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E. A. Poe’s gem of realism is ’The Cask of Amontillado’. It has been considered the result of Literari War, and it is considered a masterpiece because of its blend of horror at the protagonist’s actions with the ironic humor of the situation. Burial alive receives an additional dimension of horror, for it is combined with the idea of punishment. It illustrates and conforms to perfectly many of Poe’s literary theories about the nature of the short story. Finely wrought. tight, neat, with no loose ends or superfluities, it strikes with tremendous force. In general, this story fits well into Poe’s dictum that everything in a well-written story must contribute to a total effect. Finally, every line and comment contributes to the totality or unity of effect that Poe sought to achieve. It is a completely unified work and while it is seemingly simple. it abounds in ironies of many kinds. The humor in this work is characterized by irony. And the entire situation is ironic. An ironical expression is one that implies the opposite of what it states. There are two kinds of irony in this work: the obvious ironies that Montresor creates and controls and the ironies motivated by the overall pattern of the story. It is only when we understand the present storytelling situation of Montresor that the total irony of the discourse becomes clear.
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