Cask Of Amontillado Verbal Irony Analysis

Edgar Allan Poe creates horror and suspense in his use of irony -including verbal irony, situational irony, and dramatic irony-in his short story “ The Tell-Tale Heart”. Verbal irony is when something that is said means the opposite of what is meant. Poe uses verbal irony when he states, “ I loved the old man.” Situational irony is similar. It is defined as when what happens is different from or even the opposite of what we expected.

Irony may appear in difference ways within literature. Irony changes our expectations of what might happen. It can create the unexpected twist at the end of a story or anecdote that gets people laughing or crying. Verbal irony is intended to be a humorous type of irony. Situational irony can be either funny or tragic.

Irony takes place in all of Poe’s stories, and it is very easy to notice what the most ironic parts are in all of the texts too. However, “The Tell-Tale Heart” and “The Masque of the Red Death”, have the most ironic sequences in them. In “The Tell-Tale Heart”, the narrator is so confident that he had thought of everything, that he had the perfect plan, but he hadn’t planned for the guilt that would later haunt him after he killed the old man. He ended up confessing his crime to the police and even tearing up the floorboards where he had stashed the old man’s remains. For example, “I admit the deed!

Verbal irony involves a character saying one thing, and meaning another. Situational irony consists of what is expected to happen, and what actually happens. Three types of irony found in Edgar Allan Poe’s, “The Cask of Amontillado”, are dramatic, verbal, and situational irony. A good example of dramatic irony occurs when Montresor explains to Fortunato that he is also a mason. Then, Fortunato asks for a sign.

Verbal irony occurs when what is said is different from what is meant. In Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado,” an example of verbal irony is the final line of the story when Montresor, the protagonist, has just killed Fortunato by walling him up in a tomb in the catacombs beneath Montresor’s palazzo. Montresor says, “In pace requiescat!” (214) which in English translates to “May he rest in peace!” This is verbal irony because, as Montresor has just murdered Fortunato, the reader can infer that Montresor does not wish Fortunato to rest in peace, though that is what he said.

In the short story by Edgar Allen Poe, there are countless examples of irony to convey Montresor’s unlawful act, while applying an additional layer of irony to sabotage his revenge. An example of situational irony Poe uses in the story is simply the name Fortunato. Fortunato is an Italian name that means good fortune or luck. This is an example of situational irony because his name means the complete opposite of what he actually was.

Miller uses irony to demonstrate the flaws, the corruption, within the court’s justice system. In this case, it’s emphasized when Giles is found guilty; even though, he did have evidence to prove his accusation. He states, “if Jacobs hangs for a witch he forfeits up his property that's law! And there is none but Putnam with the coin to buy so great a piece”( Miller 89). In addition, he has a witness that heard Putnam thanking his daughter after she cried out on Jacobs.

In Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado,” irony is applied throughout to help foreshadow future and give more of an insight to the readers, all while adding some humor. Irony is divided into three main types: dramatic, situational, and verbal. Poe uses dramatic irony when he has Fortunato dress as a jester, “a tight-fitting parti-striped dress and his was surmounted by the conical cap and bells” (Poe). The get-up makes Fortunato looks foolish and foreshadows his actions of following Montresor into the catacombs to taste some wine. Montresor even compliments the outfit and says “My dear Fortunato, you are luckily met” (Poe), but it was not Fortunato who was in luck, but Montresor who would gain profit of their meeting.

A great example of verbal irony is when General Zaroff states that the island is “a most-restful spot”(60). Although the General tells the truth about it being a restful place, what he really meant was that sailors will rest there forever. Another presence of irony is in the beginning of the story. Rainsford was the hunter and did not care for the feelings of the animals he hunted. He ended up being the “hunted” and finally understood how they felt.

For example, in the beginning of the story, the narrator tries to prove to the reader that he is sane. “How, then, am I mad?” Later on in the story, he tells the reader “I was never kinder to the old man than during the whole week before I killed him.” This is verbal irony since right after he said that he is sane, he confesses to the reader that he killed the old man. After the narrator asked how he was mad, suspense kept building, making the reader question if he was really sane and going to kill the man, until he actually killed the man.

The first example of verbal irony occurs when Montresor tells Fortunato “My dear Fortunato, you are luckily met” (237). This is an example of verbal irony because Montresor was looking for Fortunato and it wasn’t luck that brought the two men together. Another reason is because Fortunato is actually unlucky to have met Montresor since he plans on taking his revenge on him for all the humiliation he made Montresor feel. The next example comes when Montresor is asked if he is “A Mason” (239) but Fortunato means if he is part of the freemasons. When

Geoffry Chaucer uses verbal irony during thi8s part of the Pardoners Tale by giving them joy and excitement with them thinking they have it all figured out, but are actually having a meet and greet with their own death. “’Trust me.’” (Chaucer 130) Said one the rioters “’you needn’t doubt my word’” (Chaucer 130) this could be one of the most ironic points in Chaucer’s story.

“The Use of Irony in "The Cask of Amontillado" Edgar Allan Poe is a phenomenal writer and makes many points in his writings. There are three different ways in Poe 's writing of "The Cask of Amontillado" that irony is used: verbal, situational and dramatic. Verbal irony can be seen when Montresor first sees Fortunato at the carnival. Situational irony is also used and can be seen between the meaning of Fortunato 's name and his destiny, as well as Montresor 's response to his own. The last way irony is used is dramatic irony, this can be seen by any reader, this occurs when Montresor tells Fortunato he is also a mason.

In the short story “The Catbird Seat,” the author James Thurber develops verbal, dramatic, and situational irony by his plot structure. In the beginning of the story Mrs. Barrows says phrases like “Are you tearing up the pea patch?” Right after that an employee explains to Mr. Martin what is means. He says, “‘Tearing up the pea patch’ meant going on a rampage.” That section of the story is verbal irony because Mrs. Burrows is saying phrases she doesn't really mean.

The first aspect of irony, in the story is of the characters name Fortunato. It is derived from the word “Fortun” which means fortunate. This makes it an ironic name to have for a man that is about to an unfortunate fate. Fortunato is definitely