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When and where does the Cask of Amontillado take place?
The Cask of Amontillado is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe, first published in November 1846. It is set in an unnamed city in Italy, during the carnival and tells the story of Montresor, who seeks revenge on Fortunato, a fellow nobleman who insulted him several times.
What is the historical context of the Cask of Amontillado?
The Cask of Amontillado is written at a time when culture and religion were undergoing compromise due to other non-traditional practices that were quickly taking root. The most prevalent was freemasonry and the carnival festival that seemed to change the traditions of the lent season.
How old is Montresor In The Cask of Amontillado?
A positive attitude about the past is often observed in persons when they are old, and if he committed his perfect crime at about age 25, in the fictional present Montresor is 75 years old. Despite his age he appears healthy and vigorous and in no imminent danger of dying.
Why is Montresor telling the story 50 years later?
"Montresor, like most of Poe's protagonists, is paranoid of being found out. The crime would have been too fresh had he told it the morning after. By telling it 50 years later, most people who remember Fortunato would have forgotten or have died."
Why is Fortunato's name ironic?
Answer and Explanation: Fortunato's name is ironic as he is not fortunate or lucky to have encountered Montresor during the carnival. Montresor tells him, "My dear Fortunato, you are luckily met.
Is The Cask of Amontillado a true story?
Cask of Amontillado The legend wasn't true. Military records show Drane was promoted to captain and died in 1846. But Edgar Allan Poe kept the legend alive. In 1846, he published The Cask of Amontillado in Godey's Lady's Book.
Is Montresor the hero or the villain?
Montresor is the protagonist villain of Edgar Allen Poe's short story "The Cask of Amontillado."
What were Fortunato's last words?
1. “For the love of God, Montresor!” In “The Cask of Amontillado,” Fortunato addresses this plea—his last spoken words—to Montresor, the man who has entombed him alive.
Does Montresor regret killing Fortunato?
When the story is over, Montresor says, “In pace requiescat”, which means, “May he rest in peace” (719). This short statement indicates that Montresor is sorry for what he has done, and further supports the fact that he will never get over the crime he has committed.
Did Montresor get away with his crime?
For example, like Montresor, we all have vengeful urges − though, luckily, few of us ever follow them as far as murder. Perhaps more importantly, we identify with Montresor because he's still alive. He got away with what he did without getting into trouble.
Why did Montresor's heart grew sick?
Why did Montresor's "heart grow sick"? The dampness of the catacombs. In the last portion of the story, Montresor often repeats Fortunato's words.
Did Montresor succeed in killing Fortunato?
In 'The Cask of Amontillado,' Montresor kills Fortunato by building a wall around him in the depths of the wine cellar/ catacombs, sealing him inside.
What does Montresor look like?
He is dressed as in all black with a coat, and so he kind of looks like a grim reaper. This directly relates to the story and it symbolizes kind of how Montresor acts with the events of the story because in the end he gives Fortunato a painful death.
Was Montresor married?
Montresor married as his third wife Frances Nickolls, daughter of H. Nickolls and widow of William Kemp. He died at Teynham, Kent, 6 January 1776.
How would you describe Montresor In The Cask of Amontillado?
Montresor is a cunning and intelligent man who is extremely loyal to his family. He begins the story explaining that he had suffered a thousand injuries of Fortunato, but the minute he was insulted directly he needed to plan revenge.
Where is Montresor from?
Montrésor (French pronunciation: [mɔ̃tʁezɔʁ] ( listen)) is a commune in the Indre-et-Loire department, Centre-Val de Loire, France.
Where did the Cask of Amontillado come from?
