... insult is justifiable for killing a man (165)? This lack of justification leads one to believe that Fortunato's actions could not have been entirely punishable by death, especially when the narrator notes "the thousand injuries of Fortunato" that he had previously "borne the best I could" (165). If the reason for Montresor's actions had been more clearly laid out ... best to keep Fortunato intoxicated throughout their entire journey. For instance, " 'a draught of Medoc will do the trick'" and "I broke and reached him a flacon of De Grave. He emptied it at a breath" (167). All three...

• Word Count: 1282
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... . Montresor defined would have been a hunter with intent to kill without injury, which is exactly what he does. Next, the wines from the amontillado to the Medoc and the De Grave, the amontillado represent their wealth and "connoisseurship" (Jerome B et al. 70) in fine wines. The Medoc was used as medicine to help the Fortunato's cough. Finally, the De ... Grave (of the grave) is ironic due to the fact that it was his last wine before entering his tomb. "The Cask of Amontillado" had extensive usage of many literary devices. Poe used irony ... ...

• Word Count: 2072
• Approx Pages: 8
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... mysterious. The narrator writes that the house seems to have collected an evil and diseased atmosphere from the decaying trees and murky ponds around it. He notes, however, that although the house itself is decaying in pieces (for example, individual stones are disintegrating), the structure itself is fairly solid. There is ... just as spooky as the outside. The narrator makes his way through the long passages and to the room where Roderick is waiting. The narrator notes that his friend is paler and less energetic than he once was. Roderick tells the narrator that he suffers from nerves ...

• Word Count: 1485
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... character of Lady Madeline. Opinions differ as to Madeline's fate; did she die and rise from the dead, or was she buried alive and found a way out of her horrific grave? Typical of Poe's penchant for keeping his stories shrouded in mystery, the reader is never given full disclosure of Lady Madeline's circumstances. The illusion of her ... grave piques the curiosity of the reader, and it's that very mystery that represents what beats at the core of Gothic fiction.   Poe's expertly crafted imagery allows the reader to believe ... ...

• Word Count: 1545
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... realizes it is heard "wonder what time it is"). Not just one or two works had a lighter side to them either. The following is a list of some of Poe's less grave works: "Oh Tempora, Oh Mores" "Lines on Joe Locke" "Epigram for Wall Street" "Why the Little Frenchman Wears His Hand in a Sling" "Peter Pendulum: The Business Man" "The Man that ... he should receive criticism, both good and bad, on his efforts, which inspired by Lord Byron (Qrisse, Internet). As a general comment, it was once said that " [Poe's obsession] was the grave..." (Blackness, 101), and this surfaces throughout his wri...

• Word Count: 2111
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School

... his servants, and the house is predictably empty when they enter it. Fortunato has a bad cough and so, on their way to the wine cellar, Montressor gives Fortunato "De Grave" (of the grave) wine to drink. There is a bit of foreshadowing that occurs at this point when Fortunato forgets what Montressor's coat of arms stands for. With a sartorial grin, Montressor replies that ... ...

• Word Count: 1587
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... to appraise the wine himself. Another point of symbolism that isn't seen without research is expressed by Kenneth Silverman in his book Edgar A. Poe: Mournful and Never-ending Remembrance. Silverman notes that the Montressor motto, Nemo me impune lacessit, is the national motto of Scotland. He thinks that Poe chose this motto not only because of the appropriateness, but because of ... one will be exempt from the wrath of Montressor. Also, Montressor says that he is a mason, but not in the sense that Fortunato is talking about. The Poe Decoder also notes that the last ironic part of the ...

• Word Count: 1279
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... darkness; "Perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door-/Perched, and sat, and nothing more./Then this ebony bird beguiling my sad fancy into smiling,/By the grave and stern decorum of the countenance, it wore" (Poe 13). The raven is one of the most intelligent birds, and its dark plumage suggests the vast wisdom of the ... ...

• Word Count: 1328
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... is in some Poe's stories used as a driving force which leads the protagonist to commit a frightful act. In "Berenice" Egaeus' madness is the stimulus why he violates the grave of his lover and rips her teeth while she is still alive. The narrator of the story, "The Black Cat," would not gouge out the cat's eye and ... ...

