The Mask

Maya Angelou

Analysis:
The compilation of poems includes three different pieces, the first written by Laurence Dunbar and
the latter written by Maya Angelou.

We Wear the Mask/When I Think about Myself/Song for the Old Ones

We Wear The Mask:

The first line repeats the poem's title and introduces its extended metaphor. The mask, which
represents the false emotions a person might "wear" in front of other people, both smiles and
lies—indicates that the outward appearance of the mask does not match the true emotions that are
beneath it. In other words, the people who wear this mask aren't smiling, and aren't happy. While
readers don't know exactly who these people are, it's already clear that they must for some reason hide
what they're thinking and feeling from the rest of the world. The phrase "We wear the mask" will also
repeat two more times in the poem as a refrain, never letting the reader forget the burden this group
carries. The first line also introduces the speaker, who uses the pronoun "we" throughout. The speaker
is not necessarily an individual, then, but rather a representative of a larger group. Though subjective,
readers could even potentially include themselves as being a member of this "we"—and maybe
empathize with the struggles of the community being described.
The second line continues to describe the mask as covering the entirety of the speaker's face,
demonstrating that the mask fully obscures any features which could give away the speaker's true
emotions. In particular, note how the mask casts a shadow over the eyes of those who wear it. Eyes
are often used in poetry (and literature in general) to represent a person's truest self—think of the
phrase "eyes are the window to the soul." The fact that this mask "shades" its wearers' eyes
emphasizes how much the wearers must hide not just what they're feeling, but who they are.
In the third line, the speaker describes wearing the mask as a "debt" this group must pay to "human
guile." Guile means deception or craftiness; it's a bit of a confusing statement, but the speaker is
essentially saying that wearing the mask is the price this group pays for having been given the ability
to deceive others. The important thing here is that this line indicates the mask is not as optional as it
seems, but rather, something that must be worn in order for this debt to be repaid.
This line also implies that, if it is indeed being worn to repay a debt to humanity, the use of the mask
is a lifelong endeavor rather than one to be worn for only a certain amount of time. The terms of the
debt are not mentioned, but the line suggests that if the wearing of the mask is owed to all of
humankind, then it is unlikely that this debt is ever meant to end.
This line creates a new understanding of the mask for the reader, in that the mask is likely not
something that is worn for pleasure. While there are some people who may enjoy deceiving others, the
speaker is not hiding their true selves from others for the sake of it. Rather, it appears to be something
that must be done.
In lines 4 and 5, the speaker begins to more plainly state their feelings and to demonstrate how they
specifically use this metaphorical mask.
The first line implies that the speaker is not as happy as they pretend to be, but the specific emotions
the speaker is hiding are not yet revealed—the speaker might be angry, annoyed, or bored. However,
line 4 reveals that the speaker is actually in despair.

While the speaker mentions having a broken heart, the language used to describe this feeling suggest
that the heart does not suffer from a romantic loss. Instead, this group's hearts are "torn" and
"bleeding"—a more visceral, violent image that evokes a more profound state of suffering. This, in
turn, changes the way in which the reader understands the mask. In the first three lines, it may appear
as though the speaker is a trickster or a con artist, wearing a mask to cause trouble. However, upon the
revelation that the speaker is actually suffering, the fourth line promotes empathy in the reader.

The speaker also mentions, in line 5, that they speak with "myriad subtleties" to others—implying that
the speaker engages with others in a way that is heavily coded and hard to pick up on without a keen
ear. This is reflected in the alliteration of "mouth" and "myriad," the strongest in the poem thus far
(the other example being the subtler "We wear" in line 1).

This is also the first circumstance in which the speaker is actively participating in deception: the act of
wearing a mask is somewhat passive, in the sense that the mask does most of the work after the
wearer dons it. However, this moment demonstrates that the changing of one's face is not the only way
in which the speaker "performs" for the rest of society.

Line 6 is also significant, as it is the first and only instance of slant rhyme within the poem. While the
majority of the poem is in iambic tetrameter with near-perfect rhyming couplets, the sixth line's
"subtleties" do not rhyme nearly as neatly with "lies" or "eyes." This moment of slant rhyme
undermines the reader's expectations while simultaneously upholding the poem's thematic aims,
reflecting, on a form level, that things are not quite as they seem.

Lines 6 and 7 introduce a new stanza and present a rhetorical question: the speaker essentially asks the
reader, "Why should the world pay attention to us and our suffering?" This question reveals who the
speaker is performing for, which in turn enhances the reader's understanding why the mask is being
used.

