Irony In 'The Cask Of Amontillado'

The Use of Irony in “The Cask of Amontillado”
In Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado,” Poe uses various types of irony to develop his theme of revenge as tool of justice. Poe’s use of irony deals the audience a vast knowledge of the story’s conclusion, and gives the narrative a dark humor that was signature of his work. In this story of an unreliable narrator in the first-person point of view, the dark humor and irony makes this tale of cold-blooded murder interesting and entertaining to the reader. The first, and arguably the most abundant, use of irony in “The Cask of Amontillado” is verbal irony. Verbal irony is when a character says one thing but means another, or uses words to convey a meaning that is opposite of their literal meaning. When Montresor first greets Fortunado in the streets of the Carnival festival, he says, “My dear Fortunado, you are luckily met.” (5) In
Dramatic irony is when the audience knows something that the characters do not. The entire story is based on dramatic irony, given that the audience knows from the beginning that Montresor is plotting his revenge and poor Fortunado does not. A more specific example is the line where Fortunado says he will not die of a cough. The audience knows that he will endure Montresor’s revenge soon. When the characters first meet in the beginning of the story, there is also dramatic irony because Fortunado obviously thinks fondly of Montresor and is happy to see him. It is a very hectic and festive event, and Fortunado probably thought he was very lucky to chance upon Montresor and given the opportunity to help out a friend and sample some very expensive wine. The audience has the foreknowledge however, that this wasn’t a joyous occasion and that Fortunado was about to meet his untimely demise. Poe’s use of dramatic irony allows the audience to be a part of Montresor’s plan and gives a glimpse into his dark