The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe Background for Understanding

The Cask of Amontilladoby Edgar Allan Poe

Background for Understanding

“…but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge.”

“The Cask of Amontillado” is the narrator’s account or version of his ability to carry out a creepy

plot of revenge against his offender.

Good timing in the story allows the narrator time to commit his

revenge successfully.

Carnival

Carnival

• Carnival is a secular or non-religious holiday, but it changed over time from the Christian observance known as Lent.

• Lent is a solemn (sad and serious) forty-day period of fasting prior to Easter.

CARNIVAL

• Traditionally, the fasting during Lent involves abstaining from or not eating meat.

• Modern interpretations of fasting may involve abstaining from or not doing anything one enjoys.

Carn + Val

FLESH (Meat) + FAREWELL

In anticipation of the seriousness of Lent, the celebration of Carnival changed over time.

Participants engage in excessive and extreme behavior to bid farewell to meat-eating (and merriment).

What happens during Carnival?

• Carnival is a time of EXCESS and INDULGENCE.

• BINGEING upon food and alcohol is common.

Partying in the streets and masquerading are enjoyed.

The combination of alcohol and costumes creates an atmosphere where people tend to let down

their inhibitions.

European Carnival traditions survive in the United States in

the form of Mardi Gras.

“The Cask of Amontillado” is set during the “supreme madness” of

Carnival.

In such a riotous atmosphere, it is easy to see how a crime could go

unnoticed.

Lifestyles of the Rich

Circa 1700-1800

The wealthy class enjoyed indulgences such as

• Gemmary

Painting

Palazzos (mansions)

•

Fine Wine (vintages)

Vineyards, where the grapes for producing wine are grown, create picturesque settings for owners’

estates.

The narrator plans for his revenge to take place in the

catacombs beneath his estate.

What are catacombs?

Catacombs: Cities of the Dead

At a certain point in European history, catacombs, underground burial chambers, became a viable

alternative to cemeteries.

Catacombs are characterized by extensive tunnels leading to

chambers or recesses where the dead repose for eternity.

The wealthy could opt for family catacombs beneath their estates.

The narrator of “The Cask of Amontillado” carries out his

revenge within the catacombs beneath his palazzo.

The narrator is able to lure his victim into the catacombs with the promise of amontillado, a

fine sherry wine.(The l’s are pronounced like the

l’s in tortilla.)

The “supreme madness” of Carnival aside, why doesn’t the suggestion of a journey to the catacombs for a taste of wine seem odd or suspicious to the

victim?

The Storage of Wine

For wines to maintain their best quality, they need to be stored at

fairly cool and constant temperatures.

During the time period in which the story is set, modern electric refrigeration was not available.

To protect wine collections, connoisseurs adopted the practice of storing wines under the ground where temperatures remain ideal

year-round.

Basements, cellars, and even catacombs serve as excellent

storage facilities for the precious vintages.

Herein, where wine bottles intermingle with the bones of the dead, the narrator carries out his

plan for revenge.

Edgar Allan Poe• He's father abandoned him then died

-His mom went insane-His sister went insane-When he was three, he was adopted -In highschool, he did drugs, drank, and gambled-He married his 13 year old cousin Virginia when he was 26-He died at 40, and it is unknown how he died. Many say was was getting drunk at a bar, then went outside when it was heavily snowing. Then a rabid dog bit him and died later.

“The Cask of Amontillado”

ENJOY THIS LITERARY JOURNEY INTO THE DARK

SIDE OF REVENGE!

Sources

Coil, Suzanne M. Mardi Gras (photos by Michael Osborne). New York: Macmillan, 1994. France: A Culinary Journey. San Francisco: Collins, 1992. Poe, Edgar A. “The Cask of Amontillado” Literature. Prentice Hall: Englewood Cliffs, NJ 1998. “Underground Paris: The Catacombs.” www.triggur.org.