“The Cask of Amontillado”

By Edgar Allan Poe

What is a cask of Amontillado?

What does the word cask sound like to you?

(hint-Think death)

Amontillado is a very expensive dry, white wine.

CharactersMontresor

Montresor is our narratorFeels wronged by FortunatoWants to make Fortunato pay for what he did. Wealthy; has servants

Fortunato

Fortunato is our victim ProudArrogantA masonMarried

SettingCarnival

CarnivalCarnival is a secular holiday, but is evolved from the Christian holiday, Lent.

What is Lent?

CarnivalParticipants of Carnival eat, drink, and party excessively before the solemn event of Lent. It is essentially their last “hoorah” before Lent.

Traditionally, Lent involves giving up meat.

The literal meaning of Carnival is:

Carn + Val = Flesh (meat) + Farewell

Modern day lent involves giving up something one enjoys.

Think like a criminal…

Why would Carnival be the perfect time to commit a crime?

More Setting Catacombs

Catacombs are known as “Cities of the Dead”

In “The Cask of Amontillado” our narrator, Montresor, plans his revenge to take place in the catacombs

beneath his palace.

Catacombs • Underground areas where

people are buried. • This started when disease

claimed the lives of so many that proper burial became impossible.

• Catacombs became the alternative.

• The wealthy had catacombs under their estates to bury their own family members.

Catacombs for the Wealthy

Visiting Catacombs!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--ti8nSK5ZQ

Would you go on a tour?!

ConflictIn “The Cask of Amontillado”, Montresor lures Fortunato to his catacombs. He is upset about how Fortunato has insulted him. He is seeking revenge!

What kind of conflict is this?

EXTERNALMAN VS. MAN

Vocabulary Impunity- Freedom from punishment

He is not afraid of being punished for what he does because he has impunity.

Repose- to lie dead or at rest

Many buried bodies repose in tombs underground.Aperture- an opening, such as a doorway.

He entered the dark room through an aperture in the wall.

Subside- to slow or decrease

When he realizes that no one hears him, his screams subside.

Text Analysis What is Mood?

Mood Mood is the feeling or

atmosphere the writer creates for the reader.

One word to describe “The Cask of Amontillado” is suspenseful.

Suspense- a continual state of excitement about what will happen next.

Come up with words you would use to describe the mood of Poe’s stories

How does Poe create mood?

Poe creates a suspenseful, horrifying, creepy mood by using imagery. Imagery- The use of sensory details that appeal to sight, hearing, taste, touch, or smell. When reading Poe’s stories, a reader can hear the screams, see the death, taste the wine, feel the nitre, and smell the rotting flesh!

GROSS

Let’s Practice Analyzing Mood

Example of Imagery Which senses does the

imagery use?“Drops of moisture trickle among the bones.”

“I felt the cold, steamy breath of death on my neck.”

Touch, sight, hearing

Mood of “The Cask of Amontillado: Suspenseful, Horrifying, Creepy

Reading StrategiesMonitor for Understanding &

Summarize and ShareParaphrasing

What is Paraphrasing? Restating in your own words the information that you have read.

Paraphrasing keeps all the details of the original text.

Let’s Practice!Text My Paraphrase

“I smiled at him as usual whenever I met him. He didn’t guess that I smiled at the thought of destroying him.”

The narrator pretends he likes the other man, but he is lying. What he really is smiling about is the thought of destroying him.

Edgar Allan Poe

“The Cask of Amontillado”

Enjoy!