Foreshadowing In The Cask Of Amontillado

There are
several specific moments ofin the text. Montresor gives both his audience and Fortunato hints as
to his real motives throughout. As they are moving through the catacombs, Fortunato begins
coughing violently & Montresor feigns concern, telling him they will turn back for his
health.

Come, I said, with decision, we will go back;
your health is precious. You are rich, respected, admired, beloved; you are happy, as once I
was. You are a man to be missed. For me it is no matter. We will go back; you will be ill, and I
cannot be responsible. Besides, there is Luchesi

Enough, he said; the cough's a mere nothing; it will not kill
me. I shall not die of a cough.

Truetrue, I replied; and, indeed, I had no intention of alarming you
unnecessarilybut you should use all proper caution. A draught of this Medoc will defend us from
the damps.

Fortunato claims he will not die of a cough,
& Montresor replies "True-true." He is telling the reader and his victim that he
is well aware of how Fortunato will die, for Montresor himself will cause his death. This is
just one moment where Poe combines verbaland foreshadowing to build the suspense in the
story.

One other example of foreshadowing is Fortunato's costume. He is
wearing the traditional garb of the fool for the Venetian carnival. Poe describes it
thus:

The man wore motley. He had on a tight-fitting
parti-striped dress, and his head was surmounted by the conical cap and bells.

Thus, Fortunato is dressed as a jester, a clown. This foreshadows
the role he will play in the story-Montresor's fool. As he becomes progressively more drunk, he
becomes sillier and more pathetic, fulfilling the clown role.