Before Reading

The Cask of Amontillado Video link at

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Short Story by Edgar Allan Poe

VIDEO TRAILER KEYWORD: HML9-370

Is REVENGE
ever justified?
Montresor, the narrator of “The Cask of Amontillado,”
Event
feels that revenge is necessary to right a wrong. Some Girl makes fun of boy.
RL 1 Cite textual evidence to
support analysis of what the
would argue that two wrongs never make a right and
text says explicitly as well as that revenge leads only to more wrongdoing. Do acts of
inferences drawn from the Act of Revenge
text. RL 4 Analyze the cumulative revenge ever resolve conflicts? Boy spills ink on
impact of specific word choices on her uniform.
meaning and tone. RL 5 Analyze
how an author’s choices PRESENT An act of revenge often causes a chain reaction,
concerning how to structure a
text create tension or surprise.
and the repercussions can go on for months or years. Effects
L 4 Determine the meaning of With a group, think of one act of revenge and chart out • Uniform is ruined.
unknown and multiple-meaning
the possible chain of effects. Share your chain of events • Girl ’s parents have
words and phrases. to buy a new one.
with the rest of the class.

370
 Meet the Author
text analysis: mood
In “The Cask of Amontillado,” Edgar Allan Poe creates an Edgar Allan Poe
unforgettable mood of suspense and horror. From the 1809–1849
beginning, the narrator’s talk of injuries borne, unforgivable The Genius of Poe
insults, and threatened revenge conveys a sinister feeling. Edgar Allan Poe started out as a poet but
Poe develops this mood by means of turned to writing short fiction to earn a
living. His career in fiction officially began
• the sensory details and imagery used to convey the setting in 1833, with a $50 prize for his story “MS.
• the repetition of words and the rhythm and tone of the Found in a Bottle.” At the time he was living
in poverty with his beloved aunt Maria
language
Clemm and her daughter, Virginia. With
• words describing thoughts, feelings, and actions the prize money came recognition and a job
offer from a literary magazine. By 1838, Poe
As you read, notice how Poe’s descriptions of the setting and had married Virginia and moved the family
his use of language combine to create a memorably dark tale. to Philadelphia, where he worked for several
leading literary magazines.
reading skill: paraphrase
Master of the Macabre
Poe often uses long, formal, complex sentences that are Poe may have started writing horror fiction
especially challenging to modern readers. To make sure that because that’s what the reading public
you understand the events in this story, try paraphrasing. wanted. Gothic tales were popular at the
To paraphrase is to restate information in one’s own words. time, and newspapers regularly printed
sensational reports of bizarre murders. Poe
A paraphrase is about the same length as the original text.
adapted elements of Gothic fiction, took a
It includes all the details of the original but is written in few story ideas from news headlines, added
simpler language. As you read this story, take time to his psychological insights into the mix, and
paraphrase difficult passages. Here is an example. soon became the undisputed master of the
genre.
Text Paraphrase
background to the story
“It must be understood, that You must understand that I said
neither by word nor deed had I and did nothing to make Fortunato A Different Burial Ground
given Fortunato cause to doubt my mistrust me. Although this story begins during a time of
good-will.” (lines 9–10) carnival festivities, the setting soon shifts
to the dark, cool burial vaults under the
narrator’s palace, where he also stores his
wine. In such underground cemeteries,
Review: Make Inferences called catacombs, bodies were placed in
carved recesses along the walls of burial
vocabulary in context chambers. The largest and most famous are
those of Rome, in which early
The boldfaced words help create a mood of horror. Use context
Christians were entombed.
clues to figure out the meaning of each word. Then use each
word in a sentence. Write your sentences in your Reader/
Writer Notebook. After reading the selection, check to see
Author
whether you used the words correctly. Online
1. to preclude pain 5. everlasting repose Go to thinkcentral.com..
KEYWORD: HML9-371
2. to lie with impunity 6. termination of a job
3. immolation of an enemy 7. to help anger to subside
4. abscond with money 8. to close off an aperture

Complete the activities in your Reader/Writer Notebook.