• Word Count: 1406
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... a dark underground cellar which seems to create a cold and harsh mood. An example of a disturbing underground room is the catacomb where the character Montressor decides to make the room Fortunato's grave sight. Poe indicates it was buit "for no especial use within itself", but the eerie twist he portrays is that the dimensions of the room were measured out to fit ... ...

• Word Count: 1485
• Approx Pages: 6

... that even the winged seraphs of Heaven, the highest rank of angels, envied them for it. And then death came to Annabel Lee, and her kinsmen carried her to her grave. The poet attributes her death to the envious angels and vows that no power can separate her soul from his. He remembers her always and sleeps by the side of ... ...

• Word Count: 1504
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... at the time, particularly to women. Poe's work is often overlooked as a useful tool in understanding the more general American experience as many of his poems are explicitly about his grave desire for the return of his dead beloved wife. It is in reading his sad yet hopeful poems that "speak to an unappeasable yearning for tangible security, acceptance, and happiness ... ...

• Word Count: 2199
• Approx Pages: 9
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... , gave Edgar support and encouragement, but she died of a brain tumor when Edgar was fifteen. After her death, Edgar fell into a world of depression. During this time, he visited her grave often. During the same time, John Allan's firm suffered from financial companies, and it was beginning to break down. Once again, he turned to alcohol to help him cope with ... ...

• Word Count: 1363
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... . Poe's first love, Mrs. Standard had died in 1924. She was twice his age, but that didn't stop Poe from loving her. It is reported that Poe would haunt her grave at night. Once Poe took a girl to a graveyard riding on a horse and told the girl, "They will run after us and drag me down" (Mankowitz 24) He was fond of ... ...

• Word Count: 1336
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... topic in the world."" Poe had a theory that " the dead are not entirely dead to consciousness, his hope that love could transcend death, and his apprehension of beauty beyond the grave were inspired by the early deaths of his mother, of Jane Stanard (the idealized mother of a school friend), and of Frances Allan ( his foster mother) ( Bloom 73). These themes culminate ... ...

• Word Count: 1888
• Approx Pages: 8
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... ill and died. She "seems to have represented to him an ideal of heavenly grace, and he was fond of calling her "Helen"...Poe...is reported to have visited her grave frequently" (Myerson 251) In addition, five years later his adopted mother, Frances Allan died, and finally his beloved wife Virginia died. While these tragic events may have influenced Poe's choice ... ...

• Word Count: 1648
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... he? -- whence came he? -- and what are his objects? Strand explains how his main character also adopts behaviors that would normally be unacceptable. He "weep[s] like a schoolgirl, writes large suicide notes, and destroy[s] the living room furniture." " Each selection had much to teach about writing and how an author can bring a reader around to accepting and understanding a sentiment that might be ... ...

• Word Count: 1660
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... , Montresor seems to have the appearance of a serious and intelligent man, but his alter ego that is symbolically demonstrated through Fortunato, wears the cap and bells of a jester. Walter Stepp notes that there is "perfect symmetry of opposition between Montresor and Fortunato" and that "Montresor had an obsessional wish to demonstrate that 'he is not I' and 'I am not he'"(57! ). The ... ...

• Word Count: 1258
• Approx Pages: 5

... the more cocky and brash of the two. His nonchalant attitude as he essentially is led to his execution sharply contrasts with Montresor's businesslike and somber attitude. As Michelle Marietta notes in her essay about death in Poe's tales, Montresor is focused to the task on hand to the point of "obsession with planning the perfect crime and equal obsession with ... ...

• Word Count: 1679
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... knowing what will happen next. The same is true when the authorities linger in his house. With time, the heartbeat the narrator hears increases in volume and intensity. E. Arthur Robinson notes the emphasis on time in an essay he wrote about "The Tell-Tale Heart". He wrote, "This psychological process of the protagonist listening in the darkness many times throughout the ... ...

• Word Count: 2349
• Approx Pages: 9
• Grade Level: High School