AN ANALYSIS OF TPCASTT IN "WE WEAR THE MASK" BY PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR

 Cherrin Silvia Natalie

4SA02

11619456

 

WE WEAR THE MASK

by Paul Laurence Dunbar

 

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!

ANALYSIS     :  

T	TITLE	The poem “We Wear The Mask” by Paul Laurance implies that we all doesn’t show who we really are.
P	PARAPHRASE	We wear masks that smiles and lies, It hides our cheeks and guards our eyes,— This debt we pay for human lies; With a broken heart we smile, And a mouth with a myriad of falsehoods.   Why should the world be too intelligent To keep track of all our sobs and tears? No, let them just see us as we are concealed.   We laugh, but, O glorious Christ, our screams From suffering souls come to thee. We sing, but oh the clay is filthy Beneath our feet and long the mile. Let the world dream otherwise; we wear the mask!
C	CONOTATION	Personification : is a poetic device where animals, plants or even inanimate objects, are given human qualities. “we wear the mask that grins and lies”        Metaphor : “with torn and bleeding hearts we smile” it means to be sad but the author didn’t say that the person is sad.        Consonance : is the repetition of consonant sounds could be seen in line 6 and 10      Apostrophe : is used to directly address an absent person or entity could be seen in line 10 & 11 “O great Christ, our cries / To thee from tortured souls arise.” The poet asks Christ for help in a direct message to him. Imagery : The poet has used visual imagery could be seen in line 4, 6, 13.
A	ATTITUDE	The attitude or tone of the “We Wear The Mask” poem is sadness and frustration. Though it seems tranquil, the poem conveys remorse when read.
S	SHIFT	The tone of this poem doesn't change at any point and remains constant.
T	TITLE	There's no mistaking in my prediction. At the beginning i predicted that this poem tells about someone who does not show who he really is. After reading the poem, it can be concluded that the writer wants to remind that someone wears a mask that may look nice with lots of smiles.
T	THEME	Suffering, discrimination, lying in society. Because the poem is talking about judge and hiding how they feel.