Trivia / The Cask of Amontillado

• "Take That!" Tit-for-Tat: The work was written in response to Thomas Dunn English's "1844" AKA "The Power of the S.F.". Originally friends, both men had a very nasty public fallout that eventually evolved into a bitter feud. From here on, both Poe and English engaged in several confrontations, usually centered around literary caricatures of one another. One of English's letters which was published in the July 23, 1846, issue of the New York Mirror caused Poe to successfully sue the editors of the Mirror for libel. That same year, English published his previously mentioned novel that featured a character called Marmaduke Hammerhead, author of The Black Crow. He was portrayed as a drunken liar and wife beater. Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado" contains several allusions to English's novel and taking into account the nature of the tale: a wronged protagonist who successfully exacts revenge on his former friend with total impunity... One can see the parallels.