CRITicism of poe and his work
Most critics of Poe can acknowledge that he was a master of the horrific story telling. There are many aspects of Poe and his writing that have been analyzed in order to try and unveil the meanings behind Poe’s work, if any. Poe was able to create a world of only misery that existed within his writing. He created situations that people would most likely never find themselves in, situations that were brutal and unimaginable compared to the reality that people truly live in (Whately 1). In other words, when reading a work done by Poe, the reader is able to tap into what feels like an alternate world where they are watching from the outside. The reader is observing a world of horror and misery, that makes the world that is known to the reader seem like a paradise. Poe releases a world of deep pain, which is possible that it stems off of his own experiences, but makes sure to reassure the reader that there is morality still left in this world despite how horrible it has come to seem (Whately 2). The capability of Poe to take the reader into another world has opened up his works to many different views and shows the possibility that Poe put parts of his own misery and pain into his work.
Thomas Ollive Mabbot has thoroughly researched Edgar Allan Poe and declared that each of his stories were skillfully told to the reader in an intricate manner that allowed for the reader to become a spectator to the horror events taking place (1). The reader is unaware of the specifics of what actually caused the events of The Cask of Amontillado to occur and only know that there was an insult, injury, and murder. Mabbot suggests that if there were more information, the reader would quickly side with Fortunato (1). This would be a normal human reaction to feel bad for someone who is murdered, and in such a way. But, Poe doesn’t release too much information so that there is still sympathy for Montresor and how he has also been wronged by Fortunato. It is this element that makes Poe and his work a gothic experience that involves the reader on many levels. Poe’s “hero” of the story is often someone who would never be looked at as the hero in other stories (Bennet 44). For example, a hero in the work of Poe is a murderer who devised a dastardly plan to lure a friend away from a party to wall him in to the depths of the catacombs. This is the person that takes the limelight in the story, and that is very different from most other tales. Poe’s stories were more about the mood and what kind of emotions the reader was made to feel throughout. However the reader responds emotionally to the tale, determines how they will “morally dictate the plot” (Bennet 44). What is different about The Cask of Amontillado that is not usually found in other works by Poe, is that there is morality within the story. The elements within this story tap into the human conscience of the reader and that is what makes it so powerful (Bennet 46). It is as if this story is test of human conscience by Poe, to really make the reader think about right from wrong, fair and unfair, and anything that can be questioned about the actions that take place in this tale.
The Cask of Amontillado is said to be one of the best works ever done by Poe (Cody 1). It was often suggested that Poe was talented in finishing the works of other authors (without giving credit). But, this was a way for him to show his talent and genius, by finishing the work that Poe felt that an original author had not fully completed. Now this might make Poe sound like he was unable to do his own work, but rather he used other stories for the inspiration of his own. Poe created the story in the way that he felt it should be and completed the stories himself. It is said that the main inspiration for A Cask of Amontillado was Thomas T. Headly’s A Man Built in a Wall. Headly’s story was published in 1844, around the time that Poe was writing for the same publication. He obviously encountered this story and his was published very shortly after Headly’s. But something was different about Poe’s The Cask. It captured more personal emotions that most likely had come from an experience that Poe had. Cody mentions that Poe had been in a “virulent, literary feud” with two men by the names of Thomas Dunn English and Hiram Fuller (2). The Cask captures emotions that could be strongly related to how Poe felt; he wanted to silence and punish those who had humiliated him as well as his writing. This story was the telling of the perfect revenge and the perfect murder, in Poe’s mind (Explicator 1). This story was his outlet and Montresor was his muse.One could conclude that Poe put his emotions into Montresor’s character, in order for Poe to have his own revenge through writing. Although, it is important to recognize within the story that Montresor does not wish hate on Fortunato, but rather is aware and concerned for his well-being even though he is going to leave Fortunato there to die (Delaney 1). The tale is no doubt dark and horrifying, but there are small details that Poe intended to be found to better explain Montresor and why he did what he did.