by Edgar Allan Poe

 Means a wooden container for storing wine

 Sherry wine from the Amontillado Mountains  Only made in Spain

 Italy  “It was dusk one evening during the supreme madness of the Carnival.”  Why is this important?

 “Carn” means meat  “Val” means farewell  A secular holiday (non-religios) like Mardi Gras  Evolved from the Christian practice of Lent  40 day fast prior to Easter (giving up something one enjoys)  Traditionally, fasting during Lent involves not eating meat  Anticipation of Lent led to this extravagant farewell celebration

 Carnival is a time of excess indulgence  Bingeing upon food and alcohol  People partied in the streets  Wore masques (masquerade)  Combination of anonymity and alcohol---A crime could easily go undetected

European Carnival

 Potassium Nitrate Salt  Known as saltpeter  Salt of the rock  Minerals that leach through soil  Hangs from ceiling of catacombs

 Hand tool used by brick masons

 “Cities of the dead” underground  Sites for Early Christian worship  In the late 18 th century, people who could not afford proper burials were dumped there  The wealthy had catacombs under their estates where they buried their own relatives

Catacomb

 Wine was often stored in the catacombs  Wine does well where temperatures stay constantly cool year round

 Secret Society – by invite only  Member of the fraternity of Freemasons, a worldwide charitable organization OR….  One whose occupation is to build with stone or brick

 1 st-  3 rd limited-  3 rd omniscient-

 Narrator (First person point of view)  We will be quesitioning his sanity

 Haughty wine connoisseur (expert)  His name suggest good fortune or luck (Verbal Irony)  Dressed up as a jester for carnival (his hat has bells on it that jingle)

 Not an actual character  Helps drive the plot!  We will be deciding how…

 Analyze the actions, motives, and attitudes of the two main characters