Paul Laurence Dunbar

"Douglass" and "We Wear the Mask" are two short poems by Paul Laurence Dunbar. Both deal with sad and desperate emotions, and they both have a psychological overtone that speaks of Naturalism. "Douglass" is a plea to the great speaker and civil rights leader Frederick Douglass. Dunbar is lamenting at the way the world is at that time. He says that he wants Frederick Douglass, or someone like Frederick Douglass, to come and inspire the world to be better again (Dunbar "Douglass" 570). "We Wear the Mask" is about how everyone wears a metaphorical mask to hide their emotions. It says that even though the mask may be cheery, the person underneath is most likely very depressed or in pain. These poems both have a feel like they were written for an African American audience, seeing as how Frederick Douglass was African American, and the Africans often had to hide their true suffering for the benefit of others. Despite this, I feel that both poems could be applied to a much broader audience.

The only Naturalism quality these poems possess is that they are both narrated by a person who is apparently African American, making them a lower class person in a horrible situation. Regionalism is not in here at all, seeing as how a specific region is not mention, nor is that region described in detail. Realism is not a factor here either. Some characteristics could be found in a roundabout way, but they would be so insignificant to the overall tone of the poem.

Nature is not mentioned at all in either of these poems, nor is government. Religion is only mentioned briefly when in "We Wear the Mask" Dunbar writes, "We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries to thee from tortured souls arise." (Dunbar "We" 571). That is it. "Douglass" does not have any mention of religion at all. Nature is not mentioned in both poems either. Human nature is present in the way that humans are not the best at letting people close to them. This is present in "We Wear the Mask" to some degree.

Both poems feature a simple rhyme scheme and simple language. As well as being a major characteristic of Realism literature, it makes the poems easy to understand. This would have been important because at the time, African Americans were still not receiving a fair education. These poems don't require much reading between the lines, so it could have appealed to a broader audience when it was written. There is figurative language in here, obviously, because these are poems. Poems tend to ave figurative language. My favorite example is the comparison of the plight of the Negroes to a storm at sea in these lines from "Douglass": "Not ended then, the passionate ebb and flow, the awful tide that battled to and fro; we ride amide a tempest of dispraise." (Dunbar "Douglass" 570). I thought that was a good metaphor for the situation, especially when Dunbar went on to compare Frederick Douglass to the captain that guides the ship toward calm waters.

Dunbar, Paul Laurence. "Douglass." Glencoe American Literature. comp. Wilhelm, Jeffery. McGraw Hill. Columbus, OH. 2009. pg. 570.

Dunbar, Paul Laurence. "We Wear the Mask." Glencoe American Literature. comp. Wilhelm, Jeffery. McGraw Hill. Columbus, OH. 2009. pg. 571.