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Edgar Allan Poe — “The Cask of Amontillado”


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Sections:  Commentary Reading and Ref. Texts Hist. Texts Comp. and Study Texts Misc. Texts Bibliography


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Commentary:

Characters:

  • Montresor (narrator) - The main protagonist. Only his last name is given. Montresor is apparently a nobleman, but from a family which has substantially lost a portion of its fortune or social rank. He is a connoisseur of wines.
  • Fortunato - The victim of Montresor's obessive plot for revenge. He is a nobleman, and a connoisseur of wines. Montresor, in relating the tale, presents him as something of a buffoon, a view that may be colored by Montresor's own perspective. He has, in some way, deeply insulted Montresor, but is apparently unaware of the real nature of their friendship and in no way suspects that his security (let alone his life) is endangered by being alone with Montresor. (Montresor has been careful not to reveal his true feelings of resentment and burning hostility.)
  • Luchresi (also Luchesi) - A connoisseur of wines. Mentioned, but not directly present in the tale. Montresor brings up his name chiefly to antagonize Fortunato, so that Fortunato will assert himself as the only fit judge of the Amontillado.
  • Lady Fortunato - The wife of Fortunato. She is mentioned, but not directly present in the tale.
  • Household servants of Montresor (unnamed) - Mentioned.
  • An unnamed person or persons - At least one person may be implied by Montresor's comment “You who so well know the nature of my soul.” It has been put forth that Montresor may be making a confession, which would suggest a clerical figure. On the other hand, the entire story may be a written account left for someone who is, at least not properly, present in the tale and thus not actually a character.

Setting:

Location - No location is specified, although the ancient house of Montresor, with its elaborate catacombs, certainly suggests a European setting. Mabbott, based on the name of Montresor, posits that the setting is likely French (T&S, 3:1255), although one might just as easily argue that Montresor may be a foreigner living in a land not his own. In this case, the names Fortunato (who we are told is Italian) and Luchresi (which certainly sounds Italian) imply an Italian setting. (At one point, Montresor refers to his house as his “palazzo,” which is an Italian word.) Venice is famous for its annual carnival, although the idea of deep catacombs beneath a building in a city which is itself surrounded and cross-cut by water, seems unlikely.

Date - No particular date is established for the story. It may be presumabed, however, that it is related by Montresor in a setting contemporary with the year of first publication, thus 1846. Because we are told at the end of the tale that the events described occurred half a century before, it may be reasonable to consider the main part of the story as having transpired about 1794. In Italy, Carnevale is celebrated 40 days prior to Lent, thus about the second half of February.

Summary:

Montresor, perhaps on his death-bed, recalls the events of 50 years before. He had secretly harbored a deep grudge against Fortunato, someone he felt committed an unforgivable offence that is never detailed for the reader. Pretending to be surprised at meeting Fortunato in the middle of carnival celebrations, Montresor tricks his hapless victim into coming back to his own family home. There, Montresor lures Fortuato down into the extensive catacombs, and enacts a terrible revenge.


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Reading and Reference Texts:

Reading copy:


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Historical Texts:

Manuscripts and Authorized Printings:

  • Text-01 — “The Cask of Amontillado” — 1846 — no original manuscript or fragments are known to exist (but this version is presumably recorded in Text-02). (Without explanation, Mabbott states that the tale “was probably written in the late Summer or early Fall of 1846” (T&S, 3:1256). The claim is presumably based on the date of publication and Mabbott's contention that the story was inspired by Poe's personal feud with Thomas Dunn English, which began in 1846.)
  • Text-02 — “The Cask of Amontillado” — Fall 1846
    • Text-02a — “The Cask of Amontillado” — late Summer or early Fall 1846 — (speculated faircopy manuscript of the story as sent to the editors of Godey's Lady's Book. This manuscript has not survived, but it is presumably recorded in Text-02b. As was typical, the manuscript was probably destroyed in setting type for publication in Godey's. There is no mention of the story in any of Poe's surviving correspondence. Consequently, the earliest reference to the story is with its appearance in print. The title seems to have been a favorite of Joseph Cosey, who often used it in his forged letters of Poe.)
    • Text-02b — “The Cask of Amontillado” — November 1846 — Godey's Lady's Book — (Mabbott text A) (The Poe Log, p. 667, states that the issue was published by about October 20, 1846.)
  • Text-03 — “The Cask of Amontillado” — late 1846-1849
    • Text-03a — “The Cask of Amontillado” — late 1846-1849 — speculated revised copy of Godey's (Text-02b), perhaps in anticipation of reprinting elsewhere. (No such revised copy of the issue has survived, but these revisions are presumably recorded in Text-03b. The changes are slight enough that a new manuscript is highly unlikely, but could not possibly have been made by Poe on proofs for Text-03b as he was deceased prior to that publication being typeset. At least some of these changes are significant enough that they suggest the hand of the author rather than of Griswold as editor.)
    • Text-03b — “The Cask of Amontillado” — 1850 — WORKS — (Mabbott text B — This is Mabbott's copy-text) (Griswold presumably obtained the modified text from the private collection of Poe's papers, as provided to him by Poe' aunt and mother-in-law, Maria Clemm, for preparation of the posthumous edition of Poe's writings.)

