We Wear the Mask by Paul Laurence Dunbar

Full Text

We wear the mask that grins and lies,
It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,—
This debt we pay to human guile;
With torn and bleeding hearts we smile,
And mouth with myriad subtleties.

Why should the world be over-wise,
In counting all our tears and sighs?
Nay, let them only see us, while
We wear the mask.

We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries
To thee from tortured souls arise.
We sing, but oh the clay is vile
Beneath our feet, and long the mile;
But let the world dream otherwise,
We wear the mask!

Overview

Dunbar exposes the psychological cost of forced performance, where public smiles conceal private suffering.

Line-by-Line Analysis

Lines 1-5

The mask is a social survival strategy, hiding pain behind politeness.

Lines 6-9

The speaker refuses the world’s scrutiny and insists on concealment.

Lines 10-15

A plea to God reveals the depth of anguish while the public façade remains.

Themes

• Racial oppression
• Disguise
• Suffering
• Faith
• Public versus private self

Literary Devices

Metaphor

the mask — Represents enforced emotional concealment.

Apostrophe

O great Christ — Direct address intensifies the plea.

Historical Context

Dunbar wrote during the Jim Crow era; the poem captures the pressure to perform happiness under oppression.