The Cask of Amontillado

"The Cask of Amontillado" (sometimes spelled "The Casque of Amontillado") is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe. It was first published in Godey's Lady's Book in November 1846.

"The Cask of Amontillado"
Illustration by Harry Clarke, 1919
Author	Edgar Allan Poe
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre(s)	Horror
Published in	Godey's Lady's Book
Media type	Print
Publication date	November 1846

Story

The narrator [Montresor] talks to a priest about his sin. Montresor wants to take revenge on Fortunato for an insult.

During a masquerade (ball where people wear masks) in the city. Fortunato is dressed in a jester's costume. Montresor tells Fortunato he has bought a wine called amontillado. He wants Fortunato to test it to be sure it is real. Montresor leads Fortunato into his underground catacombs/wine cellar to test the wine. When there, Montressor chains Fortunato and then walls him up alive in a niche.

Fortunato cries out "For the love of God, Montresor!" to which Montresor replies, "Yes, for the love of God!" He twice calls out for a reply but hears nothing. Before placing the last stone, he drops a burning torch through the gap, but hears only the jester's bells ringing.

The crime took place 50 years before... Montressor expresses no regrets except for remarking about Fortunato: In pace requiescat! ("May he rest in peace!").

Other websites

• "The Cask of Amontillado" - Full text of the first printing, from Godey's Lady's Book, 1846
• The Cask of Amontillado Archived 2010-09-09 at the Wayback Machine, found online at Ye Olde Library Archived 2013-05-23 at the Wayback Machine
• The Cask of Amontillado Archived 2009-02-21 at the Wayback Machine at American Literature Archived 2012-06-16 at the Wayback Machine
• Full text on PoeStories.com with hyperlinked vocabulary words.
• Free-to-download MP3 dramatisation of the story Archived 2004-12-14 at the Wayback Machine (Yuri Rasovsky)