An apocryphal legend holds that the inspiration for "The Cask of Amontillado" came from a story Poe had heard at Castle Island ( South Boston ), Massachusetts, when he was a private stationed at Fort Independence in 1827. According to this legend, he saw a monument to Lieutenant Robert Massie. Historically, Massie had been killed in a sword duel on Christmas Day 1817 by Lieutenant Gustavus Drane, following a dispute during a card game. The legend states other soldiers then took revenge on Drane by getting him drunk, luring him into the dungeon, chaining him to a wall, and sealing him in a vault. This version of Drane's demise is false; Drane was courtmartialled for the killing and acquitted, and lived until 1846. A report of a skeleton discovered on the island may be a confused remembering of Poe's major source, Joel Headley's "A Man Built in a Wall", which recounts the author's seeing an immured skeleton in the wall of a church in Italy. Headley's story includes details very similar to "The Cask of Amontillado"; in addition to walling an enemy into a hidden niche, the story details the careful placement of the bricks, the motive of revenge, and the victim's agonized moaning. Poe may have also seen similar themes in Honoré de Balzac 's La Grande Bretèche ( Democratic Review, November 1843) or his friend George Lippard 's The Quaker City, or The Monks of Monk Hall (1845). Poe may have borrowed Montresor's family motto Nemo me impune lacessit from James Fenimore Cooper, who used the line in The Last of the Mohicans (1826).
When was the Cask of Amontillado published?
Library of Virginia. "The Cask of Amontillado" was first published in the November 1846 issue of Godey's Lady's Book, which was, at the time, the most popular periodical in America. The story was only published one additional time during Poe's life, in the November 14, 1846 New England Weekly Review.
What gesture does Fortunato make?
At one point, Fortunato makes an elaborate, grotesque gesture with an upraised wine bottle. When Montresor appears not to recognize the gesture, Fortunato asks, "You are not of the masons?" Montresor says he is, and when Fortunato, disbelieving, requests a sign, Montresor displays a trowel he had been hiding. When they come to a niche, Montresor tells his victim that the Amontillado is within. Fortunato enters drunk and unsuspecting and therefore, does not resist as Montresor quickly chains him to the wall. Montresor then declares that, since Fortunato won't go back, Montresor must "positively leave" him there.
What does Montresor invite Fortunato to?
Montresor invites Fortunato to sample amontillado that he has just purchased without proving its authenticity. Fortunato follows him into the Montresor family vaults, which also serve as catacombs. For unknown reasons, Montresor seeks revenge upon Fortunato and is actually luring him into a trap. At the end of the story, the narrator reveals that 50 years have passed since he took revenge and Fortunato's body has not been disturbed.
What is the similarity between Headley and Amontillado?
Headley's story includes details very similar to "The Cask of Amontillado "; in addition to walling an enemy into a hidden niche, the story details the careful placement of the bricks, the motive of revenge, and the victim's agonized moaning.
Why did Poe write Montresor?
Further, Fortunato is depicted as an expert on wine, which Montresor exploits in his plot, but he does not display the type of respect towards alcohol expected of such experts. Poe may have been inspired to write the story by his own real-life desire for revenge against contemporary literary rivals. The story has been frequently adapted in multiple forms since its original publication.
What is the mystery in the Cask of Amontillado?
The mystery in "The Cask of Amontillado" is in Montresor's motive for murder. Without a detective in the story, it is up to the reader to solve the mystery. From the beginning of the story, it is made clear that Montresor has exaggerated his grievances towards Fortunato.
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What is Poe's setting?
Although Poe himself was a nineteenth-century American writer, he deliberately chose an exotic setting (Italy) remote from his reader's lives in period and place. This use of exotic locale is typical of the "gothic" genre.
Is the Roquelaire a real story?
Since this is not a realistic story, it doesn't need a precise date, but both the language and atmosphere suggest that this is a work of historical fiction, set in a period before its original audience was born, for the purpose of making the story more exotic.
Where is the Cask of Amontillado set?
One of the rules Poe followed in his writing was to avoid excess. He believed that every detail in a story should be chosen carefully so that it helped to contribute to the mood he was trying to create. Any other details, he thought, should be left out. As a result, many questions raised in “The Cask of Amontillado” go unanswered. It is even uncertain exactly where and when the story takes place. Most critics agree that the story is set somewhere in Italy, as the narrator’s references to his “palazzo” (the Italian word for palace) and his knowledge of Italian wines seem to indicate. Some disagree, however, and place the story in France. Although the name of the narrator’s enemy, Fortunato, sounds Italian, the narrator himself, Montresor, has a French name. Furthermore, the narrator uses French words like “flambeaux” (torches) and “roquelaire” (cape), shares two bottles of French wine with Fortunato during their descent into the vaults, and refers in the beginning of the story to the weaknesses of Italians, naming Fortunato and “his countrymen” in the same breath, thus implying that Montresor himself is not Italian.