 

Reprints:

  • “The Cask of Amontillado” — November 14, 1846 — New England Weekly Review (reprinted from Text 02) (noted by Ljungquist)
  • “The Cask of Amontillado” — 1852 — Tales and Sketches: to which is added The Raven: A Poem, London, George Routledge & Co., pp. 158-163 (This tale is not included in Tales of Mystery and Imagination and Humour; and Poems, London: Henry Vizetelly, printed in England about the same time)
  • “The Cask of Amontillado” — 1867 — Prose Tales of Edgar Allan Poe, first series (New York: W. J. Widdleton), pp. 346-352 (This collection is extracted from the 1850-1856 edition of Poe's Works. It was reprinted several times.)
  • “The Cask of Amontillado” — 1874 — Works of Edgar A. Poe, edited by J. H. Ingram, vol. 1, pp. 258-265 (This collection was subsequently reprinted in various forms)
  • “A [[The]] Cask of Amontillado” — December 29, 1883 — Oakland Daily Evening Tribune (Oakland, CA), vol. XX, no. 303, p. 2, cols. 1-3 (acknowledged as “One of Edgar Poe's Shortest and Most Gruesome Fables.”)
  • “The Cask of Amontillado” — April 8, 1893 — Santa Cruz Daily Sentinel (Santa Cruz, CA), vol. XVIII, no. 140, p. 4, cols. 1-3 (acknowledged as by “Edgar Allan Poe.”)
  • “The Cask of Amontillado” — May 3, 1893 — Marion Daily Star (Marion, OH), vol. XVI, no. 140, p. 7, cols. 1-3 (acknowledged as by “Edgar Allan Poe,” printed with two woodcut illustrations.)
  • “The Cask of Amontillado” — May 10, 1893 — Morning Star (Wilmington, NC), vol. LII, no. 36, p. 3, cols. 3-5 (acknowledged as by “Edgar Allan Poe,” printed with the same two woodcut illustrations as previous entries.)
  • “The Cask of Amontillado” — May 31, 1893 — Wasatch Wave (Heber, UT), vol. V, no. 12, p. 1, cols. 1-3 (acknowledged as by “Edgar Allan Poe,” and printed along side “The Oval Portrait”.)
  • “The Cask of Amontillado” — June 2, 1893 — Weekly Star (Wilmington, NC), vol. XXIV, no. 29, p. 4, cols. 2-3 (acknowledged as by “Edgar Allan Poe,” printed with the same two woodcut illustrations as previous entries.)
  • “The Cask of Amontillado” — May 6, 1893 — Meriden Daily Journal (Meriden, CN), vol. XI, no. 327, p. 14, cols. 6-7 and p. 15, col. 1 (with two woodcut illustrations) (reprinted in the same issue as several of of Poe's short stories, all acknowledged as by “Edgar Allan Poe.”)
  • “The Cask of Amontillado” — May 28, 1893 — Wellsboro Agitator (Wellsboro, PA), vol. XL, no. 36, p. 26, cols. 4-6 (acknowledged as by “Edgar Allen [[Allan]] Poe,” printed with one of the same two woodcut illustrations as previous entries.)
  • “The Cask of Amontillado” — July 1, 1893 — Ontario Repository-Messenger (Canandaigua, NY), vol. ??, no. ??, p. 4, cols. 3-5 (acknowledged as by “Edgar Allan Poe.”)
  • “The Cask of Amontillado” — July 20, 1893 — Redwood Gazette (Redwood Falls, MN), vol. 24, no. 48, p. 1, cols. 2-3, p. 10, col. 2 (acknowledged as by “Edgar Allan Poe.”)
  • “The Cask of Amontillado” — November 2, 1893 — St. Joseph Herald (St. Joseph, Missouri), vol. XLII, no. 306, p. 8, cols. 1-3 (acknowledged as by “Edgar Allan Poe,” printed with the same two woodcut illustrations as previous entries.)
  • “The Cask of Amontillado” — December 16, 1893 — Racine Journal-Times (Racine, WI), vol. XXVI, no. 296, p. 2, cols. 5-6 (acknowledged as by “Edgar Allan Poe,” and printed along side part II of “The Black Cat.”)
  • “The Cask of Amontillado” — 1898 — The Eerie Book, London: J. Shiells and Co., pp. 57-66 (With illustrations by J. B. Macdougal. This is one of two Poe stories in the collection, the other being “The Masque of the Red Death.”)
  • “The Cask of Amontillado” — June 18, 1905 — Washington Post (Washington, DC), (no volume or issue number specified) p. 6, cols. 1-4 (acknowledged as by “Edgar Allan Poe.”)
  • “The Cask of Amontillado” — June 30, 1905 — Buffalo Evening News (Buffalo, NY), vol. L, no. 70, p. 17, cols. 1-3 (acknowledged as by “Edgar Allan Poe.”)
  • “The Cask of Amontillado” — October 19, 1914 — New York: Winthrop Press (edited by John H. Eggers) (miniature edition, illustrated, in color) (copyrighted October 8, 1914)
  • “The Cask of Amontillado” — April 1951 — Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine   (New York, NY) (vol 17, no 89)  (This is a pulp magazine, bearing the subtitle: “An Anthology of the Best Detective Stories, New and Old.” A blurb on the cover notes that the issues contains “stories by the eight best mystery writers of all time, as ranked by the Gallup poll.” The eight names are: Erle Stanley Gardner, Arthur Conan Doyle, Ellery Queen, Edgar Allan Poe, Agatha Christie, Mary Roberts Rinehart, Rex Stout, and Dashiell Hammett. It is curious that in this case, the magazine selected a Poe tale which is not, in any technical sense, a mystery story and certainly not a detective story.)
  • “The Cask of Amontillado” — Nov.-Dec. 1952 — Fantastic, vol. 1, no. 3  (a pulp science fiction quarterly, with illustrations)
  • The Cask of Amontillado — 2021 — Oregon: No Reply Press (with the illustrations by Harry Clarke) (a very limited, letter press edition of 400 copies)