The speaker reveals that they wear the mask to fool the world, i.e., society. In understanding who the
speaker is performing for, the reader can begin to understand (if they have not already, given the
historical context and race of the author) that this poem is concerned with the experiences and the
treatment of marginalized people. This also lends itself to understanding of why the mask is being
used in the first place. Yes, the mask is meant to hide suffering, but to what end and for what purpose?

If the mask is being used to deceive society and is being used by a marginalized person, it could
suggest to the reader that the mask is a tool of survival, rather than a tool of amusement or even
convenience. The line suggests as much in its question, demonstrating that, if the world were to be
aware of the suffering of the speaker, it would not care.

What's more, perhaps the speaker believes that, since the world is at fault for the speaker's suffering,
the world is not to be trusted with the truth. The speaker could thus also use the mask as a way of
obtaining some sort of control: if the speaker does not reveal the extent of this anguish, then the world
is also not able to find any pleasure in it. In other words, the speaker is saying that this prejudiced
society—which fails to treat the speaker with respect and dignity—will not get the opportunity to see
(and maybe even enjoy) the speaker's pain.

Like most of the poem, lines 6 and 7 are end-stopped, which continues to uphold the rhythm of the
poem while also continuing to convey the rigidity the speaker must subject themselves to, as they
maintain a strict hold over their mask. While the end-stopped line 7 is, perhaps, a choice made mostly
to maintain the conventions of Standard English and illustrate that a question is being asked, the
comma that end-stops line 6 allows the reader a moment of pause. This end-stop essentially halves a
single rhetorical question in two, offering the reader the opportunity to ponder about the notion of
what the world should know.

Line 6 contains an instance of consonance, with the words "why," "world," and "-wise" cutting to the
central point of the question asked: why [should the] world [be] wise? This linking of consonant
sounds suggests that the world, at large, is considered unwise by the speaker.

The second stanza ends with the speaker responding to their own rhetorical question by telling the
reader to not even consider the possibilities of the answer— the speaker asserts it is always better for
the world to see the speaker only when the speaker is wearing the mask.

Lines 8 and 9 are significant in that they change the reader's understanding of choice. Initially, the
speaker implied that the mask was a lifelong sentence, a debt to be paid. However, the speaker alters
this implication by introducing the notion that, whether or not the mask is optional, the speaker would
choose the mask regardless.

If the reader understands the poem as speaking to the experience of an oppressed people, then the
reader could assume that this choice is, in reality, nothing but an illusion, created to comfort the
speaker. Generally speaking, a group of people would not choose to suffer from discrimination if
given the option. However, these lines signal a shift in the speaker's attitude.

Sharing a secret, regardless of the context, is an exchange of privileged information. If a person

decides to tell their friend a secret about themselves, then that person has determined the friend is
trustworthy. In "We Wear the Mask," the speaker has made a judgment call regarding the
trustworthiness of society at large, deciding that the speaker should never allow vulnerability in front
of society. The speaker has actively deemed society as unworthy of the speaker's true self, which
indicates that the speaker has established some level of superiority over the world, even if only from a
moral standpoint.

Between lines 8 and 9 is the poem's first use of enjambment, with the word "while" leading into the
first iteration of the refrain, "We wear the mask." This enjambment occurs when the speaker has
adopted a defiant tone, suggesting that the speaker is instead choosing to wear the mask and prevent
society from seeing their true self, rather than being forced into wearing the mask. The use of
enjambment here suggests to the reader that the speaker's attitude is beginning to shift from the first
stanza, in which every line is end-stopped. Those end-stopped lines initially reflected the mask's
inflexibility, suggesting the notion of a never-ending performance. Here, the rigorous performance of
the end-stopped line ceases—if only for a moment,

Line 9 also introduces the refrain of the poem. This refrain, which is of course also the title of the
poem and the first four words of line 1, presents the phrase "We wear the mask" as a sort of mantra by
which these people must live in order to survive. This introduces the mask as being almost a point of
pride, an idea that continues to develop in the final stanza.
In lines 10 and 11, the speaker reiterates the depth of the speaker's pain behind the mask, while
continuing to demonstrate the extent to which the speaker conceals that pain.

