The Cask of Amontillado is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1846. It centers on a narrator named Montresor who, feeling deeply insulted by a fellow wine connoisseur named Fortunato, plots a chilling revenge. The story unfolds as Montresor lures Fortunato, who is dressed as a jester and increasingly intoxicated, into the catacombs beneath Montresor’s palazzo under the pretense of verifying a rare bottle of Amontillado sherry. Once there, Montresor seals Fortunato behind a brick wall, burying him alive in a crypt, while Fortunato remains unaware of the doom approaching until it is too late. Key themes and elements:

• Revenge and irony: Montresor’s meticulously planned vengeance is executed with cold precision, and the narrative voice is saturated with dramatic irony as Fortunato remains unaware of his fate until the end.
• The unreliable narrator: The story is told from Montresor’s perspective, inviting readers to scrutinize his motives, sanity, and the credibility of his account.
• Pride and insult: Montresor claims to have suffered a thousand injuries from Fortunato, and a single perceived insult becomes his justification for murder.
• Setting and mood: The carnival atmosphere contrasts with the claustrophobic, bone-filled catacombs, enhancing the story’s sense of dread and confinement.
• Imprisonment and immurement: Fortunato’s entombment is literal, making the tale a quintessential example of Poe’s fascination with confinement and unseen guilt.
• Ambiguity of motive: Poe leaves Montresor’s exact grievance somewhat unclear, prompting enduring debate about the narrator’s reliability and possible insanity.

If you’d like, I can tailor a brief, classroom-friendly summary, analyze the irony and symbolism, or compare this story to Poe’s other tales of hidden revenge.