 

Scholarly and Noteworthy Reprints:

  • “The Cask of Amontillado” — 1894-1895 —  The Works of Edgar Allan Poe, vol. 1: Tales, eds. E. C. Stedman and G. E. Woodberry, Chicago: Stone and Kimball (1:274-282)
  • “The Cask of Amontillado” — 1902 — The Complete Works of Edgar Allan Poe, vol. 6: Tales V, ed. J. A. Harrison, New York: T. Y. Crowell (6:167-175, and 6:294)
  • “The Cask of Amontillado” — 1978 — The Collected Works of Edgar Allan Poe, vol. 3: Tales & Sketches II, ed. T. O. Mabbott, Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press (3:1252-1266)
  • “The Cask of Amontillado” — 1984 — Edgar Allan Poe: Poetry and Tales, ed. Patrick F. Quinn (New York: Library of America), pp. 848-854

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Comparative and Study Texts:

Instream Comparative and Study Texts:


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Associated Material and Special Versions:

Miscellaneous Texts and Related Items:

  • “[The Cask of Amontillado]” — 1855 — Fortaellinger [Tales] (Copenhagen)  (Danish translation, noted by Anderson, p. 14)
  • “La tonne d’Amontillado” — December 6, 1855 — Le Mousquetaire   (French Translation by W. L. Hughes)
  • “La barrique d’amontillado” — 1857 — Nouvelles histoires par Edgar Poe, Paris: Michel Lévy frères (French translation by Charles Baudelaire)
  • “[The Cask of Amontillado]” — 1882 — Valda noveller (Stockholm)  (Swedish translation, noted by Anderson, p. 54)
  • “La tonne d’amontillado” — 1885 — Oeuvres Choisies d’Edgar Pöe, Paris: A. Hennuyer  (French translation by William L. Hughes)
  • “Het Vat Amontillado” — about 1930 — Fantastische Vertellingen van Edgar Allan Poe, Haarlem: H. D. Tjeenk Willink & Zoon (Dutch translation by Machiel Elias Barentz, with elaborate illustrations by Albert Hahn, somewhat reminiscent of those by Harry Clarke)
  • “The Cask of Amontillado” — April 9, 1944 — a radio show broadcast on The Weird Circle show. (As was often the case with dramatic presentations of Poe's works, the story has been modified.)
  • “The Cask of Amontillado” — February 21, 1946 — a radio show version with Sydney Greenstreet, and with music by Victor Young. (As was often the case with dramatic presentations of Poe's works, the story has been modified. In this case, the adaptation is attributed to Robert E. Lee and Jerome Lawrence.) (This show as released as a record at the time, and as an LP in 1955.)
  • “The Cask of Amontillado” — April 1946 — a radio show version broadcast as a BBC series called “Appointment with Fear.” (As was often the case with dramatic presentations of Poe's works, the story has been modified. In this case, the adaptation is attributed to Laidman Browne, who also played a leading role in the production.
  • “The Cask of Amontillado” — February 20, 1947 — a radio show broadcast on The Hall of Fantasy show, introduced as “dedicated to the supernatural, the unusual and the unknown.” (As was often the case with dramatic presentations of Poe's works, the story has been modified.) (This show as apparently rebroadcast on December 10, 1949, and again on April 14, 1950.)
  • “The Cask of Amontillado” — June 1951 — Classics Illustrated (number 84)  (a comic-book)
  • “The Cask of Amontillado” — March 9, 1952 — a two-hour variety radio special called “The Big Show,” including Peter Lorre doing a monologue form of the story, from his stage show.
  • “The Cask of Amontillado” — January 19, 1953 — a radio show broadcast on The Hall of Fantasy show, introduced as “dedicated to the supernatural, the unusual and the unknown.”  (This episode is available on CD as part of a 6-CD set of “Smithsonian Legendary Performers,” issued in 2004. As was often the case with dramatic presentations of Poe's works, the story has been modified.) Performers include Carl Dreyson, Richard Thorne, and Eloise Kummer. This show as rebroadcast on January 4, 1954.
  • “The Cask of Amontillado” — 1956 — a reading by Nelson Olmsted on Edgar Allan Poe: Tales of Terror, issued on the Vanguard label (VRS-9007)
  • “The Cask of Amontillado” — 1971 — a reading by Martin Donegan as part of volume VI of Short Stories of Edgar Allan Poe, issued on the CMS Records label (CMS-626)
  • “The Cask of Amontillado” — 1986 — Audio book, read by Fritz Weaver. (issued on cassette by Random House, with four other tales)
  • “The Cask of Amontillado” — 2009 — Audio book (unabridged), read by Chris Aruffo

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Bibliography:

