Edgar Allan Poe (1846) — a polite, friendly man who is hiding a cold plan
Original version available: read this lesson at B2/C1 level →
This is a famous old story, told here in simple English. Read each part, then stop and talk about the questions. The man who tells the story is friendly and polite — but watch carefully, because he has a secret plan.
Montresor was angry with a man called Fortunato. In the past, Fortunato was unkind to him many times. Montresor said nothing, but inside he was very angry. He wanted to pay Fortunato back.
It was carnival time. There were parties in every street. People wore colourful clothes and laughed and danced. Everyone was happy.
That night, Montresor met Fortunato. Fortunato had a red hat and bells, and he had had a lot of wine. He was happy and a little loud.
Montresor knew one important thing: Fortunato loved good wine very much. So Montresor had a plan.
Montresor smiled and spoke in a friendly way. "My friend! I have a special bottle of rare wine. It is a cask of Amontillado. But I am not sure it is real. Can you come and tell me?"
Fortunato wanted to see the wine. "Yes! Take me to it now," he said.
So Fortunato followed Montresor down, down into the cold cellar under the house. It was deep and dark. The walls were old. They walked a long way.
Fortunato coughed in the cold air. "You are not well," said Montresor kindly. "We can go back." But Fortunato did not want to go back. He wanted the wine. "No, no. Let's go on," he said.
Montresor was very polite and friendly the whole time. He gave Fortunato more wine to drink as they walked.
At the end of the cellar there was a small space in the wall. "The Amontillado is in here," said Montresor. Fortunato walked in to look.
Then, quickly, Montresor trapped him there. He took bricks and began to build a wall across the front of the small space. Brick by brick, the wall grew higher.
Fortunato could not get out. At first he thought it was a joke. Then he understood. But it was too late. Montresor was calm. He did not stop.
Finally, Montresor put in the last brick. The wall was finished. Then he turned and walked away.
Montresor kept his secret for fifty years. The friendly, polite voice in this story was hiding a cold plan all the time.
Useful words. Tap each card to see what it means and an example sentence.
1. They went down into the ______ under the house. 2. He built a ______ of bricks. 3. Montresor kept his ______ for fifty years.
This story tells about the past. We use the past simple to tell what happened. We use sequence words to show the order of events.
Past simple = a finished action in the past. Montresor smiled. Fortunato followed. They walked.
Sequence words show order: first, then, next, after that, finally. We often put them at the start of a sentence: First, he smiled. Then, they walked down. Finally, he built the wall.
1. Montresor angry with Fortunato. (be)
2. Fortunato good wine. (love)
3. They down into the cellar. (walk)
4. Montresor a wall of bricks. (build)
5. Then he away. (walk)
1. was 2. loved 3. walked 4. built 5. walked
Put the right sequence word in each space to tell the story in order. (More than one answer can be correct.)
1. , Montresor met Fortunato at the carnival.
2. , they walked down into the cold, dark cellar.
3. , Montresor trapped Fortunato in a small space.
4. , he built a wall and walked away.
1. First 2. Then / Next 3. After that / Next 4. Finally
These words help your listener follow the order of events.
A good story is more than just words. The writer uses tricks to make you feel something. Here are some simple ones from this story.
Montresor is friendly and polite all night. He smiles, he gives Fortunato wine, he says "We can go back." We almost like him. Then, at the end, he traps Fortunato and builds a wall. The surprise is cold and quiet — and that makes it stronger.
Montresor says kind words, but he is doing a terrible thing. His friendly words and his real plan are opposites. When words say one thing but mean another, we call it irony. The "nice" voice is the most frightening part.
Montresor is the person telling the story. He is telling us about his own bad plan, fifty years later. We see everything through his calm eyes. This makes us feel close to him — even though he did a terrible thing.
Do all three. Use the timer and try to keep talking. The sentence starters can help you begin.
Now tell the story again in your own words. Use short, simple sentences. Try to use four or five words from the Words tab, and tell the events in order.
These steps will help you: a man is angry with another man · he invites him to taste special wine in the cellar · they walk deep underground · he traps the man behind a brick wall · no one finds him for fifty years.
Talk about a time when someone waited a long time for something, or kept a plan quiet — you, someone you know, or a person from a book or film. Say what happened and how they felt.
Montresor was unkind because Fortunato was unkind to him first. Is it ever right to pay someone back? Say what you think.