’s application of “negative capability” is defined in the ambiguous motives that Montresor possess in the murder of his old friend, Fortunato. Negative capability is defined in the way that an author can pursue a deeply compelling vision of artistic meaning, yet the work of art leads to a vision of confusion or uncertainty. In this manner, Montresor never really reveals the motives of revenge that he actualizes in the death of Fortunato,
For instance, the ironic symbolism of the family crest possesses a serpent that is being crushed by a human foot, yet the serpent gets revenge by sinking its fangs into the heel: “”A huge human foot d’or, in a field of azure; the foot crushes a serpent rampant whose fangs are imbedded in the heel” (233). In this case, the “foot of gold” is a symbol of wealth, and it is meant to symbolize Fortunato’s wealth and class status. In turn, the snake symbolizes Montresor, yet he has gotten his revenge by biting into the heel of his perceived oppressor. Surely, this is another example of negative capability of Poe’s symbolism and character development, which reveals the underlying motive of the revenge killing. Of course, this is part of the confusion and ambiguity of negative capability that Montresor explains his family crest, since it makes the assumption that his family has historical (or genetically) killed persons of a higher class as a form of natural disposition. However, the underlying reasoning behind Montresor’s murder of Fortunato is actually characterizing the class conflict between differing class rankings of society. In this way, Poe’s aesthetic style of characterization may appear to be a psychotic hostility on the part of Montresor, but the underlying class conflict actually defines the primary motive for Fortunato’s murder. In this way, Montresor may appear to be a irrational and psychotic individual without a motive for killing, but the negative capacity of Poe’s intent is to show a brilliant form of class-conflict that is part of the underlying meaning of this