Poe's Short Stories

Examples of irony in The Cask of Amontillado?

the cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe

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Verbal irony occurs when the literal meaning of what the speaker says contrasts heavily with the speaker's actual message. For example, Poe gives the victim the name of Fortunato, which may mean "fortunate" in Italian, but adds an extra element of cynical humor to Fortunato's jovial and unsuspecting character. Montresor's dialogue makes particular use of verbal irony, since he is aware that Fortunato has no idea what awaits him and thus will totally misinterpret Montresor's words. Montresor tells his victim, "My dear Fortunato, you are luckily met." Fortunato interprets these words to mean that Montresor is fond of him and is glad to run into him. Montresor, on the other hand, actually despises Fortunato and is only happy to see him because Montresor can now carry out his murderous plans. Furthermore, the word "luckily" also recalls the meaning of Fortunato's name and is thus entirely unfitting for Fortunato's fate. Other examples of verbal irony include Montresor's showing of the trowel to Fortunato to prove he is a Mason; Montresor is about to become a mason by imprisoning Fortunato, but he is not a Freemason.

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