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TRANSCRIPT
“The Cask of
Amontillado”
Edgar Allan Poe
Cornell Notes
• You will be creating your own Cornell Notes today.
• Topic: The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe
• Essential Question: How does knowledge about a writer‘s life affect a reader’s understanding of the author’s writing?
Do not start taking notes until I tell
you what to write. Listen, absorb,
then record important info only!
Edgar Allan Poe
Mini Bio
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-387NMCR6w
What is Poe’s writing known for?
Edgar Allan Poe
• Developed characters whose sanity is questionable.
– Which point of view deals with unreliable narrators?
• Father of “the short story”
What are most of his stories about?
Edgar Allan Poe Bio
• Most of his stories deal with death and murder.
• He adapted stories from actual news headlines to create gothic tales.
• His poem “The Raven” is his most highly acclaimed work
How did Poe die?
Edgar Allan Poe Bio
• It was said that Poe died of "congestion of the brain."
– Actual cause of death is up for debate (alcohol, drugs, rabies, epilepsy, carbon monoxide poisoning, etc.)
What was one of Poe’s biggest fears?
Behind the Story
Poe had a real fear of being buried alive
After reading Poe’s work, a Russian inventor
created a device that allowed “deceased” to
ring a bell so that people would hear it
Think about this as we read “Cask of
Amontillado”
*This is where the phrase “saved by the bell”
comes from
“The Cask of Amontillado” is a macabre tale of revenge!
*macabre: gruesome, horrifying
“…but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge.”
What is carnival?
Carnival
Carnival
• Carnival is a secular (non-religious) holiday, but it evolved from the Christian observance known as Lent.
• Lent is a solemn forty-day period of fasting prior to Easter.
Carnival
• Traditionally, the fasting during Lent involves abstaining from eating meat.
• Modern interpretations of fasting may involve abstaining from anything one enjoys.
Carn + Val
FLESH (Meat) + FAREWELL
• Before participating in Lent, people celebrated one final time through carnival.
• People ate, drank, and socialized—sometimes this resulted in extreme behaviors and many people let down their guard.
European Carnival traditions survive in the
United States in the form of Mardi Gras.
What is the setting of the story?
Setting of “Cask. . .”
• “The Cask of Amontillado” is set during the “supreme madness” of Carnival.
• In such an atmosphere, it is easy to see how a crime could go unnoticed.
Palazzo– a large,
imposing
building (as a
museum or place
of residence) esp.
in Italy
What are some terms I should know?
Fine Wine (vintages)
Cask of Wine
Nitre is a potassium nitrate
salt formerly known as saltpeter. Saltpeter is composed of the names “Sal” or salt, and “Petrae” or rock. Literally, salt of the rock.
“…but observe the white webwork which gleams from the these cavern walls.”
Nitre encrusted on an ancient jar
an ancient vault or catacomb
A Flagon is a vase or
decanter used to store
wine or liquor
A Trowel is a hand
tool used to lay bricks
and build walls
MASONS
Two definitions:
A member of the
fraternity of
Freemasons, a worldwide
fraternal organization
OR
One whose occupation is
to build with stone or
brick; also, one who
prepares stone for
building purposes.
Symbol for the Freemasons
“A huge foot d’or, in a field azure; the foot
crushes a serpent rampant whose fangs are
imbedded in the heal.”
Let's put your dictionary skills to
the test. Copy down the sentence
below, then use the dictionary to
define difficult words. Once you
know the meaning, paraphrase it
in your Cornell Notes.
THE FAMILY
ARMS
“A huge foot d’or, in a
field azure; the foot
crushes a serpent
rampant whose fangs
are imbedded in the
heal.”
FAMILY MOTTO
“Nemo me impune lacessit” Translation: “No one provokes me with
impunity” or “No one attacks me and gets away with it.”
In “The Cask of Amontillado”…
The narrator plans for his revenge to take place in the catacombs beneath his estate.
What are catacombs?
Catacombs: Cities of the Dead
Paris Catacombs
• It lies far beneath the city
• In it, there are the bones of 5 to 6 million people.
• Starting from the late 18th century, lacking in space to put corpses, bodies of people who could not afford proper burials were moved from the overflowing cemeteries and dumped there.
Paris Catacombs
• The bones are piled around in heaps that line the walls. Some of the bones are in gigantic stacks.
• Some bones are fashioned into macabreconfigurations: A cross made from femurs
Why Catacombs?
• overcrowding
• disease
• overflowing cemeteries
• Proper burial became impossible.
• Stench/decay brought disease
Catacombs & the Wealthy
• It was not unusual for wealthy to have catacombs under their estates
• They could place the remains of their own family members here
The narrator of “The Cask of Amontillado” carries out his
revenge within the catacombs beneath his
palazzo.
Visiting the Catacombs
• It is possible for one to take a tour of the catacombs today.
• First, you walk down a long tunnel. . .
• And then you see. . .
Questions for the Reader. . .
• Do you think anyone celebrating outside will be able to hear anything occurring in Montressor’s catacombs?
• Would you ever dare go to someone’s personal catacombs?
What are the definitions?
As we read we will be analyzing…
Setting: the time and place Mood: atmosphere that the author createsTone: attitude an author takes towards the subjectPoint of View: 1st person, 2nd, person, 3rd
personIrony: what we expect to happen vs what really happens (situational, verbal, dramatic)Imagery: when an author paints a picture with words (5 senses)Plot: the chain of events in a story
Let us begin reading!