1-page Vocabulary Printables

Essential for understanding Montresor's revenge philosophy; strong tier-2 word common in academic and legal contexts; appears in the story's most important sentence ("punish with impunity"); highly instructive usage.

Reveals the sinister depth of Montresor's intent -- he smiles at the thought of Fortunato's "immolation"; tier-2 word (sacrifice/destruction); used in a chilling, memorable passage.

Important for following Montresor's reasoning in the opening paragraph; strong tier-2 word useful in academic writing; instructive usage (planning so well it "precluded the idea of risk").

Sets up the pivotal encounter between the two characters; solid tier-2 word; Poe's usage ("accosted me with excessive warmth") is instructive and slightly ironic.

Names the climactic action of the story -- Montresor chains Fortunato to the wall; strong tier-2 word (literal and figurative restraint); dramatic, memorable passage.

Appears at the story's most terrifying moment ("A succession of loud and shrill screams"); broadly useful tier-2 word; instructive usage.

Marks the dramatic trowel-reveal scene; tier-2 word with physical and emotional senses; Fortunato's recoiling is the first sign he senses danger.

Applied strikingly to silence rather than a person ("a long and obstinate silence"); strong tier-2 word; the unusual usage is instructive for the word's range.

Appears in a passage that reveals Montresor's cunning -- he gives "explicit orders" knowing they will guarantee disobedience; broadly useful tier-2 academic word; instructive usage.

Describes Fortunato's futile attempt to see into the recess that will become his tomb; broadly useful tier-2 word; instructive usage in context of failure ("in vain... endeavored").

retribution: was originally selected and is thematically central to Montresor's revenge philosophy. However, its only appearance is in "A wrong is unredressed when retribution overtakes its redresser" -- a sentence so dense with unfamiliar words ("unredressed," "redresser") that it is more likely to frustrate students than teach them. It was replaced by "explicit."

implore: was also considered as a replacement -- it is italicized by Poe, a strong tier-2 word, and appears in a dramatic moment -- but Montresor is using it with deliberate irony ("let me implore you to return"), which would make the post-reading excerpt either misleading or confusing without heavy contextual framing

motley: has a useful tier-2 adjective sense (varied, mixed), but Poe uses it as a noun meaning the jester's costume, so the text usage is not instructive for the broadly portable meaning

grotesque: is a strong tier-2 word with good database entries, but it describes Fortunato's hand gesture in a moment that is not critical for comprehension; the selected words outranked it on importance to the story

subsided: is a useful tier-2 word but ranked lower on both comprehension importance and memorability of passage

render: is a wonderfully sinister line and a strong tier-2 word, but the ironic context makes it difficult to define cleanly, and the meaning Poe uses (provide/give) is less common than other senses students would encounter elsewhere