“We Wear the Mask”
E1016271
“We Wear the Mask” is a renowned poem by Paul Laurence Dunbar that explores themes of racial injustice, emotional concealment, and the psychological toll of oppression.
All labels observed (1)
| Label | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| “We Wear the Mask” canonical | 1 |
Statements (49)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf | poem ⓘ |
| addresses |
forced performance of contentment
ⓘ
systemic oppression ⓘ |
| associatedWith | post-Reconstruction era United States ⓘ |
| author | Paul Laurence Dunbar NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| centralMetaphor | mask as a symbol of hidden pain ⓘ |
| countryOfOrigin |
United States of America
ⓘ
surface form:
United States
|
| creatorOccupation | Paul Laurence Dunbar was a poet ⓘ |
| criticalReception | widely acclaimed ⓘ |
| firstPublishedIn | Majors and Minors NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| form | three-stanza poem ⓘ |
| genre | lyric poetry ⓘ |
| hasImageryOf |
bleeding hearts under a mask
ⓘ
smiling faces hiding suffering ⓘ |
| includedIn | numerous poetry anthologies ⓘ |
| influenced | later African American poets ⓘ |
| language | English ⓘ |
| literaryDevice |
alliteration
ⓘ
extended metaphor ⓘ imagery ⓘ irony ⓘ paradox ⓘ repetition ⓘ |
| literaryPeriod | late 19th century American literature ⓘ |
| meter | predominantly iambic tetrameter ⓘ |
| movement |
African American literature
ⓘ
American realism NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| narrativeVoice | first-person plural ⓘ |
| notableAspect |
early articulation of the psychological effects of racism
ⓘ
use of collective voice to represent Black Americans ⓘ |
| openingLine | We wear the mask that grins and lies ⓘ |
| originalPublicationYear | 1896 ⓘ |
| pronounUsage | we ⓘ |
| relatedWorkByAuthor |
Lyrics of Lowly Life
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Sympathy NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| rhymeScheme | regular end rhyme ⓘ |
| studiedIn |
African American literature courses
ⓘ
American poetry courses ⓘ |
| subjectMatter | African American experience under racism ⓘ |
| theme |
collective suffering
ⓘ
double consciousness ⓘ emotional concealment ⓘ masking of true feelings ⓘ psychological toll of oppression ⓘ racial injustice ⓘ social hypocrisy ⓘ |
| tone |
bitter
ⓘ
ironic ⓘ plaintive ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.