Abstract

“The Cask of Amontillado” is one of the typical gothic horror fictions written by Edgar Allan Poe. The whole fiction is full of gothic images, such as black silk mask, damp catacombs and piled skeletons, which are fairly ironic, showing his reflections on the age values. Its theme includes revenge, death and horror. Irony is one of the major narrative skills to convey the gothic features. Irony may be divided into lots of categories and this thesis is mainly focus on the verbal, situational, dramatic irony as well as the beauty and the deeper thoughts on humanity and value behind the irony. Poe employs abundant irony not only to create the gothic atmosphere, but also to emphasize the theme. In the fiction, Poe superficially describes the foolishness, arrogance, jealousy, and depravity of humanity. But actually, he poignantly satirizes the distorted social values at that time.

Key words: The Cask of Amontillado; irony; beauty; humanity; value

Contents

Abstract

摘  要

1. Introduction-1

2. Verbal Irony in Montresor and Fortunato’s Conversations-3

2.1 Direct Contradictory Irony in Montresor’s Words-3

2.2 Repetition of the Friend Luchesi and Pun of the Mason-4

3. Situational Irony Combined with the Environment and Symbolism-5

3.1 The Contrast of the Environment between the Carnival and the Vault-5

3.2 The Irony Combined with Symbolism: the Silk, the Flambeaux and the Motto-5

4. Dramatic Irony Combined with the Unreliable Narration-7

4.1 The Unreliable Context Presented by Montresor-7

4.2 Montresor’s Distorted Value-8

5. Conclusion-10

References-11