Cue Card
The Cask of Amontillado
Bibliographic
Information:
Poe,
Edgar Allan. “The Cask of
Amontillado” from Great Tales of Terror. Watermill
Press,
Mahwah, New Jersey. 1980. p. 26-37.
Ethnic Origin:
Running Time:
7
minutes, approx
Power Centers:
Suspense
(how will Montressor get his revenge on
Fortunato): the creepiness of
Montressor’s varying forshadowing
(“I drink to your long life”, showing him the
trowel, pointing out how very, very damp the catacombs are).
Terror:
Fortunato’s screams as he’s waiting for Montressor
to wall him up- bury him
alive.
Characters:
Montressor (narrator), Fortunato (victim), Luchresi (not appearing, but still part of story)
Scenes:
Montressor and Fortunato dressed for carnival talking about
Amontillado
Montressor and Fortunato walking through Montressor’s house to the catacombs
Montressor and Fortunato walking through the catacombs,
drinking wine and looking at
the niter on the walls (the moisture drips between the
bones…)
Montressor and Fortunato finding the final crypt with the
pile of bones in front
Fortunato
chained to the granite slab while Montressor bricks
him in
Fortunato
and Montressor screaming together (climax)
Montressor alone in the catacombs (in pace requiescat)
Synopsis:
Montressor, a nobleman from
Special Phrases:
Nemo me impune lacessit (no one attacks me with impunity)
In pace requiescat (may he rest in
peace).
Audience:
Young
adult
Young
adults like to be scared, can identify with a concept like revenge, and would
probably be enticed to read the story (and hopefully other stories)
themselves.
Also, with the Eriksson “intimacy vs. isolation” stage that
young adults tend to go through, there will probably be a subconscious
identification and twisting of these sorts of feelings (the pseudo-intimacy
fostered by Montressor in the name of isolating
Fortunato and the subsequent isolation that Montressor
feels after he has done such an awful thing- though there’s less emphasis
on the latter).
You could also see it as an allegory about
the conflict between a lack of imagination and creativity.
Versions/Variants:
Edgar
Allan Poe, though out of copyright, is the only person who wrote this story.