In line 10, the speaker references the only other entity in the poem besides the speaker and the world:
God. In this line, the speaker directly addresses God via apostrophe, saying that this group's cries of
pain call out to Christ from the depths of their "tortured souls." This call is silent—the speaker is still
smiling on the outside—and should be understood as an emotional internal prayer; God is meant to be
the only recipient of this message.

Line 10 also has a significant caesura, in which the word "but" is offset by two commas. This caesura
is meant to illuminate the contrast between the clause that precedes it and the clause that follows: the
speaker smiles—but they also cry out to God with their suffering. This again demonstrates the extent
to which the speaker suffers behind the mask, yet still performs contentment.

Between lines 10 and 11 is the second instance of enjambment in the poem, with the word "cries"
leading into "To thee." This use of enjambment continues to perpetuate the extreme sense of despair
present in stanza 3, with the cries of the speaker so intense that they must flow over the end of their
own line and into the next. To the reader, the "mask" that the poem itself wears—it's strict form, with
its regular rhyme scheme and meter—slips a little, revealing the depths of the speaker's pain for just a
moment.

Line 11 then reiterates the extent of the speaker's emotional pain, describing the speaker's soul as
"tortured." This reminds the reader, after being presented with the notion of choice in the previous
stanza, that the speaker is trapped in a prolonged state of suffering. Line 11, unlike the line previous,
is then end-stopped, illustrating that the speaker has composed themselves once more, and by
extension, must always return to the mask.
The speaker continues to describe their pain in lines 12 and 13, and to establish the idea of emotional
endurance and resilience. The speaker states that while they "sing," the "clay" beneath their feet is
"vile," and they must walk for a long time through it. The clay can perhaps be taken as a sort of
metonym—a stand-in for the earth itself, or the world that surrounds the speaker. This world is "vile,"
meaning it is horrible or wicked. The speaker is saying that simply trying to exist in an unjust society
every day is deeply taxing.

The word also suggests physical labor, evoking imagery associated with the institution of slavery in
the United States. As previously mentioned, the themes of this poem, while speaking generally to the
experience of any marginalized group of people, are intertwined with the specific experience of black
people in the U.S. following the end of the Civil War. Here, the mentions of clay and having to walk
long distances through it brings to mind the back-breaking labor and poor conditions of the enslaved.
Singing might also be an allusion to "spirituals," an oral deeply rooted in the slave trade.

At the same time, this walk through clay can be understood as a walk through a more metaphorical,
emotional landscape. Although the suffering mentioned is described as being internal, its effects on
the speaker's spirit are just as intense as those of physical labor. The speaker labors under the weight
of their private suffering, with no end in sight.
The final instance of enjambment in the poem occurs between likes 12 and 13. This suggests to the
reader that the clay mentioned is so vile that the level of disgust the speaker has for it cannot be
contained by the line; the speaker is so disgusted that the poem's strictly-controlled form once again
cracks a bit.
In line 14, the speaker mentions "the world" once more, immediately after having compared their own
emotional endurance to an intense and endless physical journey. Here, the speaker once again denies
the world a chance to see the speaker's struggle, doubling down on their mistrust of the rest of society.
The poem then ends how it began, with the final instance of the refrain: "We wear the mask!"

The exclamation point used here is important. Despite the speaker's insistence on the depth of their
suffering, the speaker seems to have found a sense of empowerment in their use of the mask. Indeed,
back in line 13, the speaker explains that their use of the mask is not ending anytime soon, describing
the "mile" they must walk as "long." When the speaker then declares that, regardless, the world will
continue to believe in the speaker's contentment, the reader can assume that the speaker has no
intention of giving up: the speaker will continue to endure this struggle, and will continue to use the
mask to survive.

Because of the enthusiasm of the final end-stopped line, readers are again reminded of the mask's
flexible sense of meaning. Instead of being symbolic only of the speaker's oppression, the mask is also
symbolic of the speaker's ability to continue on. Overall, it is clear that the mask is a complex and
layered metaphor for the experience of oppression. The mask may not be entirely optional in the eyes
of the speaker (at least, not without facing dangerous consequences), but the poem suggests that an
oppressed people may find a way to celebrate small victories in order to better cope with their reality.

The speaker cannot control their circumstances or the cause of their pain, but the speaker can still
maintain control over their own sense of self and establish their own emotional boundaries. While the
vigilance it takes to shield one's inner thoughts and feelings may be exhausting, this also illustrates
that the speaker has a sense of self-worth. The speaker values their true self, and thus protects it from
those whom the speaker deems unworthy. As such, the mask also represents the speaker's emotional
resilience and endurance: so long as the speaker uses the mask, the speaker survives.

