No man provokes me with impunity
Author: Edgar Allan Poe
Publication Date: November 1846
Format ebook
Synopsis
Montressor is telling us about a time when he committed a very grave crime. When Fortunado does something to dishonor Montressor, Montressor promises revenge. So one night during Carnival he lours Fortunado down to his "wine cellar' and through the catacombs. What kind of revenge will Montressor get on Fortunado?
Review
Edgar Allan Poe never fails to make twisted, dark, and interesting stories; that's what makes him the unique writer he is!
The Cask of Amontillado tells us a story of lies, deceit, and a brutal murder all combined in a festival where death occurs.
The story
It is a very interesting story. That's what you get when you read Edgar Allan Poe though. I would have liked to know why the narrator was so mad Fortunado. I think that is the only thing that I didn't really like about the story. I think the older language adds to the mystery and suspense of the story. Very well done on Poe's part. And the setting is fantastic!
Poe uses one the very planning parts of a story to tell his tail in an amazing way through the literary element of plot. Stories can have very strong, light, and any combination of types of plots. The Cask of Amontillado has a strong plot. The Story lines up in the plot perfectly. There is an explanation of why the character is wanting to get revenge fills strongly to act upon the other character. Montresor the narrator is seeking revenge after Fortunato who is the other large character in the story. His introduction starts saying
You can’t very well carry out a nursery rhythm in a dark mansion or a horror story in the sunny beautiful place that one would enjoy frolicking because setting is another vital part of an author’s success in his/her story. Poe is an author that fully understood this element and used it also wisely. If you think of revenge you think of dark sinister thoughts. A story of revenge has a setting of scary eeriness and one that would cause fear because revenge is not a warm cuddly area and in composing a short story Poe knew that where the story took place was a vital piece of the puzzle and you can see that from these quotes I would like to pull out of the story:
“. . ., bowed him through several suites of rooms to the archway that led into the vaults. I passed down a long and winding staircase, requesting him to be cautious as he followed. We came at length to the foot of the descent, and stood together upon the damp ground of the catacombs of the Montresors.”
“Its walls had been lined with human remains, piled to the vault overhead, in the fashion of the great catacombs of Paris . . . From the fourth side the bones had been thrown down, and lay promiscuously upon the earth, forming at one point a mound of some size . . . It seemed to have been constructed for no especial use within itself, but formed merely the interval between two of the colossal supports of the roof of the catacombs, and was back by one of their circumscribing walls of solid granite.”
The language
Edgar Allan Poe uses his outstanding vocabulary and the way that he maneuvers his language makes every word and sentence thrilling and excitingly chilling.
Summary
This is the classic short story as written by Poe. It is an interesting short "murder mystery". I would suggest this to anyone, as it takes about five to ten minutes to read and is a short story that everyone should read.
Reading level
Adult
Rating
4 stars
