The best example of verbal irony to be found in Poe's "The
Cask of Amontillado" is in the fact that Montresor continually refers to the man he
intends to murder as his friend, his good friend, and his poor friend. He has gotten
into the habit of referring to Fortunato as his friend for several reasons. In the first
place, he wants Fortunato to think of him as his good friend. In the second place, he
wants everybody who knows them to think of the two of them as good friends. He wants
everybody to think they are friends because when Fortunato mysteriously disappears,
Montresor doesn't want anybody to have the slightest suspicion that he could have been
connected with it. He knows that he is going to have to act concerned about Fortunato's
disappearance for a long time because of his supposed friendship. He will keep asking
questions about him? If there is a search, he will have to participate. If there is a
reward offered, he will have to contribute generously. He knows that in order to make
Fortunato and everybody else believe in this false friendship, he will have to believe
in it himself. A good liar knows that he must believe in his own lies, and it is quite
possible for an intelligent man to do this. He can't help referring to Fortunato as his
friend throughout his narrative because he has conditioned himself to believing in their
strong friendship.
There are many other examples of verbal
irony in Poe's story. Another interesting one is where Montresor tells
Fortunato:
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"Come," I said, with decision, we will go back;
your health is precious. You are rich, respected, admired, beloved; you are happy as
once I was. You are a man to be
missed...."
Montresor, of
course, is using reverse psychology. He is also giving his victim a false assurance of
his innocent intentions, because he would hardly be persuading him to go back if he were
intentionally leading him into danger. But most importantly, Montresor is probably
savoring the thought that he can destroy Fortunato's wealth, respect, admiration, and
love with his fiendish plan; and furthermore, he can get the added satisfaction of
inflicting pain on Fortunato's friends and family because Fortunato is a man who will be
missed. Anyone who plans a murder must give some thought to the effect his crime will
have on the victim's loved ones, and Montresor is evidently so sadistic, or so full of
hatred, that he wants to punish Fortunato and everyone connected with
him.
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