The Mask
The poem uses the mask to, not surprisingly, symbolize deception: it is a tool that this marginalized
group uses to trick the rest of society into thinking that they're happy and complacent.

The mask also highlights the dual-nature of this deception: the mask both hides the true face of its
wearer while also presenting a false identity to the world. Notice how the mask mentioned in the first
line both grins and lies, illustrating that it must conceal and be seen. In other words, while the mask
hides the face, it also allows its wearer to control how others perceive them.

In this particular poem, the mask is a tool used by the black community to endure suffering under
white supremacy. The mask, then, is not simply a tool for deception, but also for survival. While many
black citizens protested their treatment white supremacy, the consequences for doing so could be
severe, even fatal. Thus, many black people had to adopt the "mask"—to hide their true feelings—in
order to live under the contemptuous eye of white society without causing any need for further
scrutiny.
This tool speaks to American activist and author W.E.B. Du Bois's idea of "double consciousness,"
which sees the oppressed person as having a split sense of self: a public and private identity, one of
which conforms to the society that oppresses it, and the other of which rejects it.

The symbolic resonance of the mask also changes throughout the poem. In the first stanza, the mask is
clearly a burden to those who must wear it. However, over time, the mask becomes a representation of
pride and resilience. The speaker of the poem understands that it is fruitless to seek validation from
those who oppress the speaker's community, and thus, the speaker uses the mask to gain control over
the situation. While the community the speaker represents does not have the opportunity to change its
immediate circumstances, the mask gives its wearers the confidence to navigate their oppression with
society being none-the-wiser.

Symbol Clay
Clay
In line 12, the speaker refers to a "clay" that is "vile." This clay isn't the kind of stuff you mold in art
class. "Clay" is often used in literature as shorthand for dry, cracked ground/earth on which people
walk, while "vile" essentially means wicked, disgusting, or horrible. Here, then, the "vile clay" could
be interpreted as representing the speaker's actual environment. Essentially, the world that the speaker
must endure is filled with horrific prejudice and injustice. In this reading, "clay" becomes a
metonym—the ground itself coming to represent the society in which the speaker lives.

If the reader chooses to see the poem as a reference specifically to black oppression, then this clay
could symbolically represent the poor conditions that black people were subjected to under the
institution of slavery. Even more specifically, this clay could evoke the imagery of the plantation;
many of the enslaved black population were used as physical laborers for Southern plantations, forced
to work long hours in extreme conditions with little-to-no rest, food, water, or adequate clothing.

Because of the poem's focus on the speaker's internal struggle, it is just as likely that this clay is a
symbolic representation of the speaker's emotional landscape. The clay, here, suggests an intolerable
environment surrounding the speaker and heightens the stakes of the mask. While the speaker has
suggested previously that they are an expert in deception and that they choose to wear the mask to
hide their pain, the reference to walking through "vile" clay indicates that wearing the mask is not
necessarily an easy feat. The clay thus also implicitly reflects the speaker's emotional endurance. The
emotional labor of wearing the mask takes its toll on the speaker in a way that feels as if the speaker is
also struggling physically.

“We Wear the Mask” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

Extended Metaphor
First introduced in the title (which also acts as a refrain), the extended metaphor of the mask serves as
the backbone of the poem. The speaker explains the meaning of the mask to the reader in the first
stanza, illustrating that this metaphorical mask is a tool used for deceiving others. As the speaker
continues, the mask is revealed to be more than a simple con, meant to trick others out of
amusement—more specifically, this mask is used to hide its wearers' pain and suffering.

Of course, the group the speaker is a part of doesn't literally wear a mask over their faces at all times;
instead, the mask represents the fact that these people have to constantly calibrate their expressions to
appease an oppressive, prejudiced society. Members of this marginalized group cannot show their true
faces to the world without risking repercussions.
The use of extended metaphor regarding the mask allows the reader to understand the many
intricacies of what it means to be oppressed. The mask is initially presented as a forced tool of
deception that eventually blossoms into a point of pride: in stanzas 2 and 3, the speaker seems to
adopt a tone of defiance while discussing the mask, suggesting that the speaker (and the group
associated with the speaker) has begun to celebrate their own ability to survive in such an unjust
world.