  • Adler, Jacob H., “Are There Flaws in ‘The Cask of Amontillado’?,” Notes & Queries (January 1954), 199:32-34.
  • Anderson, Carl L., Poe in Northlight: The Scandanavian Response to His Life and Work, Durham, NC: Duke Unversity Press, 1973.
  • Appel, Alfred, Jr., “Three Observations on ‘Amontillado’ and Lolita,” Poe Newsletter (December 1972), 5:51.
  • Bales, Kent, “Poetic Justice in ‘The Cask of Amontillado’,” Poe Newsletter (December 1972), 5:51.
  • Benton, Richard P., “The Phantom Listener in ‘The Cask of Amontillado’; or, ‘Is There Anybody There?’,” Masques, Mysteries, and Mastodons: A Poe Miscellany, ed. Benjamin F. Fisher, Baltimore: Edgar Allan Poe Society, 2006, pp. 115-132
  • Benton, Richard P., “Poe's ‘The Cask of Amontillado’: Its Cultural and Historical Backgrounds,” Poe Studies/Dark Romanticism, 1996, 29:19-26
  • Brown, Arthur A., ’A Man Who Dies’: Poe, James, Faulkner and the Narrative Function of Death, PhD disseration, University of California, Davis, 1995
  • Campbell, Killis, “Three Notes on Poe,” American Literature (January 1933), 4:385-388.
  • Cervo, Nathan, “Poe's ‘The Cask of Amontillado’,” Explicator (1993), 51:155-156.
  • Clark, George P., “A Further Word on Poe and Lolita,” Poe Newsletter (December 1970), 3:39.
  • Clark, George P., “Three Observations on ‘Amontillado’ and Lolita,” Poe Newsletter (December 1972), 5:51.
  • Dedmond, Francis B., “An Additional Source of Poe's ‘The Cask of Amontillado’,” Notes & Queries (May 10, 1952), 197:212-214.
  • Dedmond, Francis B., “ ‘The Cask of Amontillado’ and the War of the Literati,” Modern Language Notes (1954), 15:137-146.
  • Del Vecchio, Rosa Maria, ”Into that Material Nihility”: Poe's Criminal Persona as God-Peer, PhD disseration, Case Western University, 1994
  • DiSanza, Raymond, “On Memory, Forgeting, and Complicity in ‘The Cask of Amontillado’,” E. A. Poe Review, Vol. 15, no. 2, Autumn 2014, pp. 194-204.
  • Doxey, William S., “Concerning Fortunato's ‘Courtesy’,” Studies in Short Fiction (Spring 1967), 4:266-267.
  • Engel, Leonard W., “Victim and Victimizer: Poe's ‘The Cask of Amontillado’,” Interpretations (1983), 15:26-30.
  • Foote, Dorothy N., “ ‘The Cask of Amontillado’,” Explicator (November 1961), vol. 20, item 27.
  • Fossum, Richard H., “Poe's ‘The Cask of Amontillado’,” Explicator (November 1958), vol. 17, item 16.
  • Freehafer, John, “Poe's ‘The Cask of Amontillado’: A Tale of Effect,” Jahrbuch fur Amerikanstudien (1968), 13:134-142.
  • Gargano, James W., “ ‘The Cask of Amontillado’: A Masquerade of Motive and Identity,” Studies in Short Fiction (Winter 1967), 4:119-126.
