More on The Cask of Amontillado

The Cask of
Amontillado
Introduction
Edgar Allan Poe, an American short-story writer, essayist, and poet,
published “The Cask of Amontillado” in 1846. It was his last, and some
say greatest, short story. It’s a tale of revenge, murder, torture, and
addiction set in a vast underground Italian catacomb (underground
cemetery). It’s also a journey into the dark and mysterious recesses of
the human psyche.
Poe was born on January 19, 1809 to actors David and Eliza Poe. He and
his brother and sister were orphaned shortly before Poe’s second
birthday, and were each taken in by different families. Maybe this helps
explain why he was attracted to the dark themes.
His biography is fascinating, and the subject of much debate, gossip,
and speculation. For example, he’s rumored to have died from the bite of
a rabid dog, but he probably passed away as a result of drug- and
alcohol-related complications. He was a heavy drinker, and also addicted
to the drug laudanum. This information helps us decipher a difficult
symbol in the story, which you can read about in “Symbols, Imagery,
Allegory.”
If you are interested in getting to know Poe better, we’ve provided you
with lots of handy links in “Did You Know?” The most important thing you
need to know about Poe is that he was a truly brilliant, visionary, and
influential writer. He basically invented the genre of mystery or detective
fiction as well as science fiction, and he had very precise ideas about
what stories are supposed to do and be, as is reflected in his essays.

What is The Cask of

Amontillado About
and Why Should I
Care?
Why is horror so popular? Our culture is awash with it. Although some
may avoid scary movies and books, most of us crave that occasional
tingle running down our spines.
But that doesn’t answer our question: Why? Why do we want to be
scared, and why do all these people want to scare us? There are several
answers, not limited to what we talk about here.
Horror writers such as Edgar Allan Poe, author of the dismal tale at hand,
will tell you that scary stories are a great way to express social and
personal anxieties over sex, drugs, parents, children, bullies, and war, to
name a few. We want to talk about them because we want to understand
them, but we can’t always find the right time or place.
For the person reading or watching horror, it’s also a kind of freedom. The
horror story is an argument, usually a dark and mysterious one, about
human nature. By reading or watching, we participate in this argument.
Horror-master Steven King says, “We make up horrors to help us cope
with the real ones” (source). In some ways, we read and watch horror for
the same reason: our own lives often seem nice and calm after a few
hours of fear.
Plus, Edgar Allan Poe's stories are fun because they're complicated
puzzles. You have to exercise your brain muscles to figure them out. And
because “The Cask of Amontillado” is so very short, we can really focus
on its details, and we can read it as many times as we want.

The Cask of
Amontillado
Resources
Movie or TV Productions
The Cask of Amontillado
A movie from 1998.
A Short Film
A 1965 short film – it’s only 29 minutes long.
Images
A Poe Poster
We think this is pretty cool.
Poe
He doesn’t look very scary.
A Creepy Crypt
This isn’t an Italian crypt, but it should help you visualize the setting.
Visiting Catacombs
It’s info on how to visit the catacombs of Rome.
Documents
Letters from Poe
This link will take you to pictures and transcriptions of lots and lots of
Poe’s letters.
Other
A Timeline
Everybody needs a Poe timeline…
The Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore
This is an awesome resource.
Carnival
This link has some good information on the holiday.
The Poe Museum
Another helpful resource
American Masters
This great site form PBS has lots of great information on Poe.
Poe’s Grave
This site has lots of pictures of Poe’s grave.
The Edgar Awards
Maybe you could win one…
A Quiz
Test your knowledge of the story.
Perspectives in "Cask"
A wonderfully complex and eye-opening PBS for Teachers retelling of
“The Cask of Amontillado” from three different points of view – that of
the “protagonist” Montresor, the “antagonist” Fortunato, and a narrator
who is not part of the story.
Motive for Murder
Check out one potential explanation for Montresor’s vaguely described
motive (of getting dissed and dismissed) in Elena Baraban’s essay “The
Motive for Murder in ‘The Cask of Amontillado’ by Edgar Allan Poe.”

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