PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR

&“WE WEAR THE MASK”

Paul Laurence Dunbar

1872-1906 First African American to

gain national recognition for and support himself by writing

Born in Dayton, Ohio to former slaves

Couldn’t find work in writing business because of race, so took a job as an elevator operator

Dunbar’s Writing

Took out a loan to publish first book of poetry

Impressed critics very popular

Wrote formal and informal poetry Critics usually focused on

informal (rural dialect) Criticized by other African

Americans thought he was just giving white readers what they wanted

Literary Terms: Review

Exact rhyme: exactly the same ‘days’ and ‘ways’

Slant rhyme: sound alike but not exact ‘prove’ and ‘love’

End rhyme: occurs at ends of poetic lines ‘The dog went to the store.

We don’t go anymore.’ Internal rhyme: appears within a line

‘They cried when she died.’

“We Wear the Mask”

1. Who does “we” refer to?2. What emotions do the “masks” cover up?3. Why would it be bad for “the world (to be)

overwise, / in counting all (their) tears and sighs?”4. What is the rhyme scheme?5. Name 3 other situations this poem could apply to.

For example, a boy might ‘wear a mask’ by playing baseball even if he’d rather play with his sister’s toys.

Classwork

1. Write your own poem in a similar manner. Use the same rhyme scheme as Dunbar. You may:

Choose to write about a “mask” you wear OR Choose to write about one of the 3 examples you

wrote.

2. Create a mask and design it based on your poem. Make sure it highlights the mood and issues in your writing.