A major part of Edgar Allan PoeÆs aesthetic, according to Polonsky (46), is ôhis own general invitation to the spectacle of himself in the act of writing.ö In ôThe Cask of Amontillado,ö we see this aesthetic unfold as personal incidents from the writerÆs life infuse the aesthetic that ensnares Fortunato in MontresorÆs dark caves of revenge. Within PoeÆs use of this aesthetic, we also see that ôThe Cask of Amontilladoö in setting and theme embodies many elements of what is known as the Gothic style.
In ôThe Cask of Amontilladoö the narrator, Montresor, is hell bent on revenge against Fortunato. At the time Poe wrote the story, he was under attack by critics whom he fought in the press. ôThe Cask of Amontilladoö is quite gothic in that the narratorÆs sole passion is revenge and his aim is to bury his enemy alive. Polonsky (54) maintains that part of PoeÆs aesthetic according to the author is that ôThe world of the mind is divided among æPure Intellect, Taste, and the Moral Sense.Æö Montresor provides us with an intellectual and moral justification for his goal, ôThe thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revengeö (Poe 666).
The lack of remorse in Montresor is apparent from his delight at trapping Fortunato by using the bait of sherry to lure him into the catacombs. The coldly methodical plotting of the narrator and the setting, dark, damp tombs, are within the Gothic style. As Polonsky (51) writes, part of PoeÆs aesthetic demands ôa close circumscription of space is absolutely necessary to the effect of insulated incident: it has the force to frame a picture.ö If any circumscription of space frames ôThe Cask of Amontillado,ö it is the catacombs or tombs to where Montresor single-mindedly lures Fortunato to his death. The subterranean vaults are perfectly characteristic of the Gothic style of archite
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