the story the cask of amontillado took place in an unspecified year.
when does the story the cask of amontillado take place?
an unspecified year
"the cask of amontillado" (sometimes spelled "the casque of amontillado" ) is a short story by edgar allan poe, first published in the november 1846 issue of "godey's lady's book". the story, set in an unnamed italian city at carnival time in an unspecified year, is about a man taking fatal revenge on a friend who, he believes, has insulted him. like several of poe's stories, and in keeping with the 19th-century fascination with the subject, the narrative revolves around a person being buried alive – in this case, by immurement. as in "the black cat" and "the tell-tale heart", poe conveys the story from the murderer's perspective.
the cask of amontillado
an apocryphal legend holds that the inspiration for "the cask of amontillado" came from a story poe had heard at castle island (south boston), massachusetts, when he was a private stationed at fort independence in 1827. according to this legend, he saw a monument to lieutenant robert massie. historically, massie had been killed in a sword duel on christmas day 1817 by lieutenant gustavus drane, following a dispute during a card game. the legend states other soldiers then took revenge on drane by getting him drunk, luring him into the dungeon, chaining him to a wall, and sealing him in a vault. this version of drane's demise is false; drane was courtmartialled for the killing and acquitted, and lived until 1846. a report of a skeleton discovered on the island may be a confused remembering of poe's major source, joel headley's "a man built in a wall", which recounts the author's seeing an immured skeleton in the wall of a church in italy. headley's story includes details very similar to "the cask of amontillado"; in addition to walling an enemy into a hidden niche, the story details the careful placement of the bricks, the motive of revenge, and the victim's agonized moaning. poe may have also seen similar themes in honoré de balzac's "la grande bretèche" ("democratic review", november 1843) or his friend george lippard's "the quaker city, or the monks of monk hall" (1845). poe may have borrowed montresor's family motto "nemo me impune lacessit" from james fenimore cooper, who used the line in "the last of the mohicans" (1826).
the cask of amontillado