An Introduction to
Edgar Allan Poe and
“The Cask of
Amontillado”
Jessica Alferio Clark
Edgar Allan Poe – The Early Years
 Born January 19, 1809 in Boston, Massachusetts
 He was abandoned by his father and was later
taken in by Mr. and Mrs. John Allan after the
death of his mother.
 Poe entered the University of Virginia in 1826
and was expelled shortly after enrolling.
 Poe also attended West Point, but left due to some
gambling debts. He also enlisted in the United
States Navy (where he came upon the idea for
“The Cask of Amontillado”) and moved to
Baltimore upon his discharge.
The Middle Years
 In May 1836, Poe married Virginia Clemm and
the couple moved to Philadelphia.
 Poe began to write regularly while in
Philadelphia and eventually moved to New York
City in 1844 to become the editor of The Evening
Mirror.
 Even though he found success with his works
(“The Raven” was published in 1845), his
personal life was full of grief. Virginia was very
ill and her illness affected Poe deeply.
 Virginia Clemm died in January of 1847.
 It is believed that the loss of Virginia led to Poe’s
drinking problem and reignited his passion for
gambling.
The Death of Edgar Allan Poe
 Poe moved back to Richmond, Virginia in 1849.
 In September of 1849 he left Richmond for Baltimore,
supposedly on business.
 On October 3, 1849, Edgar Allan Poe was found unconscious
on a street in Baltimore and died four days later.
 Many theories surround the death of Poe, from him being
bitten by a rabid squirrel and contracting rabies to a drunken
Poe being robbed and beaten on the Baltimore street and left
for dead.
 Every year on his birthday, a mysterious stranger shows up at
Poe’s grave and places a bottle of cognac and three roses on it.
To see a snippet from The Simpson with Bart as the
raven, click here.
Gothic Literature
 A literary genre characterized by a general mood of decay, action that
is dramatic and generally violent or otherwise disturbing, characters
that are destructive, and settings that are grandiose, if gloomy or
bleak.
 Think of scary stories and movies. Gothic doesn’t necessarily mean
blood, guts, and death – it has to be truly disturbing.
 Examples:
…
“A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner
…
“The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe
…
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
…
Dracula by Bram Stoker
…
The Mystery of Edwin Drood by Charles Dickens
…
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
…
“The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
…
“The Monkey’s Paw” by W.W. Jacobs
…
The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux
Important Literary Terms to Know
 Point of View – the relationship between the
storyteller (narrator) and the story.
 First Person Point of View – the story is told by
one of the characters, referred to as “I.” The
reader generally sees everything through that
character’s eyes.
 Unreliable Narrator – a narrator who in
someway distorts the truth.
 Irony – a contrast between what appears to be
and what really is.
“The Cask of Amontillado” Background
 Setting
… Place
 Somewhere in Europe (most likely in Italy)
… Time
 During the Carnival Season
… Carnival is like Mardi Gras, a festival of food and
indulgence before the Lenten season
… for more on Carnival, visit:
 http://www.carnaval.com/cityguides/neworleans/
history.htm
 http://goitaly.about.com/od/festivalsandevents/a/
carnevale_2.htm
Characters
 Montresor
… The narrator
… Dressed in a
cloak and mask
 Fortunato
… Name means
good fortune
… Dressed in a
fool’s (court
jester) outfit
Introduction Review
Test Your Knowledge
Edgar Allan Poe was born in Baltimore, Maryland.
True
False
Gothic Literature is all about blood and guts and people getting hacked to
little pieces.
True
False
Montresor is the character wearing the cloak and mask while Fortunato is
dressed as the fool.
True
False
An Unreliable Narrator always tells the truth.
True
False
Irony is a contrast between what appears to be and what really is.
True
False
Edgar Allan Poe Websites
 http://www.nps.gov/edal/forteachers/upload/death.pdf
…
A handout from the National Historic Site – Philadelphia and the
National Park Service on the theories of Poe’s death.
 http://www.online-literature.com/poe/
…
A biography of Poe and a link to his works on-line.
 http://www.teachersfirst.com/share/raven/
… The Interactive Raven website – a site to read “The Raven” and
learn about alliteration, assonance, and internal rhyme.
 http://fayette.k12.in.us/~cbeard/amontillado.html
…
A full text version of “The Cask of Amontillado” with vocabulary
support.
 http://www.poemuseum.org/
…
The website of the Edgar Allan Poe museum in Richmond, Virginia.
THAT’S CORRECT!
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Works Cited
Murfin, R. and Ray, S.M. (Eds.). (2001) The before glossary of critical
and literary terms. New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s.
Thompson, G.R. (Ed.). (2004), The selected writings of Edgar Allan
Poe. New York: W.W. Norton .
Pennsylvania State Standards for Reading, Writing, Listening, and
Speaking addressed in this slide show:
1.3.8.B. Analyze the use of literary elements by an author including
characterization, setting, plot, theme, point of view, tone, and style.