Paul Laurence Dunbar

Background Information

Paul Laurence Dunbar was born in 1872 in Dayton, Ohio.  His mother was a former slave and his father had escaped from slavery.  His mother’s love for songs and storytelling inspired Paul to read and write himself.  At the age of six he began to write and recite poetry.  

Dunbar wrote his poetry in both standard English and dialect but the dialect poetry was preferred by readers.  In his writing he was mainly concerned with issues that related to his people and culture, but he wrote in a way that all audiences were appreciative. 

             Depression stemming from the end of his marriage and declining health drove him to a dependence on alcohol, but he still continued to write.  Paul Laurence Dunbar died on February 9, 1906 from his ongoing fight with tuberculosis.  He was only 33 years old.  Throughout his lifetime, Dunbar produced 12 books of poetry, four books of short stories, a play and five novels. 

            The renowned abolitionist, Frederick Douglas, had said of Dunbar, “While he was not the first African-American poet and writer, he was the first to achieve a national reputation and to be accepted by both white and black audiences.”

WORLD EVENTS

  ~Dunbar’s father served in the 55th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment and the 5th Massachusetts Colored Calvary Regiment during the Civil War.

  ~Dunbar attended high school and published a newsletter with the Write Brothers, Orville and Wilbur.  The brothers later gained fame as the inventors of the airplane.

We Wear the Mask

We wear the mask that grins and smiles,

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 see only us, while

We wear the mask.

 

We smile, but O great Christ, our cries

To Thee from tortured souls arise.

We sing, but oh, the clay is vile

Beneath our feet, and long the mile;

But let the world dream otherwise,

We wear the mask.

Poetic Devices

~Assonance, the repetition of a vowel sound, is used throughout the first paragraph.    EX:  lies, eyes  /  guile, smile

  ~Euphony is soothing, pleasant sounds.  Paragraph 3, line 10: We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries.

  ~Aphorism is a brief statement that expresses a general principal or truth about life.

  ~Rhyme, a pattern of words that contains similar sounds, is used throughout the entire poem.

  ~Lyrics: This poem is a lyric poem is a short poem in which a single speaker expresses thoughts and feelings in intense emotion. 

Blocking

We smile and lie so others don’t see our true feelings.

We smile, yet we re torn inside. 

Why should the world know our true feelings.

No, we only let others see our front, full of smiles.

We smile, yet we are torn inside.

Life is a journey, long, but we must smile and push on.

Click here for works cited page