Flashcards for The Cask of Amontillado

Fortunato

Fortunato is the tragic figure at the heart of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado."

character

Luchesi

Luchesi is a character who never appears on stage in Edgar Allan Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado," yet he serves as one of the story's most important dramatic devices.

character

Montresor

Montresor is the unnamed narrator and calculating antagonist-protagonist of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado."

character

Montresor's Wife (implied)

Montresor's wife is a ghostly, entirely implied presence in Edgar Allan Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado."

character

“In pace requiescat!”

This chilling Latin phrase — "May he rest in peace!" — are the final words spoken by Montresor, the story's narrator and murderer, at the very end of Edgar Allan Poe's The Cask of Amontillado (1846).

Montresor

“A wrong is unredressed when retribution overtakes its redresser.”

This line is spoken by Montresor, the unreliable narrator of Edgar Allan Poe's short story The Cask of Amontillado (1846), right at the beginning.

Montresor · Opening (the story is a single chapter/scene)

“For the love of God, Montresor!”

This desperate plea is voiced by Fortunato at a critical moment in Edgar Allan Poe's short story "The Cask of Amontillado" (1846).

Fortunato

“I must not only punish but punish with impunity.”

This unsettling statement is voiced by Montresor, the unreliable narrator of Edgar Allan Poe's short story The Cask of Amontillado (1846).

Montresor

“Yes, for the love of God!”

In Edgar Allan Poe's short story The Cask of Amontillado (1846), Fortunato's desperate cry comes at a pivotal moment in the narrative.

Montresor

“I drink to the buried that repose around us.”

This chilling line is delivered by Montresor, the story's vengeful narrator, to his unsuspecting victim Fortunato deep within the Montresor family catacombs.

Montresor

“He had a weak point—this Fortunato—although in other regards he was a man to be respected and even feared. He prided himself on his connoisseurship in wine.”

This opening passage is voiced by Montresor, the story's unreliable narrator, in Edgar Allan Poe's short story The Cask of Amontillado (1846).

Montresor

“The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge.”

This chilling opening line is delivered by Montresor, the story's unreliable narrator, as he speaks directly to an unnamed listener (presumably a confessor or confidant) right at the start of Edgar Allan Poe's short story The Cask of Amontillado (1846).

Montresor

Fortunato's Jester Costume

In Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado," Fortunato's jester costume—complete with motley, a conical cap, and jingling bells—highlights his tragic foolishness and the story's dramatic irony.

Montresor's Coat of Arms

In Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado," Montresor's coat of arms — a golden human foot crushing a serpent whose fangs are embedded in the heel — serves as a compact representation of his revenge philosophy.

The Amontillado

In Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado," the rare wine symbolizes the deadly draw of pride and temptation.

The Carnival

In Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado," the carnival represents a false sense of freedom and the reversal of moral order.

The Catacombs

In Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado," the catacombs beneath Montresor's palazzo represent death, entrapment, and the twisted corners of a vengeful mind.

Irony

In Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado," irony drives the story, woven into almost every line of dialogue between Montresor and Fortunato.

Allusion

Poe skillfully integrates allusions in "The Cask of Amontillado" to enhance its themes of pride, revenge, and secret society ritual.

Dramatic Monologue

In "The Cask of Amontillado," Poe crafts the entire story as a dramatic monologue where Montresor speaks to an unnamed "you" — "You, who so well know the nature of my soul" — addressing a silent listener over fifty years, whose responses we never hear.

Imagery

In "The Cask of Amontillado," Poe uses vivid imagery to immerse the reader in the chilling experience of murder.

Hyperbole

In "The Cask of Amontillado," Poe uses hyperbole to illustrate Montresor's self-justifying madness, making his grandiosity a clear indicator of his unreliability as a narrator.

Juxtaposition

In Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado," juxtaposition serves as the story's main source of dread, contrasting warmth with cold, festivity with murder, and friendship with revenge in ways that a simple retelling of a killing could never accomplish.

Symbolism

In Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado," symbolism permeates every aspect of the narrative, transforming a revenge tale into a reflection on pride, entrapment, and mortality.

injuries

Wrongs or offenses done to a person's honor and feelings, not necessarily physical harm. Here it means the repeated slights and humiliations Fortunato has inflicted on Montresor over time.

noun · Chapter 1

borne

Endured or put up with something painful or unpleasant over a period of time without striking back. It is the past participle of 'bear' used in the sense of tolerating.

verb · Chapter 1

ventured upon

Dared to go as far as doing something, especially something bold or offensive. Here it means Fortunato crossed a line by committing an outright insult rather than mere injury.

phrase · Chapter 1

impunity

Freedom from punishment or harmful consequences for one's actions. Montresor insists that true revenge must be carried out without any risk of being caught or penalized.

noun · Chapter 1

redress

A remedy or compensation for a wrong that has been suffered. Montresor uses it to mean setting right the harm done to him through an act of revenge.

noun · Chapter 1

connoisseurship

Expert knowledge and refined judgment about a particular subject, especially fine wine or art. Montresor exploits Fortunato's pride in his supposed expertise to lure him into the vaults.

noun · Chapter 1

Amontillado

A rare and prized variety of dry Spanish sherry wine. Montresor uses the promise of tasting a pipe of it as the bait to draw Fortunato underground.

noun · Chapter 1

pipe

A large cask or barrel used to store wine, holding roughly 126 gallons. Montresor claims to have purchased a full pipe of Amontillado to tempt Fortunato.

noun · Chapter 1

nitre

Potassium nitrate, a white crystalline salt that forms as a crust on damp stone walls. In the story it coats the walls of the underground catacombs, signaling their cold and moisture.

noun · Chapter 1

catacombs

Underground tunnels and chambers used as burial places, lined with the bones and remains of the dead. Montresor leads Fortunato through his family's catacombs beneath the palazzo.

noun · Chapter 1

inebriated

Drunk from consuming too much alcohol. Fortunato has already been drinking heavily at the carnival before Montresor meets him.

adjective · Chapter 1

motley

The multicolored costume traditionally worn by a court jester or fool. Fortunato is dressed in this outfit because he has been celebrating the carnival.

noun · Chapter 1

trowel

A flat-bladed hand tool used by masons to spread and smooth mortar when laying bricks. Montresor produces one as a dark joke when Fortunato makes a Masonic gesture, but it is also the real tool he will use to wall him in.

noun · Chapter 1

Masons

Members of Freemasonry, a secretive fraternal organization with private rituals and signs of recognition. Fortunato signals his membership with a gesture, which Montresor mockingly answers by showing a trowel.

noun · Chapter 1

niche

A shallow recess cut into a wall, here large enough to hold a person. Montresor chains Fortunato inside one of these recesses before bricking up the opening.

noun · Chapter 1

fettered

Chained or shackled so that a person cannot move. Montresor secures Fortunato to the granite wall of the niche with iron fetters before beginning to build the wall.

verb · Chapter 1

mason-work

The craft of building with stone or brick and mortar. Montresor uses this skill to construct the wall that seals Fortunato inside the niche.

noun · Chapter 1

recoiled

Suddenly drew back in shock, fear, or disgust. It describes a sharp involuntary backward movement in response to something alarming.

verb · Chapter 1

In pace requiescat

A Latin phrase meaning 'May he rest in peace,' traditionally said as a prayer for the dead. Montresor speaks it as the final, chilling words of the story after sealing Fortunato in forever.

phrase · Chapter 1