Analysis of We Wear the Mask by Paul Laurence Dunbar Essay -- Slavery

Analysis of We Wear the act by Paul Laurence DunbarWe Wear the Mask by Paul Laurence Dunbar is a renowned piece ofliterature that has been the vanquish of various literary criticismsover the years. Because of the poems indirectness and generalizedambiguity, the description of the we that wears the mask andwhy they do so is left unanimously undisclosed. It is up to theinterpreter and the support wedded by the interpreter to produce avalid representation of the meaning that lies beneath the mask. Onesuch depth psychology of We Wear the Mask is presented by Peter Revell onpage 71 of his book Paul Laurence Dunbar, which was published in 1979by G. K. H whole & Co. Unfortunately, the given argument nearly shamesthe profoundness of Paul Laurence Dunbars poem with its transitoriness andlack of sufficient support. In Revells short and weak interpreting of Dunbars We Wear theMask, he suggests that it is impossible for the non- downcast reader todraw brainchild or admonition from the sub ject matter, and that itwas written from within a black experience and exclusively for a blackaudience. However, this analysis can be viewed as primarily invalidbecause as Revell makes this claim, he fails to provide unanimous evidencefrom the text that would fully booster his assumption. He merelypulls an stallion stanza from the poem to illustrate his point, with turn outreferencing specific words or phrases that would elucidate hisargument. If Revell were to feed supplied more fully the evidence of Dunbarsother poetry of the time, cover how it objectively displayed a blacktheme and straightforwardly addressed the injustices of slavery, hencea parallel of similarity could have been drawn between the ii and his... ...s one such mask that profoundly affectedDunbar personally.Revell failed to see the orifice that We Wear the Mask couldrepresent anything but the turmoil the black slaves endured because ofDunbars disposition as a descendent of slaves. However, theinterpretation that this poem speaks to all people is supported morefully through the text as a result of Dunbars use of the universalwe in obsession with religious reference. All people wear thismask and until one figures out the most appropriate way to take itoff, the institution dream otherwise and all will continue to fool and befooled by the worlds countless masks. Works CitedRevell, Peter. Paul Luarence Dunbar. United States of America G.K. abidance & Co., 1979Brawly, Benjamin. Paul Laurence Dunbar Poet of his People. New YorkThe University ofNorth Carolina Press, 1936.