Poe's
"" is rich in both verbaland dramatic irony, both of which help create a story in
which the narrator. Montresor, and his victim, Fortunato, inhabit an ironic universe, and this
world creates a constant tension between what a character thinks should happen and what actually
happens. Dramatic irony is generally defined as irony in which a character knows less about his
or her situation than the reader knows, creating situations that have a different outcome from
the character's expectations. It is as if we are watching a train moving relentlessly toward a
brick wall, which one or more characters perceive as an open tunnel. A wreck is the only
outcome.
Poe sets up the framework of dramatic irony as early as the story's
second paragraph, creating a web of false expectations for his victim:
It must be understood that . . . I continued as was my wont, to
smile in his [Fortunato's] face, and he did not perceive that my smile was at the thought of
his...
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