"No one provokes me with impunity" (Symons 315). These words began to take shape in Edgar Allan Poe's life at a very early age (Silverman 1). Deep inside the mind of a madman, such as Poe, there is a world of loneliness, depression, hatred, and revenge. Each of these inner feelings is continuously reenacted throughout Poe's stories and poem's. "He deliberately dealt with the psychological themes of obsession and madness" (Regan 51). One of the strangest things about his writing is that he takes horror and combines it with intelligence to create a powerful piece of work. "The Cask of Amontillado" is a prime example of the madness that goes on inside his head. The symbolism used in this story is very reflective on Poe's actual life. One thing is for sure; he will make you think twice about whether his stories were just out of the mind of a very intelligent man, or if they were just thoughts, jotted down in a form in which he could express his full ambitions in life. It makes you think about whether or not he would actually kill a man in a similar manner for a similar reason such as Montresor kills Fortunato (Symons 278-284).One of the strangest things about "The Cask of Amontillado" is the symbolism that is used. On several occasions, you can see how something in the story could possibly represent his own feelings inside, due to the circumstances he was under. The code of arms is representative of so many things beyond the story. "Poe's writing included what he called "undercurrents of meaning"" (Wilbur 99). On the surface, his works may not seem to be more than just a made up horror story, but it is beyond the surface that the true meaning lies. His works are so intreging for the simple reason that you have to take what is given and break it down to the point that you can feel the same emotions that he felt when the work was composed (Wilbur 99)."Remarkable experiences are usually confined to the inner life of imaginative m...
