Cask of Amontillado- Edgar Allen Poe- Foreshadowing

Edgar Allan Poe is one of the most highly acclaimed authors of all time. His short story “The Cask of Amontillado” displays a lot of his unique talents which made him so real revered. One of the most prominent literary elements of this story is foreshadowing. “The Cask of Amontillado” uses many different forms of foreshadowing throughout the story. Some of the ways it is shown are through the conversation of the main characters, the setting and the events. The conversation which is taking place throughout the entire story between the two main characters shows the readers a lot. There are points in the story where the characters comments show more to the reader than they initially appear to. One place where this occurs is when Mr. Montresor first confronts Fortunato. He says to Fortunato “The vaults are insufferably damp. They are encrusted with nitre.” Nitre is a preservative, potassium nitrate, which was used in those days to preserve the remains of the dead. This dismal description of their future location predicts doom and death to the readers. We are hinted towards the fact that the vaults will be Fortunato’s fina

Not only do the characters location and conversation show the reader glimpses of what is to come, but the events and the items surrounding the characters do as well. The fourth wall has recently been unnaturally disturbed, and the remains have been piled in the center. These small events all add up to a big ending. When Fortunato and Montresor are discussing Montresor"tms family arms, we are shown the fact that Montresor"tms family is known for successful revenge. Showing he reader little bits of what may be to come gives us an interest in the story and keeps us thinking. Through the use of the characters dialogue, the setting and the smaller details surrounding the characters, the reader is given much to look forward to when reading Edgar Allen Poe"tms "The Cask of Amontillado". The ironic statement also acts to show the reader that his death is closer than he thinks it is, and yet he will not die of natural causes like a cough. We can assume that Montresor has disturbed this area for a special reason, and that the pile of bones will serve an inevitable purpose. The fact the Fortunato is dressed like a clown with a dress on, shows us that he is being made a fool of. Another spoken example of foreshadowing is when Fortunato says to Montresor "The Cough is a mere nothing, it will not kill me. Yet it is described as only having three walls covered in this fashion. l resting place, where he will be preserved forever. When Montresor leads Fortunato towards his alleged Amontillado, he brings him down to his families catacombs, which is reality are subterranean cemeteries of galleries with recesses for tombs.