A Dark Mood in The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe was a great writer of the 19th century, most known for his poems and short stories. Of his short stories, “The Cask of Amontillado” really stands out for the unique mood you get from reading it. The mood for “The Cask of Amontillado” from the very introduction is dark, eerie and creepy.

“The Cask of Amontillado” is told from the perspective of Montesor, a prideful man who wants revenge on Fortunato, who routinely makes fun of Montesor. Since Poe tells the story as if it were from the mind of a murderer, the thoughts we see are vengeful and fueled by hate. Furthermore, Poe showed us his emotions and feelings, which makes him seem sane and normal, which is not what most people want to believe a killer to be, they like to think of them as deranged. Poe’s language gives you the thought that it can be hard to tell who is capable of such a heinous crime and who would never do such a thing. Additionally, the dialogue and writing is all very formal and proper which adds to the idea that killers aren’t necessarily what you would think, one would almost expect a killer to be the slums of society.

The dark theme is further brought to light in the way Montesor’s violent actions are described. Poe never got descriptive with how the murder took place, leaving lots of places for the reader’s mind to run wild. For example, it was never said what happened after the wall was sealed. One could be left to think that Fortunato was in there for days before eventually starving or thirsting to death. It could also be plausible that when Montesor threw the torch into the wall that Fortunato or the ground around him caught fire and he was burned, or it went out and he was left in the dark. It is possible that he went mad and lost grip of reality or that he killed himself. The way Poe leaves holes makes it so that the reader’s worst fears could be a possibility in the story.

To conclude the essay, “The Cask of Amontillado” is an age old story that has been heard by millions all over the world. With Poe’s amazing and unique use of words to convey a dark mood, it is no wonder why he is so successful in horror stories. It truly is amazing how well Poe portrays the dark mood that makes his stories so unique.