Casking

Literary devices play an important role in every short story. Some authors use irony, figurative language, or personification to express significance in a certain way. Edgar Allen Poe uses many different writing styles to convey meaning in his short horror story "The Cask of Amontillado". The most significant techniques he uses are setting, point of view, and symbolism.

Poe uses setting in this story to advance Montresor in his vindictive murder. The story takes place during "the madness of the carnival season" in Italy. It is to Montresor's advantage that a carnival is taking place because if something out of the norm happens, everyone will be too busy at the carnival to notice it. The word "madness" proves that many people are involved in the carnival and only a few people won't attend. Montresor can steal away the company of Fortunado and no one in the crowd will detect it.

Point of view also plays an important role in "The Cask of Amontillado". Poe uses first person limited omniscient view in this story. First person allows the narrator to be one of the characters. Limited omniscient point of view educates the reader on some things but only through the narrators perspective. At the beginning of the story, the narrator, Montresor, tells us that his friend Fortunado had done him a "thousand injuries". As readers, we aren't sure what those injuries are or even there are any. If there are, were they bad enough to make Montresor want to kill his former friend? We can be quick to judge. Maybe Fortunado did, in fact, do something so bad that only murder would justify his actions. But on the other hand, maybe he was always loyal to Montresor. Limited omniscient view can only make us wonder about the situation causing Fortunado's unfortunate death.

Symbolism is a literary technique that many authors use in short stories and novels. There are many symbols in this story. At the carnival Fortunado is dressed