371
 The
Cask of
Edgar Allan Poe 
The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could; but when
he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge. You, who so well know the nature
Would you describe the
of my soul, will not suppose, however, that I gave utterance to a threat. At
mood of this photograph
lengthh I would be avenged; this was a point definitively settled—but the very as festive or sinister?
definitiveness with which it was resolved, precluded d the idea of risk. I must Explain.
not only punish, but punish with impunity. A wrong is unredressed when
preclude (prG-klLdP)
retribution overtakes its redresser. It is equally unredressed when the avenger v. to make impossible,
fails to make himself felt as such to him who has done the wrong. a especially by taking
It must be understood, that neither by word nor deed had I given Fortunato action in advance
10 cause to doubt my good-will. I continued, as was my wont, to smile in his impunity
face, and he did not perceive that my smile now was at the thought of his (Gm-pyLPnG-tC) n.
immolation. freedom from penalty
He had a weak point—this Fortunato—although in other regards he or harm
was a man to be respected and even feared. He prided himself on his a PARAPHRASE
connoisseurship1 in wine. Few Italians have the true virtuoso spirit. For the Paraphrase the opening
most part their enthusiasm is adopted to suit the time and opportunity—to paragraph. Why does the
narrator vow revenge?
practice imposture upon the British and Austrian millionaires. In painting and
What does he consider a
gemmary 2 Fortunato, like his countrymen, was a quack—but in the matter of successful revenge?
old wines he was sincere. In this respect I did not differ from him materially; I
immolation
20 was skillful in the Italian vintages myself, and bought largely whenever I could. (GmQE-lAPshEn) n. death
It was about dusk, one evening during the supreme madness of the carnival3 or destruction
season, that I encountered my friend. He accosted me with excessive warmth,
for he had been drinking much. The man wore motley.4 He had on a tight-
fitting parti-striped dress, and his head was surmounted by the conical cap
and bells. I was so pleased to see him, that I thought I should never have done
wringing his hand.

1. connoisseurship (kJnQE-sûrPshGp): expertise or authority, especially in the fine

arts or in matters of taste.
2. gemmary (jDmPE-rC): knowledge of precious gems.
3. carnival: a festival before the fasting period of Lent, characterized by fanciful
costumes, masquerades, and feasts.
4. motley: the costume of a court jester.

372 unit 3: setting, mood, and imagery

 I said to him: “My dear Fortunato, you are luckily met. How remarkably
well you are looking to-day! But I have received a pipe of what passes for
Amontillado,5 and I have my doubts.”
30 “How?” said he. “Amontillado? A pipe? Impossible! And in the middle of
the carnival!”
“I have my doubts,” I replied; “and I was silly enough to pay the full
Amontillado price without consulting you in the matter. You were not to be
found, and I was fearful of losing a bargain.” L4
“Amontillado!”
“I have my doubts.” Language Coach
“Amontillado!” Fixed Expressions Many
verbs take on a special
“And I must satisfy them.” meaning when
“Amontillado!” followed by a particular
40 “As you are engaged, I am on my way to Luchesi.6 If anyone has a critical preposition. Impose
turn, it is he. He will tell me—” means “to establish by
“Luchesi cannot tell Amontillado from Sherry.” authority” (impose a
tax). Followed by upon,
“And yet some fools will have it that his taste is a match for your own.” though, it has a different
“Come, let us go.” meaning. Reread line
“Whither?” 47. What does the
“To your vaults.” expression impose upon
mean here?
“My friend, no; I will not impose upon your good nature. I perceive you
have an engagement. Luchesi—”
“I have no engagement;—come.”
50 “My friend, no. It is not the engagement, but the severe cold with which I
perceive you are afflicted. The vaults are insufferably damp. They are encrusted
with niter.”7
“Let us go, nevertheless. The cold is merely nothing. Amontillado! You have
been imposed upon. And as for Luchesi, he cannot distinguish Sherry from
Amontillado.” b b MOOD
Thus speaking, Fortunato possessed himself of my arm. Putting on a mask Reread lines 27–55.
of black silk, and drawing a roquelaure 8 closely about my person, I suffered How does Poe build a
mood of suspense in this
him to hurry me to my palazzo.9 conversation between the
There were no attendants at home; they had absconded to make merry in narrator and Fortunato?
60 honor of the time. I had told them that I should not return until the morning,
abscond (Bb-skJndP)
and had given them explicit orders not to stir from the house. These orders v. to go away suddenly
were sufficient, I well knew, to insure their immediate disappearance, one and and secretly
all, as soon as my back was turned.

