Irony in The Cask of Amontillado - Essay Example

Irony in The Cask of Amontillado The format of the short story is a literary form that was made popularthanks to its masterful application to the imagination of 19th century writer Edgar Allen Poe. This author didn’t invent the form, but the thrilling nature of the tales he presented served to fire the spirit of the reading public and revealed the tremendous power that could be found in a few simple words. According to Poe, “If any literary work is too long to be read at one sitting, we must be content to dispense with the immensely important effect derivable from unity of impression” (Mowery, 1997). Thus, his purpose in writing was always to present a story in a succinct enough form that it could be read all at once and therefore maximize its emotional impact. Although he is often parodied because of his brooding personality and pessimistic outlook, most of Poe’s stories are impressive because of his focused use of in-depth imagery. These descriptions are effective because they are based on the principles of binary oppositions to help construct the suspense and horror of his tales. Binary oppositions are rhetorical terms that refer to concepts related as polar opposites such as dark and light, hot and cold or male and female. “It is in the subtle shifts in our expectations of the character that tension and conflict are developed” (Mowery, 1997). In stories such as “The Cask of Amontillado,” Poe employs binary oppositions to emphasize the irony he found existent in most human society. Irony is a significant element in understanding the meaning of the story. The term irony is defined in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary as “the use of words to express something other than and especially the opposite of the literal meaning” (2009). There are several examples of this in the way in which Montressor speaks to Fortunato in the story. For example, when Fortunato has a coughing fit as the two men are walking within the catacombs, Montressor expresses grave concern for his friend’s health. “Come … we will go back; your health is precious. You are rich, respected, admired, beloved; you are happy, as I once was. You are a man to be missed” (Poe, 2003). Poe deepens the irony of this statement by allowing Fortunato to respond “the cough is a mere nothing; it will not kill me. I shall not die of a cough” (Poe, 2003) to which Montressor can only agree. Within this simple statement, though, Poe also establishes a binary opposition that seems to explain some of the hatred felt for Fortunato by Montressor. Montressor lists off the various things that Fortunato has that mark him as a blessed man and then closes the statement by suggesting that Montressor no longer has any of these things. The names of the main characters, Fortunato and Montresor are significant because one means fortunate and the other means treasure. They are binary opposites as one has all the graces of heaven while the other has only a treasure that was easily stolen by the slight that Fortunato made upon Montressor’s name. Although Montressor has spent much of his time plotting and planning this revenge, it will eventually become clear that, like other binary opposites, Montressor will become less through the destruction of Fortunato. Rather than having nothing with a purpose, he lives out the rest of his life having nothing, not even a purpose. Another sense of irony occurs when attempting to discover the geographic location or setting of the story. A clue is given when the narrator says, “He [Fortunato] prided himself upon his connoisseurship in wine. Few Italians have the true virtuoso spirit” (Poe, 2003). This reference to the virtuoso spirit is ironic because this characterization suggests a man of very discerning taste, who sees through the subtleties and who is robustly alive. All of this is in relation to a man who misses all the clues that Montressor means to do him harm and is thus about to be very dead. Another binary opposition between the states of robustly alive and very dead is thus used to construct the emotional impact of the story. The story’s location in terms of country of origin is only significant in making room for the necessary architectural features that enable Montressor to exact his revenge and in linking the story’s origins to the Italian revenge plays that have contributed strongly to English literature, another point of irony (Tempura, 2007). While it would seem to be very important, geography makes it possible for this story to have occurred anywhere. Most of the story does not happen in the city streets or even the open air but instead in the deeply buried funerary crypts, part of which serve as the contemporary generation’s wine cellar, that exist beneath the Montressor family palazzo. The irony within this setting is that as long as Fortunato is buried, Montressor has been trapped by the knowledge and the expectation of capture and perhaps disappointment of success. The narrator of the story makes it clear that his intention is revenge against another noble house for a perceived wrong yet he never regains his standing. “I must not only punish, I must punish with impunity. A wrong is undressed when retribution overtakes its redresser. It is equally unredressed when the avenger fails to make himself felt as such to him who has done the wrong” (Poe, 2003). The depth of his plotting is revealed when he indicates to the reader the way in which he ensured no one would witness his crime. “There were no attendants at home; they had absconded to make merry in honour of the time. I had told them that I should not return until the morning, and had given them explicit orders not to stir from the house. These orders were sufficient, I well knew, to insure their immediate disappearance, one and all, as soon as my back was turned” (Poe, 2003). Again, Montressor seems to act in full knowledge that his words are meaningless and his actions are quickly and unrelentingly meaningless. Montresor indicates throughout his story how he planned and prepared for his crime, timing it so as to keep his face hidden while he lured his victim to the appropriate location, choosing a site from which his victim’s screams would not be heard and preparing the site in advance with stones and mortar. Later, deep within the crypt, Fortunato makes a strange sign to Montressor but Montressor does not recognize it. When Fortunato comments that Montressor must not be a mason, Montressor disagrees by pulling out a trowel and practicing masonry by sealing Fortunato into the wall. Although he is a successful mason in that he creates a wall that matches the rest of the crypt, he dies alone with only a servant in attendance proving that he never found the kind of brotherhood inherent in the semi-secret society known as the Masons. In the end, though, he can’t help but brag about his cleverness, “For the half of a century no mortal has disturbed them. In pace requiescat!” (Poe, 2003). He seems somewhat disappointed that he was never discovered and recognized for his brilliance. Not only does this story recount the fall of a noble house in Fortunato’s death, but also suggests the fall of Montressor’s as well, highlighting the particular hidden madness that afflicts the family on a fundamental level. Throughout his stories and poetry, Poe continues to use psychological concepts to surprise and upset the reader, revealing how the social order of the world is breaking down and nobility is fallen. In stories such as “The Cask of Amontillado”, Poe demonstrates the fall of nobility through the petty revenge plots of those members of noble families who have become insane perhaps through the thinning of the bloodline. He accomplishes this through a heavy use of irony backed by the emotional impact of binary oppositions. Irony keeps the story dark and cynical, emphasizing the extreme nature of the mentality involved in the plot while binary oppositions deliver the emotional realization of the tragedy. This theme can be traced through many of Poe’s writings even while other themes are equally well-developed. This is the brilliance of Poe. Works Cited Mowery, Carl. “An Overview to ‘The Fall of the House of Usher.’” Short Stories for Students. Gale Research, 1997. Poe, Edgar Allan. “The Cask of Amontillado.” Great Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe. New York: Aerie Books, (2003). Tempura, Mariangela. “Something to Declare: Italian Avengers and British Culture in La Ragazza con la pistola and Appuntamento a Liverpool.” Performing National Identity: Anglo-Italian Cultural Transactions. Hertel, Ralf. New York: Rodopi, 2007. Read More