Edgar Allan Poe is the dark genius of mid-nineteenth-century American literature, who chose death as the central theme of his stories. He is the progenitor of the detective, the psychological thriller, horror, and the literary macabre. Poe has been interested in many pieces, but loneliness, agony, crime, and other horrifying motifs of split consciousness found the most significant resonance in his work. The primary specialty for the author is to capture the horror of the soul in its most vivid manifestations, and this task became the basis for one of his stories. The Cask of Amontillado is a mixture of numerous literary techniques and elements that translate into a genuinely horrifying novel.
The central place in Poe’s short stories is taken by psychological motives, which are often described as dreadful or horrifying. Their primary theme – the tragic consequences of the clash of human consciousness, is brought up in the spirit of humanistic ideals, with unique inhumane tendencies that arise in the progress of American bourgeois civilization. The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe is a novel inspired by factual events on Castle Island, a former military fort near Boston Harbor, Massachusetts. When Poe served there as a young cadet in the army, he found a tombstone and investigated the story of a man who had been walled up alive (Büyükkarci 37). Forbidden by his commanding officer to repeat the details, Poe took the storyline, changed the setting and characters, and wrote the novel.
One of the leading elements that make The Cask of Amontillado a horror is a plot. The author depicts a hero obsessed with the desire to avenge an insult that the reader will never comprehend. His hatred becomes even more terrifying as it is disguised as love and concern for his offender (Büyükkarci 39). The writer sees a definite correlation between the states of love and hate, which can quickly escalate from one to the other. Thus, in Edgar Allan Poe’s story, the action follows a dark and twisted line of revenge for the narrator, Montresor. The novel is thoroughly organized, and each detail contributes to a specific, unique effect. Moreover, readers are forced to view the narrative only from Montresor’s vengeful point of view, thereby increasing the moral shock and horrific impact.
Furthermore, Poe forces the reader to examine the inner motives and killer’s movements. Montresor seeks only one thing from the entire storyline, and that is revenge which drives his actions (Francisco 134). He is beyond reason, but no one can help find an alternate ending merely because Montresor does not let anyone, except the reader, comprehend his thoughts. The refrain saltpeter acts as a danger signal while amontillado serves as a promise of pleasure (Francisco 138). However, the victim prefers to hear only the delight signal and inevitably goes deeper into the trap. The final entrapment alive takes on some tinge of justice triumphant in this novel, though it is still horrible.
It is significant to state that there is an excellent note of suspense and anticipation of the outcome in the novel, which characterizes every horror story. Furthermore, the narrative is told in the first person in the form of a confession, emphasizing the story’s grimness. The murderer boasts of the sophistication and elaborateness of the crime, which permitted him to deceive everyone (Francisco 140). Only the torment of conscience, the inner awareness of the violation, gives away the perfectly planned murder.
The single plot model of the novella-self-denunciation is reduced to the portrayal of the criminal. It is centered around the fixation of the reasons for the act that pushed him to commit the murder, a detailed description of the process of the atrocity, and the self-denunciation. The primary techniques that enhance the abnormal mental impulses are dramatic monologues of the protagonist endowed with a sick psyche, nervous intonation, and an abundance of exclamations. These horror traits construct an atmosphere of gloom and fear and make the story a genuine horror.
It is essential to note that there is no epigraph in the novella, such a characteristic device in Poe’s work. This can be explained by the fact that there is no other creative attitude than to describe the process of moral degradation under the influence of irrational passion. In The Cask of Amontillado, the only self-indictment novel where murder is motivated and an act of revenge for an insult, the weapon of retribution is the sudden silence of the hero (Poe 5). Further aspect of horror is the predominance of action over dialogue. The silence strikes Montresor’s murderer harder than the wild laughter of Fortunato’s abuser. Vengeance lies in realizing the emptiness of another life devoid of revenge. The etymology of the name Fortunato is related to fate, fortune, and luck, and Montresor mounds his future, thus betraying his essence.
Thus, it can be concluded that Poe’s work is whole of a profound atrocity of the future. In his novel, madness, horror, and fear destroy the human psyche and thus eliminate the world around. Each of Poe’s protagonists is a victim of some obsession, and Fortunato is no exception. The Cask of Amontillado is a shady story founded on actual events in which fear and death are closely intertwined. The author uses first-person narration and constructs the plot in a way that every reader delves into the atmosphere of darkness. The novel can undoubtedly be considered a quality example of horror, as its tone and prominent motifs are perfect samples of this literary genre.
Works Cited
Büyükkarci, Orhun. “Is it the Door through Death What Scares Us? An Analysis of the Cask of Amontillado between Semiotics and Narratology Interface.” Journal of Narrative and Language Studies vol. 9, no. 16, 2021, pp. 34-56.
Francisco, Jesusa C. “To Live but Die Inside: A Lamentable State of Montressor in “The Cask of Amontillado”.” Okara: Jurnal Bahasa dan Sastra, vol. 15, no. 2, 2021, pp. 126-140.
Poe, Edgar Allan. The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe. Beyond Books Hub, 2021.