“My dear Fortunato, you are luckily met.” A quote from the Edgar Allan Poe story “The Cask of Amontillado”, if you’ve ever read this story you would definitly know this sentence was only the beginning of many ironic moments in this story. Irony is a very good thing to use if you want a suspenseful story, which Edgar Allen Poe seemed to have mastered pretty well. Irony makes you nervous, (in ”The Cask of Amontillado’s” case) it builds up the suspense of the story and makes you want to read on.
Irony of situation is the first out of three types of irony, “I forced the last stone into position; I plastered it up. Against the new masonry I re-erected the old rampart of bones. For the half of a century no mortal disturbed them. In pace requiescat!” In pace requiescat is latin for rest in peace, this irony is used in a creepy way. Montressor (the one who had basically locked Fortunato in a crypt) probably didnt even care if Fortunato rested in peace, he’d killed him in the first place! This irony makes Montressor look like a scary murderer, and gives the reader chills at the end of the story.
Verbal irony, the second of the three ironies, is basically what it is called. Using irony in a verbal way, “‘We will go back; your health is precious.’” Montressor was using a bit of trickery, reverse physcology on the poor, drunk Fortunato. Montressor obviously does not care about Fortunato, considering he plans to starve the man in a dark, cold crypt.
Dramatic irony, the last of the three ironies, creates maybe the most suspense. You’re just waiting, and you’re heart goes faster, wondering whats gonna happen next. “‘These vaults,’ he said, ‘are extensive.’ ‘The Montressors,’ I replied, ‘were a great and numerous family.’ ‘I forgot your arms.’ ‘A huge foot d’or, in a field azure; the foot crushes a serpent rampant who fangs are imbedded in the heel.’ ‘And the motto?’ ‘Nemo me impune lacessit.’” Nemo me impune lacessit means don’t mess with us, in latin. And when asking this Fortunato makes himself a fool in a way. Fortunato is taking a private tour of a CRYPT with Montressor, knowing that he had messed with Montressor’s family. Montressor probably is not taking the tour just to look for wine, because, no one messes with the Montressors.
Irony creates suspense, as I have proven in the examples above. Irony created this story the way it is, without irony this story wouldn’t have suspense. It would have lost it’s meaning! “My dear Fortunato, you are luckily met.” This story needed the irony to be what it is.
