Paul Laurence Dunbar's poem 'We Wear the Mask' is a well-known work that highlights his ability to create moving standard English poems. In this fifteen-line poem, Dunbar highlights the suffering of black individuals and the need for happy miners to survive. It emphasizes the idea that black individuals are an example of strength and suffering but maintains the allusion of docile. “We wear the mask” is written in the closed form of iambic tetrameter with a regular rhyming pattern. Dunbar builds the regular rhyme pattern in the final lines of the second and third stanzas with "We Wear the Mask." Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay “The Mask” is an obvious and clear heart of the poem and its meaning. The opening words are not only the refrain of the poem, but also the title and clearly describe the purpose of Dunbar's poem. The repetition of the phrase “We wear the mask” is a reminder of how convincing the mask is; “We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries rise up to you from tormented souls” (lines 10-11). There may be a smile on their face, but beneath that shield lies a world of torture and pain. The repetitive phrases in the poems emphasize important details, but the fact that "We wear the mask" is also used in the poem adds to the meaning of the phrases. As the poem continues, the narrator's view of the masks shifts from a tone of anguish to a sense of pride in their benefit. Dunbar uses a continuous repetition of black individuals hiding their emotions behind the mask. This is done to emphasize the deception that the black individual is happy rather than a “tortured [soul]” (line 12). The first two lines, “we wear the mask that smiles and lies, it hides our cheeks and protects our eyes.” (line 2) introduces this image of deception and concealment. The mask hides the cheeks and especially the eyes. Human eyes are linked to the essence of humanity because “the eyes are the window to the soul”. It is important that the mask hides the cheeks and eyes, as this is where humans are most likely to express their emotions, thus supporting the idea of ​​deception. The masked individuals create smiles despite their “torn and bleeding hearts” (line 5) to create images more pleasing to the white community. This is an introduction to the image that white Americans see when viewing black individuals. Using the word “smile” rather than smiling is more misleading than “happy.” The imagery behind the smile may refer to smiling and enduring pain to hide one's true feelings. This smile hides the full extent of the emotional conflict that black individuals go through. As it transitions into the third stanza, the poem shifts from feeling mournful for the “mask” to being content with its meaning. The speaker introduces “No, let them only see us, while we wear the mask” (lines 9-10). These lines insinuate that wearing a mask is not as horrible as it seems, there is a sense of benefit behind it. At this point in the poem, Dunbar presents the idea that black individuals should be content to shrink their emotions and hide behind the mask. However, he is not implying that the black community should be joyful in this situation, but rather highlighting the situation. change in perception of the mask. There is no longer a feeling of mourning with the use of the mask but rather a pride in this advantageous tool. The occasional use of the exclamation point in the final stanza of the repeated “We carry..