The Cask of Amontillado Summary and Analysis

Introduction to The Cask on Amontillado

The Cask of Amontillado was written by the acclaimed Edgar Allan Poe and published in November 1846. It is considered one of his best short stories that deal with mystery and intrigue as the protagonist Montresor plans his revenge against Fortunato.

The Cask of Amontillado: Plot Summary

The plot of The Cask of Amontillado is a simple tale of revenge. The story begins in medias res, as is characteristic of short stories, with the first-person narrator expressing his grievances. The narrator, whom the reader later identifies as Montresor, complains of the injury that Fortunato has done and claims he cannot tolerate his insults anymore.

So, Montresor plots his revenge.

Keeping his hatred for Fortunato a secret, Montresor takes the help of flattery to snag his prey in his web. He knows Fortunato considers himself a connoisseur of fine wines. Using that knowledge to his advantage, Montresor tempts Fortunato by asking his opinion about a recently acquired Amontillado.

Unable to quell his curiosity, Fortunato insists on visiting Montresor’s house for some wine tasting, despite Montresor warning him about the dampness and nitre.

The day Fortunato visits Montresor’s house happens to be the day of the carnival. Montresor uses the excuse of festivities to give all his staff a holiday. This allows him to carry out his revenge without any of his staff bearing witness. Fortunato doesn’t raise any suspicions about the lack of staff either because it’s quite understandable for them to receive a holiday on the day of the carnival.

As the two descend deeper into the vaults, Fortunato starts to cough vehemently due to the nitre. But that doesn’t stop him from descending the vaults to try the Amontillado. Montresor offers him some Medoc wine, which does the trick and makes Fortunato feel better.

He keeps drinking the wine whenever the nitre fumes become overwhelming. At one point, Fortunato even raises a toast to Montresor’s ancestors, and the latter raises a toast to Fortunato’s long life. During his drunken stupor, he admits to having forgotten what Montresor’s coat of arms looks like. Now, during the time this story was written, forgetting someone's coat of arms, especially if they belonged to a noble family, was considered an insult. And this is one of the several insults that Fortunato has apparently been throwing at Montresor.

As they continue descending, the cold and nitre make it hard for Fortunato to continue on without a drink. So Montresor gives him the whole bottle of De Grave, which Fortunato tosses in the air in a symbolic gesture after emptying. The symbol is of a secret order of the Masons, and Fortunato is convinced Montresor cannot recognize it because he is not part of the secret order.

Of course, Fortunato severely underestimates Montresor because he turns out to be a superb mason.

The two gentlemen descend and navigate their way amongst hundreds of catacombs of Montresor’s dead relatives. At one of these catacombs, Montresor urges Fortunato to enter a crypt where the Amontillado lay.

Since Fortunato has already had much to drink, he loses his critical thinking abilities and enters the crypt. As soon as he hits the granite wall, Montresor binds him in chains to the wall. Since Fortunato is inebriated, he cannot fathom anything or resist his bindings.

Wasting no time, Montresor starts to seal the entrance with brick and mortar. Once he’s done with the first tier, he hears moans from inside the crypt. But by the time he completes the fourth tier, the moans turn to shrill screaming.   

When Montresor is almost finished with the last tier, he hears Fortunato begging him to stop the joke. Montresor shows no remorse and mocks Fortunato back before putting the final brick in. And for fifty years, no one found out the truth of Fortunato's disappearance. View Examples

A Critical Commentary on The Cask of Amontillado

The Cask of Amontillado is an outstanding short story by Edgar Allan Poe. Critics have deemed it the perfect short story because it meets all the standard characteristics of one.

A reader can complete a short story in one sitting. Poe’s The Cask of Amontillado is around 8 pages in print, or approximately 24 pages, depending on the version, making it the perfect length for a short story.

Short stories also focus on a singular plot. In The Cask of Amontillado, the main plot focuses on Montresor’s revenge on Fortunato.

Usually, short stories begin in medias res, or in the middle of the action. In The Cask of Amontillado, the readers are dropped immediately into the middle of the plot, where Montresor claims to have received grave insults from his acquaintance Fortunato and plots his revenge.

Earlier, short stories used to focus on providing the readers with a moral lesson. But nowadays, most of them end on an ambiguous note that leaves the readers with more questions than answers. For example, in The Cask of Amontillado, the readers are left wondering about the “thousand injuries” that Montresor claims to have suffered at the hands of Fortunato. And if Fortunato had indeed insulted Montresor to such an extent, it does not make sense for him to accompany him down to the vaults.

Short stories also employ various literary devices, such as foreshadowing, point of view, imagery, irony, and metaphors. In The Cask of Amontillado, Poe makes excellent use of these literary devices to double down on the atmosphere of mystery and tension in the story.

