THE CASK OF AMONTILLADO
By Edgar Allan Poe
VOCABULARY:
FOR A STAMP!
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
preclude
impunity
immolation
abscond
repose
termination
subside
aperture
Write the word, part of speech, and a
definition for each of the words on the
left.
Your Vocabulary #2 Exam
will be on:
• “Cask” words (8)
• “Through the Tunnel” words (6)
• Literary Terms (6)
Test is on:
Thursday/Friday, September 24-25
EDGAR ALLAN POE
FUN FACTS
Born: 1809, Boston, MA
Died: 1849, Baltimore, MD
(40 yrs. Old)
Cause of death: unknown
Married: Cousin Virginia
(He was 27, she was 13…gross)
Kicked out of West Point
First writer to pursue writing as a
career
“Father of the Detective Story”
Poe Bio Video
REVENGE IS SWEET?
QUICKWRITE
5-7 SENTENCES
OPTION 1: Is revenge ever justified? If so, under what circumstances? What
do you believe is the difference between revenge and justice?
OPTION 2: Or, share a personal experience:
Has anyone ever done anything to you that made you want to get revenge on
them? What did they do?
Have you ever gotten revenge on someone for something they did to you?
What did you do to them in return? Why did you feel a need to get revenge?
Explain how the revenge made you feel. Did you get caught? If you had
gotten caught, would that have changed the feeling the revenge gave you?
Explain.
LITERARY TERMS:
UNRELIABLE NARRATOR
• An unreliable narrator is a
character whose telling of the
story is not completely accurate
or credible due to problems with
the character's mental state or
maturity.
• Provides the reader with
inaccurate or incomplete
information
• May not know the whole truth or
purposely deceives us
WHAT CLUES US IN THAT THIS
MIGHT NOT BE A RELIABLE
NARRATOR?
You’ll never believe what happened to me on my way to work this
morning. I was minding my own business, driving in the middle
lane of the highway, when some fool cut me off.
His rear bumper was an inch from my car! I could’ve been killed!
I dropped my cell phone and leaned on my horn. He ignored me
like he’d done nothing wrong! So I switched lanes and sped up to
pull alongside him.
As soon as my car was even with his, I yelled out the window at
him; again, he ignored me! I couldn’t believe it!
WHAT TIPS US OFF HERE?
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 of my soul,
will not suppose, however, that I gave utterance to a
threat.
READ LIKE A DETECTIVE!
To decide if Poe’s narrator is reliable, look closely at:
• what the narrator says and does, and
•what Fortunato, the narrator’s enemy says.
• What details suggest that the narrator is unreliable—
perhaps even insane.
LITERARY TERMS:
IRONY (RECAP)
• A surprise!
• It is the difference between what we expect to
happen, and what actually does happen.
• It is often used to add suspense and interest.
• It is also used to keep the reader thinking about
the theme of the story.
THREE TYPES OF IRONY
VERBAL
The simplest kind of irony.
You use it everyday when you say
one thing and really mean another.
It is often similar to a sarcastic
response.
Mean Girls
A man looked out of the window to see the storm
intensify. He turned to his friend and said “wonderful
weather we’re having!”
SITUATIONAL
Occurs when a situation turns out to
be the opposite of what you thought
it would be.
Well, isn't this ironic?!
In “The Gift of Magi” by O. Henry, Della cuts her hair to sell it in order to have
the money to buy her husband a pocket watch chain. Jim then sells the watch to
buy Della hair combs.
DRAMATIC
Examples:
Occurs when the audience knows
something that the characters in the
story, on the screen, or on the stage do
not know.
The audience is more aware of what’s
going on than the people in the
production.
This is used to engage the audience
and keep them actively involved in the
storyline.
In Star Wars, the audience knows that
Darth Vader is Luke’s father, but
Luke does not know until Episode V.
In Toy Story, human characters are not aware
that the toys speak and move while the
audience is aware.
MOOD
The feeling or atmosphere that a
writer creates for the reader.
• Descriptive words, imagery and
figurative language contribute to
the mood
Doris Lessing
builds a suspenseful
and anxious mood
as Jerry is
swimming through
the tunnel.
EXPLORE THE TITLE
What is Amontillado?
A type of Spanish wine (sherry)
SETTING: CATACOMBS
Catacombs are underground tunnels
or rooms dug out as tombs or
sometimes used for religious
worship.
SETTING: CARNIVAL/ITALY
Mainly celebrated in Roman Catholic
countries, such as Italy and
France, carnival is an elaborate
festival that occurs during the weeks
before Lent, a holy season of
abstinence and prayer. Mardi Gras in
New Orleans stems from this
religious tradition.
How might you describe the mood of
carnival?
LET’S START READING:
PAGE 372
“NEMO ME IMPUNE LACESSIT”
Discuss what the image suggests
about this “family” crest
Identifying Irony:
1. What is ironic about Fortunato’s
name? (V,S,D?)
2. What is ironic about the setting?
(V,S, D?)
3. What is ironic about Montresor’s
toast? (V,S,D?)
4. Find two other examples of
irony, explain why they are
ironic. Identify V,S, or D.
Identify Imagery:
Find three examples of imagery.
Cite the line with the quote of state
which sense they are appealing to.
What type of mood do the examples
you chose create? Explain your
answer.
THEME QUESTION:
"Theme" can be defined as "a
comment about the human condition
that a writer makes through his or her
work," and a theme or themes are
often what make a work of literature
relevant to all of our lives.
Start with topics/subjects:
1.
2.
3.
Can you identify one or more themes
in "The Cask of Amontillado"? In
other words, can you identify any
general comments about life and the
human condition that Poe is suggesting
through the specifics of this story?
Choose a topic.
What is Poe’s message on that topic?
Find three quotes to prove/support
your claim.
THEME