5. a pipe . . . Amontillado (E-mJnQtl-äPdI): a barrel of a wine that is supposed

to be a type of pale, dry sherry, named for a town in southern Spain.
6. Luchesi (lL-kAPsC).
7. niter: a white, gray, or colorless mineral, consisting of potassium nitrate.
8. roquelaure (rôk-lIrP) French: a man’s knee-length cloak, popular during
the 18th century.
9. palazzo (pE-lätPsI): a palace or mansion.

374 unit 3: setting, mood, and imagery

 I took from their sconces two flambeaux,10 and giving one to Fortunato,
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 on the damp ground of the catacombs of the Montresors.
The gait of my friend was unsteady, and the bells upon his cap jingled as
70 he strode.
“The pipe?” said he.
“It is farther on,” said I; “but observe the white web-work which gleams
from these cavern walls.”
He turned toward me, and looked into my eyes with two filmy orbs that
distilled the rheum of intoxication.11
“Niter?” he asked, at length.
“Niter,” I replied. “How long have you had that cough?”
“Ugh! ugh! ugh!—ugh! ugh! ugh!—ugh! ugh! ugh!—ugh! ugh! ugh!—ugh!
ugh! ugh!”
80 My poor friend found it impossible to reply for many minutes. RL 5

“It is nothing,” he said, at last. c IRONY

“Come,” I said, with decision, “we will go back; your health is precious. You Verbal irony occurs when
are rich, respected, admired, beloved; you are happy, as once I was. You are a a character says one
man to be missed. For me it is no matter. We will go back; you will be ill, and thing but means another.
I cannot be responsible. Besides, there is Luchesi—” Another kind of irony,
situational irony, is when
“Enough,” he said; “the cough is a mere nothing; it will not kill me. I shall a character or reader
not die of a cough.” expects something to
“True—true,” I replied; “and, indeed, I had no intention of alarming you happen but the opposite
unnecessarily; but you should use all proper caution. A draft of this Medoc12 takes place. Look back
over lines 74–92. What
90 will defend us from the damps.”
is ironic about the
Here I knocked off the neck of a bottle that I drew from a long row of its conversation between
fellows that lay upon the mold. c Fortunato and Montresor?
“Drink,” I said, presenting him the wine.
He raised it to his lips with a leer. He paused and nodded to me familiarly,
while his bells jingled.
“I drink,” he said, “to the buried that repose around us.” repose (rG-pIzP) v.
“And I to your long life.” to lie dead or at rest
He again took my arm, and we proceeded.
“These vaults,” he said, “are extensive.”
100 “The Montresors,” I replied, “were a great and numerous family.”
“I forget your arms.”
“A huge human foot d’or,13 in a field azure; the foot crushes a serpent
rampant whose fangs are imbedded in the heel.”

10. from their sconces two flambeaux (flBmPbIzQ): from their wall brackets two lighted torches.
11. filmy . . . intoxication: eyes clouded and glazed over from drunkenness.
12. Medoc (mA-dôkP): a red wine from the Bordeaux region of France.
13. d’or (dôr) French: colored gold. (Montresor is describing his coat of arms, the distinctive
emblem of his family.)