Overall, then, the mask is a tool of survival and thus representative of the pain of oppression, but it is
also a symbolic representation of the speaker's endurance and resilience. When the speaker exclaims,
"We wear the mask!" in the final line, the reader is able to understand that the exclamation is one of
anger, defiance, exhaustion, and celebration all in one.

Refrain
"We Wear the Mask" is a rondeau, a type of poem in which the opening words of the first line appear
as a refrain in the last lines of the second and third stanzas.

The refrain of "We Wear the Mask" works outside of the rhyme scheme and meter, which draws more
attention to the phrase and its meaning. While the poem employs near-perfect rhyme throughout
("lies" and "eyes"; "guile" and "smile"; etc.), the refrain ends with the word "mask," which doesn't
rhyme with anything else in the poem. This makes the mask, as the subject of the poem, remains the
focus. This also further alludes to the notion that the mask is inorganic—though the speaker tells the
reader that the mask is able to fool others into thinking it is an accurate representation of the speaker's
emotions, the argument of the poem is that the mask is actually a deeply inauthentic representation of
contentment. Thus, the word itself does not seamlessly blend in with the musicality of the poem, and
instead is offset against the rhyme scheme and the musicality of the rhyme.

The phrase "We wear the mask," is also the only instance in the poem where the verse is written in
iambic dimeter, rather than the iambic tetrameter that pervades the rest of the piece. This means that,
while the rest of the lines consist of four iambic feet, the refrain only has two iambic feet (we wear |
the mask). This ensures that the reader is able to both see and hear the difference in the line from the
rest of the poem.

The refrain also forces the reader to remember that the mask is a collective experience. Using the
pronoun "we" in the phrase "We wear the mask" asserts that the speaker is not an individual, but a
member of a group of people who all have adopted the mask. The refrain can also implicate the reader
within the "we" of the experience, which can enhance the reader's empathy with the subject matter at
hand, i.e. the oppression of a group of people.

The use of the refrain also gives the reader the opportunity to re-understand the mask each time it is
reintroduced. While the mask is initially introduced as a general tool of deception, by the end of the
second stanza the reader is able to see the mask as a representation of deep suffering. They also are
able to see the mask as a choice, or as creating the illusion of choice. When the final refrain appears in
the last stanza, the reader can also see the mask as a symbol of empowerment, because it reflects the
speaker's emotional resilience and insistence on surviving.

Enjambment
Enjambment occurs sparingly in the poem, punctuating the plodding rhythm of the poem with spurts
of intensity. Much of the poem is end-stopped, with each line carefully calibrated to fit into the poem's
steady meter and rhyme scheme; in a way, this heavy end-stop reflects the manner in which members
of this oppressed group must carefully compose themselves to get by within a prejudiced society. In a
few key spots, however, the speaker's lines clearly spill over from one to the next, indicating a break
in this composure—a slip of the mask, perhaps.

The first instance of enjambment comes in line 8, which also is the first time the speaker seems to take
on a tone of defiance. Here, the speaker questions the value of showing their true face to society, and
instead asserts that wearing the mask can perhaps be a tool of empowerment—a means to deny an
unsympathetic society the chance to get to know this group.

Enjambment pops up again between lines 10 and 11, another notable moment of emotional intensity.
The "cries" the speaker mentions spill over the line break, indicating the depth and power of the
speaker's suffering. Enjambment then occurs a final time between lines 12 and 13, as the speaker
unequivocally denounces the world in which this marginalized group must live—calling the "clay"
(symbolic of this society—literally the world in which the speaker walks) "vile," meaning wicked or
foul. Again, the poem's lines overflow at a point when the speaker seems to reveal their true feelings.

Alliteration
Much of the alliteration of "We Wear the Mask" occurs in the refrain, with the words "We wear." The
alliteration of these two words establishes an association between them, especially when considering
that the first two letters of the word "wear" are, in fact, "we." This subtly suggests that the action of
wearing the mask has become internalized to the point that one's sense of identity is intertwined with
the notion of performance (that is, with wearing a mask).

The association between the /w/ sounds continues in stanza 2, with the words "Why," "world," and
"-wise" in line 6. The continuous use of the /w/ sounds enhances the questioning tone of this line,
which rhetorically asks the reader (and by extension, the world), "Why should the society pay any
attention to the speaker's pain?"

