does poe use any objects or ideas symbolically, what characters or objects in the story are part of an allegorical framework? The Cask of Amontillado

-- Anonymous, July 21, 2003

Answers

Poe's use of symbolsim is usually pretty organic and not didactic or heavy handed. As in Usher the catacombs and house could stand easily for the physical mind of Montresor, with a pun on buried treasure, buried secret memory, buried crime, etc. in an atmosphere charged with disease and guilt. The guilt which the story leads to is quite buried, yet still disturbing(as is the memory for example of Annabel Lee). Mental traps and dialogues make up the bulk of the plot. Ironies abound in the symbolism(jester costume, jokes on Freemasonry) which again are not heavy handed allegory, but intimate connections with the clever thought of the first person narrator.

-- Anonymous, July 22, 2003