the cask of amontillado 375

 “And the motto?”
“Nemo me impune lacessit.” 14
“Good!” he said.
The wine sparkled in his eyes and the bells jingled. My own fancy grew
warm with the Medoc. We had passed through walls of piled bones, with casks
and puncheons15 intermingling, into the inmost recesses of the catacombs. I
110 paused again, and this time I made bold to seize Fortunato by an arm above
the elbow.
“The niter!” I said; “see, it increases. It hangs like moss upon the vaults.
We are below the river’s bed. The drops of moisture trickle among the bones.
Come, we will go back ere it is too late. Your cough—” d d MOOD
“It is nothing,” he said; “let us go on. But first, another draft of the Medoc.” In lines 108–114, note
I broke and reached him a flagon of De Grâve.16 He emptied it at a breath. the sensory details and
imagery that help you
His eyes flashed with a fierce light. He laughed and threw the bottle upward visualize the setting.
with a gesticulation I did not understand. What mood do they
I looked at him in surprise. He repeated the movement—a grotesque one. create?
120 “You do not comprehend?” he said.
“Not I,” I replied.
“Then you are not of the brotherhood.”
“How?”
“You are not of the masons.”17
“Yes, yes,” I said; “yes, yes.”
“You? Impossible! A mason?”
“A mason,” I replied.
“A sign,” he said.
“It is this,” I answered, producing a trowel18 from beneath the folds of my
130 roquelaure.
“You jest,” he exclaimed, recoiling a few paces. “But let us proceed to the
Amontillado.”
“Be it so,” I said, replacing the tool beneath the cloak, and again offering
him my arm. He leaned upon it heavily. We continued our route in search of
the Amontillado. We passed through a range of low arches, descended, passed
on, and descending again, arrived at a deep crypt, in which the foulness of the
air caused our flambeaux rather to glow than flame. e GRAMMAR AND STYLE
Notice Poe’s use of
At the most remote end of the crypt there appeared another less spacious. formal language,
Its walls had been lined with human remains, piled to the vault overhead, including complex
140 in the fashion of the great catacombs of Paris. Three sides of this interior e sentence structures.

14. Nemo me impune lacessit (nAPmI mA Gm-pLPnD lä-kDsPGt) Latin: No one injures me with impunity.
15. casks and puncheons: large storage containers for wine.
16. De Grâve (dE grävP): a red wine from the Bordeaux region of France.
17. of the masons: a Freemason, a member of a social organization with secret rituals and signs.
18. producing a trowel: Montresor is playing on another meaning of mason—“one who builds with stone
or brick.”

376 unit 3: setting, mood, and imagery

 What qualities of the
catacomb are emphasized
by the two arches?
Explain.

crypt were still ornamented in this manner. From the fourth the bones had
been thrown down, and lay promiscuously upon the earth, forming at one
point a mound of some size. Within the wall thus exposed by the displacing
of the bones, we perceived a still interior recess, in depth about four feet, in
width three, in height six or seven. 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 backed by one of their
circumscribing walls of solid granite.
It was in vain that Fortunato, uplifting his dull torch, endeavored to pry
150 into the depth of the recess. Its termination the feeble light did not enable termination
us to see. (tûrQmE-nAPshEn) n. an
end, limit, or edge
“Proceed,” I said; “herein is the Amontillado. As for Luchesi—”
“He is an ignoramus,” interrupted my friend, as he stepped unsteadily
forward, while I followed immediately at his heels. In an instant he had

the cask of amontillado 377

 reached the extremity of the niche, and finding his progress arrested by the
rock, stood stupidly bewildered. A moment more and I had fettered him to the
granite. In its surface were two iron staples, distant from each other about two
feet, horizontally. From one of these depended a short chain, from the other
a padlock. Throwing the links about his waist, it was but the work of a few
160 seconds to secure it. He was too much astounded to resist. Withdrawing the
key I stepped back from the recess.
“Pass your hand,” I said, “over the wall; you cannot help feeling the niter.
Indeed it is very damp. Once more let me implore you to return. No? Then I
must positively leave you. But I must first render you all the little attentions
in my power.”
“The Amontillado!” ejaculated my friend, not yet recovered from his
astonishment.
“True,” I replied; “the Amontillado.”
As I said these words I busied myself among the pile of bones of which I
170 have before spoken. Throwing them aside, I soon uncovered a quantity of
building stone and mortar. With these materials and with the aid of my trowel,
I began vigorously to wall up the entrance of the niche.
I had scarcely laid the first tier of the masonry when I discovered that
the intoxication of Fortunato had in a great measure worn off. The earliest
indication I had of this was a low moaning cry from the depth of the recess.
It was not the cry of a drunken man. There was then a long and obstinate
silence. I laid the second tier, and the third, and the fourth; and then I heard
the furious vibrations of the chain. The noise lasted for several minutes, subside (sEb-sFdP) v. to
during which, that I might hearken to it with the more satisfaction, I ceased decrease in amount or
180 my labors and sat down upon the bones. When at last the clanking subsided, intensity; settle down