The alliteration in this line also establishes a connection between the words "world," and "wise,"
which is revisited—and subverted—in the third stanza. The initial relationship of "the world" and
"wise" suggests that world could be "over-wise" regarding the suffering of the speaker, but chooses
not to be. In line 14, however, the word "wise" is then attached to the word "otherwise," suggesting
that the world has been completely deceived by the speaker's use of the mask.

Another important moment of alliteration is in line 5, between the words "mouth" and "myriad."
Much like the other circumstance of alliteration, the /m/ of "mouth" and "myriad," creates a link
between the two words, and quietly suggests the idea of thousands of mouths, or at least thousands of
versions of one mouth. Notably this alliteration comes in a line discussing the subtleties of language.
This continues to promote the themes of the mask as a tool of deception.

Consonance
The consonance in "We Wear the Mask" does much of the same work as alliteration, connecting
various words via sound. In line 10, for example, there is a notable similarity in the sounds of
"Christ," and "cries," which both begin with a /kr/ sound, followed by a long /i/ sound (assonance).
This similarity and their proximity to one another draws an association between the two words,
indicating to the reader that the "cries" of the speaker belong solely to the speaker's God. This shows
the reader that the only moment of vulnerability the speaker allows is with their Lord, which further
establishes how hidden the speaker keeps their pain.

There are also many instances of /w/ sounds throughout the poem, which upholds its "us" vs. "them"
dynamic. Both "we" and the "world" begin with the letter w, yet the group of which the speaker is a
part is clearly separate from the rest of the "world." The shared sounds seem to call attention to the
fact that the "we" and the "world" aren't all that different, making the "world's" treatment of that
"we"—that is, society's treatment of marginalized people—all the more frustrating.

In line 11, the /t/ sounds present in the words "to" and "tortured" echo the previous /t/ sounds in line 7
("counting" and "tears"). The /t/ sound is thus associated with despair ("tears," "torn," and "torture"),
emphasizing the pain that suffuses the poem. With the exception of "to" in line 11, these /t/ sounds
also all land on a stressed syllable, which accentuates the sense of pain and suffering.

Rhetorical Question
The rhetorical question posed in lines 6 and 7 suggests that society would not care about the pain and
suffering of the speaker even if it knew the extent of it. To that end, the speaker seems to be asking,
what's the point of removing the "mask" and letting the world see how much these people are truly
suffering? To do so would only be inviting an unsympathetic society deeper into this marginalized
group—to gawk at, mock, or just ignore the pain it finds there.

On the one hand, then, this rhetorical question highlights the immense lack of empathy on the part of
society at large, given that the speaker has no hope that revealing the depth of this group's suffering
would change anything.

The rhetorical question also suggests that the smiling mask is not only used to appease society's
oppressors, but is also a tool used to deny the oppressors the privilege and pleasure of seeing the pain
they have caused. In the next lines, the speaker implies that keeping their suffering to themselves is
both a survival mechanism and a means for marginalized people to assert some semblance of
autonomy and control over their own lives.

Allusion
The entirety of "We Wear the Mask" alludes to the plight of black Americans in the United States.
Published in 1896, the poem's themes easily lend themselves to the lives of black people following the
end of the Civil War. Many expected that the abolition of slavery would be enough to quell the
violence and tension caused by racial injustice; however, this poem suggests that racism is alive and
well, and that it continues to cause suffering.

Due to the lack of specificity regarding the speaker's circumstances, the reader could extend the
themes of this poem to incorporate the specific atrocities committed against enslaved black people in
the U.S. as well. The walk through "clay" could be seen as a reference to the manual labor endured by
slaves, specifically the ones who worked in the fields on plantations. These people were subjected to
extreme weather conditions, and lacked the necessities to sustain themselves while working extremely
long hours.

The singing mentioned in line 12 could also be a nod to black spirituals, an oral tradition amongst
enslaved people in which they would often sing of Christian values and their hardships. Former slave
and black activist Frederick Douglass once remarked that the notion of slaves singing out of joy or
contentment was a mistake, however, noting, "Slaves sing most when they are unhappy"—which, in
turn, aligns neatly with the theme of "We Wear the Mask."

Caesura
Caesura appears several times throughout "We Wear the Mask," with the majority appearing in the
final stanza. These brief pauses slow the pace of various lines, often in a way that underscores the
extent of the speaker's suffering.

In line 10, for instance, caesuras appear twice: as commas that dramatically offset the conjunction
"but" in a way that reinforces the sense of contrast between the two parts of this line. First, the speaker
admits that this group smiles—but they are suffering to the point that , on the inside, they cry out to
God with their pain. Similarly, the caesura that appears in line 12 via the comma after "We sing"
underscores this singing as being just another instance of performance, rather than an authentic
representation of emotion.