Why is the Cask of Amontillado important?
Narrated by a boastful murderer, it opens a window onto the criminal mind as Poe saw it. At the time the story was written, interest in the workings of the criminal mind was significant. Increasingly publicized criminal trials and other literature that featured criminal characters spurred Americans to talk more than ever before about the nature of and reasons for criminal behavior.
What wine does Montresor buy?
Finding Fortunato on the street one night during the carnival season, Montresor greets him warmly (Fortunato is not aware of his ill feelings) and mentions that he has bought a cask of what he thinks is a fine Spanish wine, Amontillado. Aware of Fortunato’s pride about his wine-tasting abilities, Montresor explains that he is not sure if the wine is truly Amontillado , and that he needs an expert to taste it and decide. Fortunato, already drunk and excited by the chance to display his skill, needs no urging. He rushes off with Montresor to the latter’s palace in search of the wine.
What was the carnival season?
The carnival season in eighteenth-century Italy and France was the highlight of the year. Usually lasting a week or more, it was a time for parties, feasts, parades, and costumes. In these Catholic countries, the carnival season was the last chance to have fun before Lent—a forty-day period of fasting and penitence—so there was a great deal of merriment. Women dressed as male characters from comic plays, and men dressed as female characters. Students wore sailor’s uniforms, and sailors dressed as artists. The black mask and cape worn by Poe’s Montresor and the court jester’s costume favored by Fortunato were both popular as well. Disguised revelers at the carnival threw confetti at the crowd, walked on stilts, ate fine foods, and drank plenty of wine. The festivity of such a carnival setting serves as a stark contrast to the dark underworld of Montresor’s vaults in the short story.
What does Montresor say about his heart?
At one point near the end of the story, however, Montresor reveals what may be a loss of self-control. For a brief moment, as he finishes the job of walling up Fortunato, Montresor says that his “heart grew sick” (“Cask of Amontillado,” p. 468). Although he quickly explains this sickness away, claiming it is due to “the dampness of the catacombs,” his comment raises the possibility that Montresor feels a pang of guilt for his actions. This possibility adds another level of intrigue to an already tantalizing portrayal of cold-hearted criminality.
Where were Montresor's skeletons stored?
Although it may seem odd for Montresor to store his wine and his family’s skeletons in the same underground vaults, it should be noted that burial customs were rather different in eighteenth-century Europe than they are now. In Palermo, Sicily, when someone died, his or her corpse would be walled up in underground tombs known as catacombs. After six months, the flesh having disappeared, the skeleton would be ready for display. The catacombs were brightly lit so that each skeleton could be seen holding a card with the person’s name and title. In the case of public officials who died in Sicily, the dead bodies would be displayed in chairs on the main floor of churches, with two officials placed nearby to fan away flies. Elsewhere, human bones were laid in decorated boxes to be viewed by relatives. Clearly, the “long walls of piled skeletons” that greet Montresor and Fortunato during their journey through the catacombs were no oddity in eighteenth-century Europe (Poe, “Cask of Amontillado,” p. 466).
What is Montresor's attitude?
The behavior of these notorious men parallels that of Montresor in Poe’s short story. Montresor’s calculating mind, skillfully controlled actions, and unrepentant attitude are evident throughout the story. From the beginning of his revenge plot, Montresor takes care to keep his victim unaware of his intentions:
What is the Cask of Amontillado?
The Cask of Amontillado is an 1846 short story by American author Edgar Allan Poe. This tale describes a meeting of two acquaintances in which one man seeks revenge on the other. The setting and tone are crucial elements of Poe's macabre story. Updated: 12/03/2020.
