We Wear the Mask

The clearest and most visible device employed in the poem is the use of the extended metaphor, the metaphor a particular poem is built upon. The mask in the poem is not a literal mask, but rather, a metaphor for the strategy employed in order to get around the world and just get by. As a metaphor, it is a simple concept, and one that is general enough to relate to by any reader, but it is also hidden enough to be overlooked by an oblivious reader. This only adds to the mask’s mystique as an extended metaphor for the poem.

An extended metaphor in a poem can create a poem of its own world in a way, and Dunbar does this almost playfully with his own mention of “the world” throughout the poem, referring to something more specific if we read between the lines. In this way, the world in the poem becomes an extended metaphor for the society Dunbar was a part of, or rather, where he hid in plain sight.

As explained here and in other sections, the poem’s use of repetition enforces the world it encompasses. As a device, it contributes to the poem’s form and sound scape. However, while the poem explores multiple meanings, it also explores a core. At the core is the mask, and the speakers’ ability to employ this mask as a strategy. The refrain “We Wear the Mask” conceals and protects the speakers, but it also reinforces their identities as forces behind their own lives and destinies.

The use of repetition and refrain, although it is in a tone of resilience, can also be seen as the ongoing, never-ending battle the speakers are up against. As it were, the end of slavery did not mean the end to the suffering African Americans would endure.

The use of sonic images also contributes to the poem’s many meanings. The speaker’s “mouth with myriad subtleties” (Line 5). They sigh, cry out, and sing, all while maintaining their silence through their hidden selves. The poem’s musicality through its meter and rhyme, alliteration, assonance, and use of refrains and repetitions underscores the use of sound as a device in the poem, driving through multiple meanings. Just as the poem has multiple layers of meaning through form, the use of present tense in the poem provides another layer of complexity. It doesn’t go unnoticed that the sounds are vocal moments of visceral feeling, and for speakers who live in silence behind a veil in society. What is revealed about the speakers comes through their voices, although muffled by their cries and the masks that cover their faces, the poem’s voice comes through loud and clear.

One thing the poem emphasizes is the break in the self of the speakers. As the reader moves through the poem, despite the rigid form and systematic structure, a few lines still become enjambed, breaking the phrases into pieces of themselves. This reinforces the idea that there is more between the lines, that they do not continue on but are forced to break apart in order to complete. The form forces this upon the poem, as does society upon the speakers.