378 unit 3: setting, mood, and imagery

 I resumed the trowel, and finished without interruption the fifth, the sixth,
and the seventh tier. The wall was now nearly upon a level with my breast.
I again paused, and holding the flambeaux over the mason-work, threw a few
feeble rays upon the figure within. f f MOOD
A succession of loud and shrill screams, bursting suddenly from the throat Reread this paragraph.
What details make this
of the chained form, seemed to thrust me violently back. For a brief moment I description especially
hesitated—I trembled. Unsheathing my rapier,19 I began to grope with it about horrifying?
the recess; but the thought of an instant reassured me. I placed my hand upon
the solid fabric of the catacombs, and felt satisfied. I reapproached the wall. I
190 replied to the yells of him who clamored. I re-echoed—I aided—I surpassed
them in volume and in strength. I did this, and the clamorer grew still. g g PARAPHRASE
It was now midnight, and my task was drawing to a close. I had completed Restate what happens
in lines 185–191. What
the eighth, the ninth, and the tenth tier. I had finished a portion of the last
emotions does Montresor
and the eleventh; there remained but a single stone to be fitted and plastered experience at this point
in. I struggled with its weight; I placed it partially in its destined position. But in the story?
now there came from out the niche a low laugh that erected the hairs upon my
head. It was succeeded by a sad voice, which I had difficulty in recognizing as
that of the noble Fortunato. The voice said—
“Ha! ha! ha!—he! he!—a very good joke indeed—an excellent jest. We will
200 have many a rich laugh about it at the palazzo—he! he! he! —over our wine—
he! he! he!”
“The Amontillado!” I said.
“He! he! he!—he! he! he!—yes, the Amontillado. But is it not getting late?
Will not they be awaiting us at the palazzo, the Lady Fortunato and the rest? h MOOD
Let us be gone.” Reread lines 192–208.
Point out images and
“Yes,” I said, “let us be gone.” other details that convey
“For the love of God, Montresor!” the mood of the scene.
“Yes,” I said, “for the love of God!” h
aperture (BpPEr-chEr)
But to these words I hearkened in vain for a reply. I grew impatient. I called n. an opening, such as a
210 aloud, hole or a gap
“Fortunato!”
No answer. I called again, L 4c
“Fortunato!”
No answer still. I thrust a torch through the remaining aperture and let it i FOREIGN WORDS
fall within. There came forth in return only a jingling of the bells. My heart AND PHRASES
Poe uses several words
grew sick—on account of the dampness of the catacombs. I hastened to make
and phrases from other
an end of my labor. I forced the last stone into its position; I plastered it up. languages in this story.
Against the new masonry I re-erected the old rampart of bones. For the half of For example, “In pace
a century no mortal has disturbed them. In pace requiescat! 20  i requiescat” (line 219) is
a Latin phrase meaning
“Rest in peace.” Identify
the foreign word in
line 204 and look up its
origin and meaning in a
dictionary.
19. rapier (rAPpC-Er): a long, slender sword.
20. In pace requiescat (Gn päPkD rD-kwC-DsPkät) Latin: May he rest in peace.