Where does the story of Fortunato begin?
The story begins in the midst of the celebration, presumably in a public place. Montresor immediately realizes that Fortunato is rendered vulnerable by the season and intoxication. The narrator then proceeds to lure him into place for his death using the cask of expensive wine in the story's title.
What is Montresor's first speech?
The first speech given by Montresor to the reader sets the tone of sarcasm and dripping irony that permeates the narrator's manner throughout the story. There is a sense that Montresor views the gruesome fate awaiting Fortunato is well-deserved for whatever ''insult'' the narrator had experienced.
What is the tone of the story in Fortunato?
The tone of the tale is cold and calculated, as the narrator openly shares his intent of revenge from the outset. A tone of cruel sarcasm dominates Montresor's narration of the tale.
Where is Fortunato's last resting place?
At the Montresor family villa , Fortunato is easily enticed into his final resting place in spite of the gloomy aspect of the halls of the catacombs (which are underground chambers filled with the dead) lined with niter. This is a rather toxic substance that typically forms in caves. Underground catacombs are cold and dark, a likely place to possibly keep expensive wine like amontillado (a dry Italian sherry). The catacombs are dingy and damp, the site of decaying flesh and rotting bones.
What is the effect of the setting in Fortunato?
The gruesome nature of the story's setting has a gradual impact on poor Fortunato, who is already intoxicated at the start of the action. As the plot progresses, his host proceeds to ply him with more drink. By the time Montresor's evil intent is enacted, it's far too late for the victim to gather his wits.
What is the setting of Poe's Macabre Tale?
Set in an Italian town during the season of carnival, which was a time of wild celebration (like Mardi Gras, remember), the celebratory atmosphere, including drinking and revelry, contribute to the plot of Poe's macabre tale.
Overview
Inspiration
An apocryphal legend holds that the inspiration for "The Cask of Amontillado" came from a story Poe had heard at Castle Island (South Boston), Massachusetts, when he was a private stationed at Fort Independence in 1827. According to this legend, he saw a monument to Lieutenant Robert Massie. Historically, Massie had been killed in a sword duel on Christmas Day 1817 by Lieutenant Gustavus Drane, following a dispute during a card game. The legend states other soldiers then t…
Plot summary
The story's narrator, Montresor, tells an unspecified person, who knows him very well, of the day he took his revenge on Fortunato (Italian for "the fortunate one"), a fellow nobleman. Angry over numerous injuries and some unspecified insult, Montresor plots to murder his "friend" during Carnival, while the man is drunk, dizzy, and wearing a jester's motley.
Montresor lures Fortunato into a private wine-tasting excursion by telling him he has obtained a
Publication history
"The Cask of Amontillado" was first published in the November 1846 issue of Godey's Lady's Book, which was, at the time, the most popular periodical in America. The story was only published one additional time during Poe's life, in the November 14, 1846 New England Weekly Review.
Analysis
Although the subject matter of Poe's story is a murder, "The Cask of Amontillado" is not a tale of detection like "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" or "The Purloined Letter"; there is no investigation of Montresor's crime and the criminal himself explains how he committed the murder. The mystery in "The Cask of Amontillado" is in Montresor's motive for murder. Without a detective in the story, it is up to the reader to solve the mystery. From the beginning of the story, it is made cl…
Adaptations
• In 1944, the syndicated radio anthology series The Weird Circle aired an episode based on the story, in which Montresor is depicted as being kidnapped and sold into years of slavery by agents hired by Fortunato, who steals his fiancee and wealth in his absence, as motive for entombing Fortunato alive. The author of the adaptation was not credited.
• In 1951, EC Comics published an adaptation in Crime Suspenstories #3, under the title "Blood Red Wine." The adaptation was writt…
External links
• Full text in the bound volume of Godey's Lady's Book, Vol. XXXIII, No. 5, November, 1846, pp. 216-218.
• "The Cask of Amontillado" – Full text of the first printing, from Godey's Lady's Book, 1846
• Full text on PoeStories.com with hyperlinked vocabulary words.