“The Cask of Amontillado”
By Edgar Allen Poe
What’cha know about Poe?
 1809-1849
 Boston, Massachusetts
 Addicted to gambling &
alcohol
 Married his cousin, Virginia Clemm (13)
 Wrote dark, twisted tales
 Death is unknown – possibly alcohol, drug,
or illness-related
 Buried in Old Westminster Burying Ground
of Baltimore in an unmarked grave (later
moved to the Poe Memorial Grave)
 The “Poe Toaster” visits Poe’s grave on
birthdays and leaves a ½ filled bottle of
cognac and 3 roses
“The Cask of Amontillado”
• For starters… what IS
amontillado?
• A type of wine!
Vocabulary
• Catacombs
• Long, windy underground
burial tunnels
• Virtuoso
• A professional
• Impunity
• Exemption from punishment
• Fettered
• To restrain
• Connoisseur
• A judge of the best
• Gait
• A stride of walking, running,
etc.
• Precluded
• To prevent the existence of
• Retribution
• Revenge
Literary Terms
Vocabulary
• Afflicated
• To trouble greatly
• Explicit
• Clearly developed
• Plot
• Sequence of events
• “Cask” begins with the
reader learning about the
narrator wanting revenge
on Fortunato
• Verbal Irony
• Sarcasm
• “And I to your long life”
• Montressor keeps calling
Fortunato his “friend”
Literary Terms
• Dramatic Irony
• The reader knows what characters don’t
• Fortunato says he will not die of a cough – we know Montresor
will kill him
• “Nemo me impune lacessit” – no one attacks me without
punishment (Montresor’s family slogan)
• Protagonist
• The main character (good guy)
• Montresor
Literary Terms
• Mood
• The way the reader feels while reading a story
• Dark, gloomy, creepy
• Point of View
• The perspective the story is told from
• First Person POV (narrator is a character in the story)
Characters
• Montresor
• Angry, smart, witty, seeking revenge
• Fortunato
• Cocky, has money, dressed as a jester (ironic)
Reading Questions
• What is the meaning of the phrase, “A wrong is
undressed when retribution overtakes its
redresser”?
• A wrong is undone with it’s solved by punishment. It is
equally undone when the avenger fails to empathize
with the wrongdoer. Revenge is only worthwhile when
the wrongdoer feels bad for what they’ve done.
• Why did Montresor seek revenge on Fortunato?
• He received many injuries/insults.
Reading Questions
• How did Montresor know that the house would
be empty?
• He told his servants to stay home during carnival. He
knew they would leave because he told them he
wouldn’t be returning until a day later, so they knew
they could go out and he’d never know.
• He did this on purpose because he wanted the house
empty; if he told them to go out, they would get
suspicious.
Reading Questions
• Where had the stone and mortar, used by
Montresor to wall up the entrance to the niche,
been hidden?
• At the far end of the crypt under bones of the dead.
• In your own words, describe the catacombs that
Fortunato is led through.
• Dar, dusky, moldy, moist
Reading Questions
• Where and when is the story set?
• During carnival, possibly in Italy or Spain (not said)
• Why does Montresor make sure Fortunato has
drunk a lot of wine?
• So he won’t fight as much or realize what’s going on until
it’s too late
Reading Questions
• What is Luchresi’s role in the story?
• A wine expert Montresor uses to con Fortunato into
doing what he says; Montresor knows Fortunato won’t
allow himself to look “slighted.”
Reading Questions
• What preparations had Montresor made for his
revenge?
• Carnival night: loud and no one would know who was
missing
• Materials: set up and hidden
• Alcohol: had it in the tunnel so he could get Fortunato
drunk along the way
• Story: used a story about amontillado to lure Fortunato
into the catacombs
• Had the house empty
Reading Questions
• Why does Montresor appear concerned about
Fortunato’s health?
• He wants to appear friendly to hide his eagerness; he
also wants him to suffer!
• Why did Montresor desire to seek revenge on
Fortunato?
• Fortunato injured him many times.