literary devices

Edgar Allan Poe was a master at using literary components in his writings such as, symbolism, irony, and even the type of dialogue and details that are used shows how profound his stories really were.

A type of symbolism that was used in the "Cask of Amontillado", was Fortunato's fools costume. This is a clear role of who and how he plays in the story. Montresor's plan was go get revenge from him, as well as making him a fool.

Exploring deeper, Fortunato's name means "fortunate" in Italian, relating to his fool costume. Before the revenge, Montresor describes Fortunato as wealthy and popular but also arrogant. However, Montressor's revenge quickly turns Fortunato into a "fortunes fool", someone who fortunes have reversed. This led to his death, as his fortune or luck runs out. At the end of the story, it's also described that the faint jingling of the bells shows that his role has been completed as the fool.