"The Cask of Amontillado" by Edgar Allen Poe.

Essay by Viper69xxxUniversity, Bachelor'sA+, September 2005

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In "The Cask of Amontillado", Edgar Allen Poe demonstrates the horrors of a

chilling murder. The narrator, Montresor, has vowed revenge upon his enemy,

Fortunato. Fortunato willingly travels with his killer to his doom. The reader is left

awestruck and amazed at Montresor's grotesque act. Poe uses irony through the

character of Montresor to foreshadow his enemy's death.

One example of his use of irony through Montresor is their toast to each other.

Fortunato drank to the dead around them, to their lives. However, his killer drank to

the victim's long life. This ironic toast lends the reader a sense of what is to come. The

audience and Montresor know Fortunato's death is waiting around the corner.

Afterwards, he creppily puts his arm around his victim and leads him closer to his

death. An ironic statement to foreshadow a murder.

Another use of irony through foreshadowing is in the end when Fortunato begs

Montresor by stating, "Let us be gone".

Montresor's reply is an ironic echo,"Yes, let us

be gone". The assassin wants his prey to know he will die. His life will be dissipated in a

short while. This comment is freezing as it is comprehended. Montresor is ready for

the final breath of Fortunato. His end is again foreshadowed to the audience.

Perhaps the most profound irony which foreshadows Fortunato's death is their

conversation about the Masonic brotherhood. The audience understands Montresors

intention as he draws a trowel from his cape and proclaims to be a Mason. Fortunato is

clearly a member of the Mason brotherhood. However, it is frightfully clear Montresor

is an entirely different kind of Mason. Poe uses this profound scene to exemplify

foreshadowing through irony.

Poe's reflection of irony through foreshadowing is plainly evident in "The Cask of

Amatillado". His character, Montresor,