the cask of amontillado 379

 Reading for Information

the story behind

The

While at Fort Independence, Poe [who was a Feeling against Captain Green ran high
private there in 1827] became fascinated with for many weeks, and then suddenly he
the inscriptions on a gravestone on a small completely vanished. Years went by without
monument outside the walls of the fort. . . . a sign of him, and Green was written off the
Beneath this stone are deposited the army records as a deserter.
remains of Lieut. ROBERT F. MASSIE, According to the story which Poe finally
of the U. S. Regt. of Light Artillery. . . . gathered together, Captain Green had been
During the summer of 1817, Poe learned, so detested by his fellow officers at the fort
twenty-year-old Lieutenant Robert F. Massie that they decided to take a terrible revenge
of Virginia had arrived at Fort Independence on him for Massie’s death. . . .
as a newly appointed officer. Most of the men Visiting Captain Green one moonless
at the post came to enjoy Massie’s friendship, night, they pretended to be friendly and
but one officer, Captain Green, took a violent plied him with wine until he was helplessly
dislike to him. Green was known at the fort as intoxicated. Then, carrying the captain down
a bully and a dangerous swordsman. to one of the ancient dungeons, the officers
When Christmas vacations were allotted, forced his body through a tiny opening which
few of the officers were allowed to leave led into the subterranean casemate.1 . . .
the fort, and Christmas Eve found them His captors began to shackle him to the
up in the old barracks hall, playing cards. floor, using the heavy iron handcuffs and
Just before midnight, at the height of the footcuffs fastened into the stone. Then they
card game, Captain Green sprang to his all left the dungeon and proceeded to seal
feet, reached across the table and slapped the captain up alive inside the windowless
Lieutenant Massie squarely in the face. “You’re casemate, using bricks and mortar. . . .
a cheat,” he roared, “and I demand immediate Captain Green shrieked in terror and
satisfaction!” . . . begged for mercy, but his cries fell on deaf
The duel began. Captain Green, an expert ears. The last brick was finally inserted,
swordsman, soon had Massie at a disadvantage mortar applied, and the room sealed up,
and ran him through. Fatally wounded, the the officers believed, forever. . . .
young Virginian was carried back to the fort, [In 1905, workmen repairing the
where he died that afternoon. His many fort found a skeleton inside, shackled
friends mourned the passing of a gallant to the floor with a few fragments of an
officer. . . . old army uniform clinging to the bones.]

1. subterranean casemate (sObQtE-rAPnC-En kAsPmAtQ): a fortified underground or partly

underground room.

380 unit 3: setting, mood, and imagery

After Reading

Comprehension
1. Recall Why does Montresor, the narrator, want revenge? RL 1 Cite textual evidence to
support analysis of what the text
2. Recall How does Montresor trick Fortunato into joining him? says explicitly as well as inferences
drawn from the text. RL 4 Analyze
3. Summarize What does Montresor do to ensure the success of his plan? the cumulative impact of specific
word choices on meaning and
tone.
4. Summarize What happens to Fortunato?

Text Analysis
5. Make Inferences About Character What Montresor’s Character Traits Words/Actions
kind of man is Montresor? Think of four
or five character traits that you can infer 1. shrewdness He knows how to take advantage
of Fortunato’s pride.
from his words and actions. Record your
2.
answers in a chart like this one.
6. Analyze Mood What is the overall mood,
or atmosphere, of this story? In your opinion, what
h t contributes
t ib t mostt tto th
the
mood—the setting, the rhythm and tone of the language, or the descriptions
of Montresor’s thoughts, feelings, and actions? Provide details from the story
to support your opinion.
7. Make Judgments Review your paraphrase of lines 1–8. Does Montresor
achieve the kind of revenge he wants? Cite details to support your answer.
8. Evaluate Narrator Consider whether Montresor is a reliable or an unreliable
narrator. Is the reader to believe, as Montresor does, that his revenge is
justified? Give evidence from the story.
9. Evaluate Dramatic Irony Dramatic irony occurs when the reader knows
something that a character does not. Identify three examples of dramatic
irony in this story. What is the effect of the irony on your experience as a
reader?
10. Compare and Contrast Poe often drew inspiration for his tales from the real
world. Compare the details of “The Story Behind ‘The Cask of Amontillado’”
on page 380 with Poe’s story. How similar are these accounts?

Text Criticism
11. Critical Interpretations In defining the short story as a literary form,
Poe emphasized that every word should contribute to a “unity of effect or
impression.” How well does Poe achieve a “unity of effect” in this story? Give
examples from the text to support your answer.

Is REVENGE ever justified?

What do you think is the right way to address a wrong?

the cask of amontillado 381