Here’s a detailed analysis of his use of various literary devices:

The Use of Irony

Poe uses various instances of dramatic irony, situational irony, and verbal irony in his short story, The Cask of Amontillado.

• One of the best examples of situational ironyis Fortunato’s name. It literally means “one who is fortunate.” But ironically, Fortunato is the only one in the story who meets a tragic end.
• Another example of situational ironyis Fortunato’s choice of outfit. In the story, he wears a jester’s outfit with bells in his hat – an appropriate choice for the carnival taking place. The bells that jingle as he descends to the vaults with Montresor create an atmosphere of joy and festivity. However, ironically, the bells ring to signify Fortunato’s eventual death.
• Verbal ironyoccurs in the story where Montresor offers Fortunato some wine to give him respite from fits of coughing as they descend the catacombs. Fortunato toasts to Montresor’s ancestors, while Montresor toasts to Fortunato’s “long life,” despite knowing that he would be cutting Fortunato’s life short.
• Poe shows excellent use of dramatic ironythroughout the story as the readers are aware of Montresor’s plan to kill Fortunato by luring him with the prospect of wine tasting.

The Use of Symbolism

Symbolism runs rampant in Poe’s The Cask of Amontillado. Some of the most notable symbols in the short story are –

• Fortunato’s attire– Fortunato is a respectable member of society. So, his dressing up as a jester seems quite out of character. Fortunato is so indulgent in the festive atmosphere that he ignores the red flags as he descends to the catacombs with Montresor. Moreover, the crown with bells is reminiscent of the crown of thorns worn by Jesus Christ and symbolizes Fortunato’s death.
• The carnival– Montresor plans to carry out his revenge during the carnival since he'll have an excuse to dismiss his staff for the day. Carnivals represent a time of festivities and indulgence when humans let their desires run free. For Montresor, this indulgence and fulfillment of desires happen with him successfully pulling off Fortunato’s murder without anyone bearing witness.
• The catacombs– Montresor lures Fortunato to the catacombs with the prospect of tasting a fine wine. The place is dark and deathly and lined with human remains. According to many critics, this dark catacomb symbolizes Montrsor’s state of mind, where evil intentions reside.

The POV of the Unreliable Narrator

Short stories usually stick to one point of view to ensure readers face no confusion while reading. In The Cask of Amontillado, Poe uses the first-person point of view to immerse the readers into the dark and horrific tale that awaits them. The narrator of the story is Montresor, which the readers figure out later in the story.

However, Montresor is the definition of an unreliable narrator. He begins the story by highlighting that he has been wronged by Fortunato and paints his acquaintance in a negative light. But he never reveals the wrongs that Fortunato has supposedly done that excuse Montresor’s revenge of burying him alive. The readers never get to hear Fortunato’s point of view and have no choice but to accept Montresor’s claims.

The Use of Suspense

Poe’s use of suspense in The Cask of Amontillado keeps readers at the edge of their seats throughout the story. From the beginning of the story, the readers are aware that Montresor is planning to take revenge on Fortunato. Therefore, in every subsequent interaction between the two, the readers can’t help but wonder how Montresor plans to achieve his goal.

The readers are also left in suspense about the “thousand injuries” that Fortunato has caused Montresor that excuses the narrator’s plan to bury him alive. Throughout the story, Montresor and Fortunato seem close enough that the latter doesn’t question accompanying Montresor to the vaults in order to taste the Amontillado. This makes the readers question the supposed “injuries” that Fortunato had inflicted on Montresor, and whether Fortunato is unaware of doing so.

Poe’s masterful use of foreshadowing also adds to the overall suspense of the story. For example, when descending to the vault, Fortunato is overcome with fits of coughing. He declares that he won’t die of coughing, to which Montresor replies, “True.” The suspense builds here since the readers already know that Montresor has planned Fortunato’s death from the start.

The Theme of Revenge

Revenge is the main motivating factor in The Cask of Amontillado. In the first line of the story, Montresor vows revenge for the “thousand injuries” and insults that Fortunato has inflicted on Montresor, though the readers never learn more about these “injuries.” Montresor manages to pull off the perfect crime. His desire for revenge is so strong that he doesn't rush into the process but meticulously plans every step of the process.

Montresor uses the carnival as an excuse to dismiss his staff for the day, ensuring that no one bears witness to his crime. Furthermore, he takes advantage of Fortunato’s appreciation of good wine and inflated ego to manipulate him into walking into his trap.

At the end of the story, Montresor bricks Fortunato in, thereby exacting his revenge successfully. But the readers are left wondering whether the revenge is justified.

In conclusion,

The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe remains one of the best short stories exploring the gothic themes of horror, suspense, and revenge. Poe makes excellent use of foreshadowing, suspense, symbolism, and irony to chalk out Montresor’s vengeful revenge, which leaves readers on the edge of their seats till the end of the story.