CRITIQUE PAPER ABOUT THE EXCERPT, “THE CASK OF AMONTILLADO”,

BY EDGAR ALLAN POE

Erika Kyle T. Napiñas

XI – Plato

Mrs. Florenda H. Quinte

Reading and Writing teacher

Regional Science High School - IX

Malasiga, San Roque, Zamboanga City

February 11, 2019

 Critique Paper on Edgar Allan Poe’s Excerpt titled “The Cask of Amontillado”

Edgar Allan Poe, an American writer, editor, and literary critic, was one of the earliest
practitioners of short stories in America. He was best known for his tastes in writing poetry
and short stories of mystery and the macabre, and was also widely acknowledged as the
inventor of modern-day detective stories. He was also acknowledged for being an innovator
in the science fiction genre. Most of his recurring themes deal with death, mourning, the
effects of decomposition, and the reanimation of the dead. Edgar Allan Poe was also famous
for his works, such as “The Raven” and “The Black Cat”.

On November 1846, Poe first published “The Cask of Amontillado” in the November
issue of Godey’s Lady’s Book, the most popular periodical of America at the time. The story
was set in an unnamed Italian city during a carnival. There, Montresor, a man born from an
old and honored family, was plotting to get revenge and murder his friend, Fortunato, for the
numerous insults he received. Montresor succeeded in murdering Fortunato by chaining said
man to a wall and entombing him man alive in the crypts. The story only stars two
characters; Montresor—a man of an honorable family; and Fortunato, a man who was fond
of drinking wine and whom Montresor believed was a fool. The background of these two
characters were not clearly explained; their families, age, nor their appearance was
mentioned. The story only stated what they wore; Montresor, who wore a mask of black silk,
and Fortunato, wore the multicolored costume of the jester, including a cone cap with bells.

Like most of Edgar Allan Poe’s works, “The Cask of Amontillado” was written in the
genres of Gothic literature and short horror stories. Two of the most prominent themes of this
story are revenge and murder. It speaks of revenge as Montresor was plotting to get back at
Fortunato for all the insults he had to withstand, and by getting his revenge, he murdered
him. The story allows the readers to enter the mind of a murderer, as the story was written
from the murderer’s point of view or perspective. However, unlike most murder stories, “The
Cask of Amontillado” does not involve an investigation on the committed crime—and in this
case, Fortunato’s death. In the story, the reason on why Montresor killed Fortunato wasn’t
known to Fortunato, as the culprit never explained his motive. “The Cask of Amontillado”
was titled this way as Amontillado, a variety of sherry wine, was used by Montresor to lure
Fortunato to his family’s vaults where he was to be murdered. Fortunato, a man who loved
drinking wine, easily accepted the bait laid out by Montresor and thought as an act of
generosity or goodwill.

Fortunato’s name would translate into “Fortunate” in English. However, I think that it
is quite ironic and unlikely, because Fortunato actually died of an unfortunate death, as he
was buried alive, which is quite contrasting as most people prefer to die of old age.
Montresor, despite being patient as he was able to withstand Fortunato’s insults for a long
time, was actually quick to act when it comes to murdering Fortunato. His plan was
strategically well thought out, as he planned for this meeting and ordered his servants away
to the carnival. That leaves them, Montresor and Fortunato, alone in the vaults. In my
opinion, Montresor was a smart man, as he succeeded in murdering his friend without
anyone suspecting him as the culprit, since the wall he built to bury Fortunato remained
untouched for half a century. He was also able to murder Fortunato easily by offering more
wine to the already-intoxicated Fortunato as they venture further into the vaults for
Amontillado, rendering Fortunato unable to fight back before he was chained to a wall.
Despite being heavily intoxicated with wine, Fortunato was able to sober up quickly the
moment he realized that Montresor was actually about to kill him by burying him alive.
However, by that time it was already too late as he was already chained to a wall and
Montresor was about to finish building the wall to completely entomb him. According to
most critics, the narrative voice of “The Cask of Amontillado” was cold and passionate,
which in my opinion, perfectly matches the character of the avenger, Montresor. He was
passionate in getting his revenge, and because of that he murdered Fortunato by burying him
alive, in which I think is a grotesque manner of killing someone.

Overall, in my opinion, “The Cask of Amontillado” is good. Its plot was interesting
and the way events turned out was surprising as well. However, there are some points in the
story which I deem lacking. For instance, the characters lack details on their background.
The author didn’t indicate what type of people they were before the story took place, and he
also didn’t indicate their families and such. I also think that the story both started and ended
abruptly. The story started with Montresor plotting revenge right away. He didn’t indicate
the depth of the relationship between Montresor and Fortunato and didn’t give us an idea of
what kind of insults were being thrown to Montresor. I think that the author should’ve at
least considered to state those to give the audience a clear view of what really happened
before the events of the story took place. As for how the story ended however, I wish that the
author should have written what happened to Montresor after fifty years, if he was caught
and punished for his crime or if he remained the same. However, its abrupt ending left the
audience to wonder or to imagine what happened to Montresor up to themselves. And I think
that was one of the factors which made the story more interesting. The author’s choice of
words indicated how intelligent the author was, however I think that his choice of words
weren’t that appropriate for his audience might not be able to understand some words, unless
they have a dictionary in hand or a wide range in vocabulary. Aside from all that, I think that
story was well written and one of the most interesting stories I have come upon.

REFERENCE LIST

Edgar Allan Poe (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://americanenglish.state.gov/files/ae/resource_files/the_cask_of_amontillado.pdf

The Poe Museum. (n.d.). Retrieved February, 2019, from

https://www.poemuseum.org/poes-biography

“The Cask of Amontillado” (1846). (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/poestories/section11/