Why Don’t I Pour You Another Glass of Wine?: Irony in Edgar Allen Poe’s “Cask of Amontillado” “I drink,” Fortunato says, “to the buried that repose around us.” To which Montresor replies “And I to your long life.” This is coming from the man that is about to chain and bury his friend alive in an underground crypt. Edger Allen Poe’s short story “Cask of Amontillado” is filled with much irony from Fortunato’s name to how he is being lured down to the catacomb. The leading character and narrator of the story is a man named Montresor. He is a very calculating and vengeful man. He feels that he has been wronged in some way by Fortunato, but never states why. When he is telling the story the audience finds out that it has been fifty years after the incident occurred and they can’t tell whether he is bragging or confessing his crime. “…irony fills Montresor’s narrative; his use of language and psychology is so playful that if one does not take the story too seriously one can easily find him a likable murderer” (Pepples 149) What is in a name? One of the first things to find ironic in the story is Fortunato’s name, which means “Good Fortune” and as the story unfolds it is revealed that he has anything but. Fortunato is a very trusting person. He walks and talks eagerly and easily with Montresor as they head to the catacombs, not noticing anything amiss. He is a wine taster and considers himself the best at it. Montresor has told him that he has discovered an Amontillado in the catacombs. He has also told Fortunato that Luchesi, who is Fortunato’s rival when it comes to wine tasting, will be there. This is an added insurance that Fortunato will not back out because he wants to be the first to taste the Amontillado. Fortunato is already drunk when they run into each other and Montresor states that Fortunato is very lucky to have met up with him, which we know is untrue. In this story Amontillado happens to play a very important part. Amontillado is a barrel of rare brandy. Fortunato being the “best wine taster” is very consumed with getting to the Amontillado. He is so occupied by the thought of the rare brandy that he does not even notice that Motresor is mad or upset at him. This makes him a very easy target for