"Douglass" and "We Wear the Mask" - Paul Laurence Dunbar

Paul Laurence Dunbar writes these two very different in meaning poems. On one hand, we have "Douglass," which is a poem about Dunbar calling on to Frederick Douglass, a prominent figure in the freeing of the slaves, asking for him to come and save them from the bad times they have fallen into once again. "Ah, Douglass, we have fall'n on evil days, such days as thou, not even thou didst know, when thee, the eyes of that harsh long ago saw, salient at the cross of devious ways, and all the country heard thee with amaze..... Now, when the waves of swift dissension swarm, and Honor, the strong pilot, lieth stark, oh, for thy voice high-sounding o'er the storm, for thy strong arm to guide the shivering bark, the blast-defying power to thy form, to give us comfort through the lonely dark" (Dunbar, "Douglass" 570). This poem relates directly to realism because of the unfortunate situation spelled out in this poem. Realism is the depiction of life as it actually is (Werlock). He is spelling out his life as an African American. He feels that Frederick Douglass worked so hard to help free the slaves, and Dunbar is saying all of that work was for nothing. He is calling out for Douglass to come and "guide the shivering bark" (Dunbar, "Douglass" 570). This is translated as he wants Douglass to help guide the boat that cannot stay on course, symbolizing the long road to actual freedom for African Americans.

This work reflects the society of the time period it was written in because of the struggles which African Americans were actually going through at the time. Dunbar spends his time spelling out the struggles that was happening to him, and to African Americans just like him. There is some religion in "Douglass" also. The poem seems kind of like a prayer, but it is not to a prayer to God; it is a prayer to a hero of the African Americans of the time, Frederick Douglass. He wants to be rescued and wants the holy powers of God to help him. The American Dream of this poem would be the actual freedom called for. African Americans wanted to be a part of society and not be segregated against. They want to be a part of actual America.

We do not read much realism in "We Wear the Mask." It is a lot of symbolism of this "mask" that people wear to cover up their true self. It says we can hide everything, meaning their true emotions, behind this mask and not have them be seen by anybody else. Then we cry out to the Lord what we really feel and God can see who we are. We live in a bad place, but we can hide who we are. So I guess there is a small amount of realism within this poem because everyone can hide their emotion and then cry out to the Lord. Maybe this is what Dunbar did; but this does not necessarily mean everyone does it. It does also not mean this is true either. So I do not believe this can fit into the category of Realism.

There is a large use of figurative language int his poem. The biggest part is the mask worn by people. This mask is not a literal mask, it is one that is a hider of people. People can "hide" behind this mask and keep others from seeing the real person, but a mask of who they want other people to think they are. Then there is also a large thing of religion within "We Wear the Mask." This is we can hide our feelings from others, but God can look at us and know who we are. We cannot keep our feelings from him.




Dunbar, Paul Laurence. "Douglass." Glencoe Literature. Comp. Jeffrey Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Columbus; McGraw-Hill, 2010. 570. Print.


Dunbar, Paul Laurence. "We Wear the Mask." Glencoe Literature. Comp. Jeffrey Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Columbus; McGraw-Hill, 2010. 571. Print.



Werlock, Abby H. P. "realism." The Facts On File Companion to the American Short Story, Second Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2009. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. Feb 15, 2011.