Ironies Found in "The Cask of Amontillado"
             In the short story "The Cask of Amontillado," Edgar Allan Poe writes in the first person point of view from the perspective of Montresor, the diabolic narrator of this tale, who vowed revenge against Fortunato. Montresor began to develop the perfect plan for retribution. During the carnival season, Montresor encounters Fortunato and decides to implement his plan carefully not to arouse Fortunato's suspicions through irony. Poe uses different types of irony throughout the story. The three different types of irony that he uses are dramatic, verbal, and situational irony.
             Dramatic irony is when the reader perceives something that a character in the story does not. This occurs when reader becomes painfully aware of what will become of Fortunato even though the character continues his descent into the catacombs in pursuit of the Amontillado. Poe further adds to this effect by calling the character Fortunato, who is anything but fortunate, and dressing him in a clown or fool's costume since Montresor intends to make a fool of him as part of his dark plan. Through the ironic naming of the characters, Poe gives visual images to the readers. The naming of Fortunato, which is ironic since he is anything but fortunate, suggests a lucky or fortunate person (Womack 5). He is given the name "Fortunato" though to make him appear as a "fool" (Womack 4). Montresor says that "Fortunato, like his countrymen, was a quack" (Lowell 214). Montresor's name being associated with "treasure" gives the reader an image of a rich and powerful man (Gruesser 129). The reader becomes aware of Montresor's plan when he informs us that he is going to continue to smile in Fortunato's face while using Fortunato's pride in his wine to lure him into the catacombs to taste some of his imaginary Amontillado. This whole scene is ironic beca...