Ironic Dialogue in “The Cask of Amontillado” by Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe was a renown poet who later ventured into writing short fiction stories. He lived in the period between 1809 to 1849. It is alleged that his career in story writing began in 1833. Edgar uses irony in his stories and particularly, “The Cast of Amontillado.” Irony refers to the contrast between the reality and the appearance of a situation. Therefore, it is a figurative speech that depicts the contradiction between the expectation of the reader and what the author presents. The irony used in Edgar’s story, “The Cast of Amontillado,” depicts the tone and the attitude of the author towards the specific situation faced by the characters. It is noted that Edgar uses verbal irony, dramatic irony and situational irony. Verbal irony is exhibited by the author through the dialogues that occur between the characters in the story and it is produced intentionally by the characters. In as much as having utilized other ironic styles, Edgar Poe utilized more of ironic dialogue to depict the irony of situations in “The Cast of Amontillado.”
Ironic dialogue is evident throughout the story. The author uses irony in the naming of the characters (Akbar & Khadim 572). There is a character named Fortunato, the actual meaning of the name is good fortune. However, the character is the exact opposite of his name as the author illustrates him as having bad fortunes that led to his death (Akbar & Khadim 572). Montresor is another character in the story who uses irony in his dialogue. As asserted by (Akbar & Khadim 572), he uses ironic dialogue when he meets Fortunato. The author describes how Montresor meets Fortunato and tells him, “My dear Fortunato, you are luckily met. How remarkable you are looking today!” (Poe 3). This is quite ironical because, what Montresor meant was that, he was happy running into Fortunato as he was going to benefit from the meeting while Fortunato was not going to gain anything (Akbar & Khadim 572).
Another irony exhibited by the author during the meeting is presented in questions that Fortunato asks Montresor regarding his career (Akbar & Khadim 572). Fortunato asks, “You are not the masons?” and Montresor replies, “Yes, yes,” (Poe 6). Montresor even produces a trowel to proof that indeed he was a mason. The dialogue is ironical in that, Montresor is a freemason and by agreeing that he was a mason, shows that he was being ironic. Another irony in the question is that Montresor agreed that he was a mason yet he meant that, he was a craftsman who will be in charge of entombing the graveyard of Fortunato once he dies (Akbar & Khadim 572).
Montresor exhibits his devilish ways through irony (Saxton 141). The author depicts Montresor as being worried about the Fortunato’s health as he says, “How long have you had that cough?” (Poe 4) Fortunato dismisses this alarm as he says it meant nothing thus, the cough was mild, but Montresor adds “Come,” I said, with a decision, “we will go back; your health is precious. You are rich, respected, admired, beloved; you are happy, as once I was. You are a man to be missed. For me, it is no matter. We will go back; you will be ill, and I cannot be responsible,” (Poe 5). From the conversation, the reader can notice the irony in the words of Montresor. He agrees with Fortunato that a mere cold cannot kill him, and they would go back, but in his mind, he had no concern over the health of Fortunato (Akbar & Khadim 572).
From the beginning of the story, the reader is well acquainted with the devilish nature of Montresor as such, it is evident that he aimed to eliminate Fortunato (Akbar & Khadim 572). As asserted by (Saxton 141), devilish individuals like Montresor entice others to gain their trust yet they have hidden motives. The author, therefore, uses the irony to depict the ill motives of Montresor that are about to be revealed. According to (Andreea 36), the wickedness of Montresor emanated from offences that Fortunato had committed against him. The author illustrates this by saying, “A thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could; but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge,” (Poe 2).
The interaction between Montresor and Fortunato also depicts another irony. The author illustrates how Montresor and Fortunato are drinking and Montresor brings out a toast to a longer life (Akbar & Khadim 573). Montresor says, “And I to your long life,” (Poe 5). The irony lies in the fact that the toast was meant for his inevitable death and not to the long life (Akbar & Khadim 573). Montresor faked concern over the health of Fortunato, this is because he wanted to encourage him to reach Amontillado where he was to meet his inevitable death (Akbar & Khadim 573). The pride that Fortunato had contributed to his demise. As asserted by (Akbar & Khadim 570), Fortunato had a lot of pride that is why he insulted Montresor. He also exhibited pride when he chose to ignore his deteriorating health, brushing it off as a minor issue to reach Amontillado, where he met his death.
In conclusion, Edgar Poe successfully incorporated irony in his story to illustrate various themes. Through the ironical dialogues, the reader can discern that, revenge and evil are some of the themes of the story. There are several instances in which the author uses irony in the story. The two characters Montresor and Fortunato, are the drivers of irony in the story. Through irony, Fortunato lack of knowledge makes him a target of revenge by Montresor who is avenging for a crime that was committed earlier. The ironic dialogue also helps the reader understand that Fortunato was a man with a good reputation. The author is able to illustrate the devilish nature of Montresor through irony. Montresor uses irony in manipulating Fortunato to his ultimate demise. The use of ironical dialogue begins the moment Montresor runs into Fortunato. The narrator of the story illustrates the ironic nature of the name Fortunato by mentioning luck that accompanied the bearer of the name. This statement sets the tone of irony that follows as Montresor further explores ironical dialogue to pass across his message of vengeance although Fortunato seemed unaware.
Works cited
Akbar, Nadia Ali, and Rawa Jawad Khadim. “Irony in The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe and “A Good Man is Hard to Find by Mary Flannery O’Connor.” Basic Education College Magazine for Educational and Humanities Sciences 33 (2017): 567-578.
Andreea Cute, Loredana Alexandra. “An approach to the gothic aesthetics in Edgar Allan Poe’s storytelling.” (2019).
Poe, Edgar Allan. The cask of amontillado. Good Press, 2020.
Saxton, Audrey. “The Devil’s in the Details: A Characterization of Montresor in Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado”.” Criterion: A Journal of Literary Criticism 10.1 (2017): 16.