"The Cask of Amontillado" by Edgar Allan Poe

                                                                           

"The Cask of Amontillado" was first published in the November 1846 issue of Godey's Lady's Book, a monthly magazine from Philadelphia that published poems and stories by some of the best American writers of the nineteenth century, including Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and Harriet Beecher Stowe. The story next appeared in the collection Poe's Works, edited by Rufus W. Griswold, Poe's literary executor, in 1850. By the time Poe wrote this story, he was already nationally known as the author of the poem "The Raven" (1844) and of several short stories collected in a book called, simply, Tales (1845). These earlier stories were widely reviewed and argued over by critics who found them brilliant and disturbing, and their author perplexing and immoral. Although "The Cask of Amontillado" was not singled out for critical attention when it appeared, it did nothing to change the opinions of Poe's contemporary admirers and detractors. Like Poe's other stories, it has remained in print continuously since 1850.

Montresor doesn't like Fortunato on account of the thousands of injuries he has caused, injuries that he bears magnanimously (yes, that's sarcasm), but when Fortunato resorts to insult, Montresor vows revenge, a revenge which excludes punishment and a revenge which makes Fortunato completely aware of who's getting the revenge.

t's Carnival in Italy and good wine is at a premium. Montresor uses stratagem to lure Fortunato into his underground vaults to exact his revenge. Fortunato, ever so happy to display his wine wisdom, agrees to accompany Montresor into the catacombs to test the wine, hoping to expose Montresor as a fool, ironic considering Fortunato's wearing the fool's costume.

There are two things that allow Montresor's plan to succeed: (1) Fortunato is extremely drunk; (2) Montresor is a master of reverse psychology and irony. Numerous times, he cautions Fortunato about his cough and declares his wish to go to Luchesi--whom we know little of other than Fortunato thinks he's an "ignoramus." This mention of Fortunato's rival makes him all the more eager to prove Montresor's imbecility in buying Amontillado from a huckster.

The two proceed down the ancient corridor when, suddenly, Montresor chains Fortunato to a wall, where he has remained ever since.