Anjana subedi
Roll No : 48 ‘A’
Subject : Introduction to literature and literary analysis(551)
Hem lal pandey
31th july,2015
“ The cask of Amontillado” as a gothic story The story “The cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe is a fine example of his Gothic writing. As the story features numerous characteristics of gothic literature. For example dark setting, imagery, underground chamber, violent and revenge, the theme of death and decay, extreme circumstances of terror oppression and the motif of double.
The story “the cask of amontillado” carries a perfect example of Gothic setting. As the main action takes place in damp catacomb, which is dark and snoopy. As it is mention in the story “it was about dusk, one evening during the supreme madness of carnival season” (Kirszner and Mandell 119) thus the story appears an entirely Gothic story when it’s revenge content is supported with it’s atmosphere which is melancholic and dreadful. Montressor assures Fortunato to provide amontillado and takes him to the underground vaults and winding staircase. He says;
I took their scones two Flambeaux, and giving one to Fortunato bowed him through several suits of rooms to the archway that led into vaults I passed down a long and winding staircase … we came at length to the foot of the descent and stood together on the damp ground of the catacomb of the montresors. (Kirszner and mandell 192-193)
Montressor and fortunato passed through “walls of piled bones with cask and puncheons intermingling into the inmost recesses of the catacombs”(kirszener and Mandell l194). It is much more horrible when they reached into the end of the vault;
We passed through a ranges of low arches, descended, passed on, and descending again arrived at a deep crypt in which the foulness of the air caused our flambeaux rather to

glow than flambeaux rather to glow than flame…wall had been lined with