Suspense in the Cask of Amontillado

In The Cask of Amontillado Edgar A. Poe forms the creepy suspenseful mood through the setting, irony, and characters. The setting in “The Cask of Amontillado”, creates a creepy and suspenseful mood. The story starts at dusk during the carnival season. Next, it moves into Montresor taking Fortunato below the riverbed where it was very dark and creepy. There were piles of bones and the walls were lined with human remains. To build up the creepy and suspenseful mood, Montresor says we had passed through walls of piled bones, with caskets.. This description creates a dark, wet and creepy feeling in the mind of the reader.  The setting certainly brings out the creepy and suspenseful mood in the “The Cask of Amontillado.”

The setting isn’t the only literary device Poe uses to make the story suspenseful and creepy. The constant use of irony from the carnival atmosphere, Fortunato’s name, the jingling of the bells, the toast to his own death and being buried next to a family that hates him create much suspense in the story. Fortunato’s name for one, Fortunato name is supposed to mean lucky and, fortunate, but in the end he didn’t turn out to be so lucky. This is creepy because the reader would think Fortunato was fortunate, but in the end, he ends up as unlucky as a person can be.  Poe also created irony when Montresor was walking Fortunato in the catacombs.  Montresor continuously refers to Fortunato as “my friend,” though he is leading him to his death.  He also offers Fortunato a bottle of wine to help with the cough which seems to be an act of kindness, but Montresor only offers in order to keep Fortunato alive long enough to get him to the place where he will be buried alive.  Fortunato drinks the wine and becomes rowdy causing his bells to jingle – a sign of happiness or the announcement of his death.  Fortunato even toasted to the people buried in the catacombs and Montresor returned the toast to Fortunato “long life.”   The irony Poe uses in the story keeps the reader’s interest and creates more suspense.