Paul Laurence Dunbar‘WE WEAR THE MASK’

PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR 1872-1906

• First African American poet to be

recognized nationally

• June 27, 1872 Dayton, OH

• Parents were ex-slaves

• Elevator Operator

PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR 1872-1906

• Wrote poetry in his free time

• First book of poetry published in

1893

• Toured US and then Europe

• Tuberculosis -> Died age 33,

1906

WE WEAR THE MASK

Known for dialect poems:

‘Wadin' In De Crick’ ‘Speakin' At De Cou't-House’ ‘When A Feller's

Itchin' To Be Spanked’

Published in Lyrics of Lowly Life, 1896

A LYRICAL poem.

WE WEAR THE MASK

About ‘oppressed black Americans forced to hide

their pain and frustration behind a façade of

happiness and contentment.’

BUT

Could be about anything or anyone -> the ‘we’ is not

identified

-> ‘MASK’

• Rhyme

• Rhythm

• Alliteration

• Metaphor

FIGURES OF SPEECH…

Cummings, Micheal J. "We Wear the Mask." www.cummingsstudyguides.net. Micheal J Cummings, 2007. Web. 11 Feb. 2012.

<http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/Guides4/Dunbar.html#Top>. 

"Paul Laurence Dunbar." NNDB: Tracking the Entire World. Soylent Communications. Web. 12 Feb. 2012.

<http://www.nndb.com/people/402/000104090/>. 

Portrait of Paul Laurence Dunbar. 1895-1900. Photograph. Ohio Historical Society, Columbus, OH. Http://www.libraries.wright.edu. Wright State University. Web. 12

Feb. 2012. <http://www.libraries.wright.edu/special/dunbar//gallery.php>. 

"Paul Laurence Dunbar: Biography - Wright State University Libraries." Home - Wright State University Libraries. Wright State University. Web. 11 Feb. 2012.

<http://www.libraries.wright.edu/special/dunbar//biography.php>. 

"Paul Laurence Dunbar." Poets.org - Poetry, Poems, Bios & More. Academy of American Poets, 1996. Web. 31 Jan. 2012.

<http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/302>.

WORK CITED: