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Overview
“We Wear the Mask” is a poem by the Black American poet Paul Laurence Dunbar
. The poem first appeared in Dunbar’s 1895 collection, Majors and Minors, and one of its distinguishing features is its use of a highly structured verse form known as a rondeau. Dunbar deploys the rondeau form to powerful effect, using the form’s relative rigidity to mirror the poem’s central metaphor of a mask that keeps a person safe by hiding their true self. Dunbar uses this metaphor to reflect the way marginalized communities may adopt a “mask” to conceal their vulnerabilities and preserve their sense of dignity.Read a summary & analysis, an analysis of the speaker, and explanations of important quotes from “We Wear the Mask.”