  • Goldhurst, William, “Three Observations on ‘Amontillado’ and Lolita,” Poe Newsletter (December 1972), 5:51.
  • Harris, Kathryn Montgomery, “Ironic Revenge in Poe's ‘The Cask of Amontillado’,” Studies in Short Fiction (1969), 6:333-336.
  • Heartman, Charles F. and James R. Canny, A Bibliography of First Printings of the Writings of Edgar Allan Poe, Hattiesburg, MS: The Book Farm, 1943.
  • Hirsch, David, Poe as Moralist: “The Cask of Amontillado” and the Transvaluation of Values, Baltimore: The Edgar Allan Poe Society, 1998.
  • Ljungquist, Kent P., “Some Unrecorded Reprints of Poe's Works,” ANQ (Winter 1995), 8:20-22.
  • Mabbott, Thomas Ollive, ed., The Collected Works of Edgar Allan Poe (Vols 2-3 Tales and Sketches ), Cambridge, Mass.: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1978.
  • Randall, John H., “Poe's ‘The Cask of Amontillado’ and the Code of the Duello,” Studia Germanica Gandensia (1963), 5:175-184.
  • Rasor, C. L., “Possible Sources of ‘The Cask of Amontillado’,” Furman Studies (Winter 1949), 31:46-50.
  • Rea, J., “In Defense of Fortunato's Courtesy,” Studies in Short Fiction (Spring 1967), 4:267-269.
  • Rea, J., “Poe's ‘The Cask of Amontillado’,” Studies in Short Fiction (1966), 4:57-69.
  • Rocks, James E., “Conflict and Motive in ‘The Cask of Amontillado’,” Poe Newsletter (December 1972), 5:51.
  • Shick, Joseph, “The Origin of ‘The Cask of Amontillado’,” American Literature (March 1934), 6:18-21. (A response to Schick's article, by James Pole, appears in the same issue.)
  • Snow, Edward R., “The Roving Skeleton of Boston Bay,” Yankee (Dublin, New Hampshire) (April 1961), 25:52-55 and 109-110.
  • Solomont, Susan and Ritchie Darling, Four Stories by Poe, Norwich, VT: Green Knight Press, 1965
  • Sorenson, Peter J., “William Morgan, Free Masonry, and ‘The Cask of Amontillado’,” Poe Studies (1989), 22:45-47.
  • Steele, Charles W., Poe's ‘The Cask of Amontillado’,” Explicator (April 1960), vol. 18, item 43.
  • Strepp, Wlater, “The Ironic Double in Poe's ‘The Cask of Amontillado’,” Studies in Short Fiction (1976), 13:447-453.
  • Waterman, Arthur E., “Point of View in Poe,” College English Association Critic (1965), 27:5.
  • White, Patrick, “ ‘The Cask of Amontillado’: The Case for the Defense,” Studies in Short Fiction (1989), 26:550-555.
  • Wyllie, John Cooke, “A List of the Texts of Poe's Tales,” Humanistic Studies in Honor of John Calvin Metcalf, Charlottesville: University of Virginia, 1941, pp. 322-338.

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