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‘We Wear the Mask’ by Paul Laurence Dunbar describes the way that “We” put on, and accept the presence of masks. The poem begins with the speaker stating that “We,” a reference to all of humankind, but specifically black Americans, put on masks.
We Wear the Mask" is an 1895 poem in the rondeau form by Paul Laurence Dunbar. It is generally considered one of his most famous works and has been cited by several scholars as his best poem. The poem appeared in Dunbar's second volume of poetry.
The speaker describes how the marginalized community to which they belong has long worn a metaphorical mask. They wear the mask to conceal their vulnerability from the larger society that has oppressed them. Doing so enables them to preserve their dignity, but it doesn’t alleviate their suffering.
‘We Wear the Mask’ is a poem by the African-American poet Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872-1906), written in 1895 and included in Dunbar’s 1896 collection Majors and Minors. In the poem, Dunbar writes about the fact that many members of a marginalised community (which can be tacitly understood to mean the Black community in this context) are ...
Paul Laurence Dunbar. “We Wear the Mask” was first published in Dunbar’s volume Majors and Minors (1896). This poem sheds some light on what it can be like to be black in a...
Feb 9, 2024 · by Paul Laurence Dunbar. We wear the mask that grins and lies, It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,— This debt we pay to human guile; With torn and bleeding hearts we smile, And mouth with myriad subtleties. Why should the world be over-wise, In counting all our tears and sighs? Nay, let them only see us, while. We wear the mask.
We Wear the Mask (1896) Paul Laurence Dunbar. We wear the mask that grins and lies, It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes— This debt we pay to human guile; With torn and bleeding hearts we smile, And mouth with myriad subtleGes. Why should the world be overwise, In counGng all our tears and sighs?