In line 12, the comma that appears between "feet" and "and" underscores that not only is the speaker
having to stand in "vile" mud, but they must also walk through it for a long time. Thus, the caesura is
meant to emphasize the speaker's struggle.

One could argue that a caesura appears before the phrase "We wear the mask" in the form of white
space, which assists in highlighting the importance and the power of this refrain. The reader could opt
to read the white space as a pause or a breath, which creates a sense of anticipation before the refrain
is repeated, much like a standard caesura. However, because it is atypical, the white space could also
simply be seen as a feature of the refrain.

Assonance
There are many instances of assonance in "We Wear the Mask." While the assonance assists the poem
in keeping with the musicality of the rondeau form, it also works to enhance the poem's meaning.

For example, in line 10, the shared long /i/ sounds in "smile," "Christ," and "cries" signal to the reader
that these words, for the speaker, are inextricable from one another: the smile presented by the speaker
always has profound sadness behind it.

Throughout the entirety of the poem, the speaker consistently uses words that have the same long |ē|
vowel sound (which sounds like "ee"): "we," "cheeks," "bleeding," "see," "feet," "dream," and so on
and so forth. Though some of these words are spaced out to the point that they're arguably not true
assonance, this sound clearly echoes throughout the poem and accentuates the notion of an "us."
Indeed, the very first word if the poem features this sound, and thus each time the sound appears it
seems to call back to that initial "we."

"We" represents not just the speaker, but also an entire group of people who wear the mask. The word
"we" is what indicates that this poem is about this group of people, and by extension leads the reader
to believe that this poem is about oppression at large rather than a singular person's experience. The
poem continuously draws attention to the notion of an "us" by subtly reinforcing it through sound.

End-Stopped Line
The majority of "We Wear the Mask," is end-stopped, with only a few circumstances of enjambment.
The end-stopped lines in this poem enforce and enhance the carefully paced meter and rhyme scheme,
creating a sense of precision and control that reflects the wearing of the mask itself: just as the mask
hides the speaker's unpleasant emotions, the regular end-stops keep the poem in line even as rage and
pain broil beneath the surface. In other words, heavy end stops reflect the way in which members of
this oppressed group must metaphorically structure themselves to avoid letting their mask slip.

To understand how the end-stops here function, it's useful to consider a moment of enjambment. Take
line 10, where a moment of enjambment allows the "cries" to seemingly spill over into line
11—perhaps reflecting a moment of intense suffering piercing through the facade of contentment that
the speaker has constructed. However, much like a person must eventually stop crying and compose
themselves, the speaker is back to end-stops by the end of line 11, closing out the line with a definitive
period.

In line 12, again the speaker loses control of the line, so to speak, while talking about the ceaseless
"vile" clay. The speaker is back to end-stop in the very next line, however, again suggesting that the
speaker must keep their performance rigid, even in the most horrible of circumstances—and that if
their mask happens to slip, it must be righted immediately.

Apostrophe
The poem features two instances of apostrophe. The first comes in line 8, when the speaker seemingly
gives an instruction to the group of which the speaker is a part: "Nay, let them only see us, while / We
wear the mask." The second, stronger moment of apostrophe comes when the speaker calls out to God
in lines 10 and 11, saying, "We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries / To thee from tortured souls
arise."

Notice how both of these moments create breaks in the poem's form. Both of the lines in which
apostrophe appears contain two or three commas (creating mid-line pauses, or caesuras) that interrupt
the otherwise very smooth iambic rhythm of the poem. They also are both enjambed, their contents
spilling over beyond the line break. This contrasts with the regular end-stop that characterizes the
majority of the poem.

These formal hiccups suggest that the speaker's mask is slipping a bit, granting the reader a chance to
briefly see the pain that exists behind the facade of contentment. Indeed, in line 8, the speaker seems
to take on a tone of defiance, suggesting that the rest of society doesn't deserve to see this group as
they really are. In line 10, the speaker is talking about crying out to God for some sort of relief or
acknowledgment of their suffering. The apostrophe, then, coincides with moments of emotional
intensity.

“We Wear the Mask” Vocabulary

Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the
order in which they appear in the poem.

Guile Myriad Subtleties Over-wise Nay Vile

Guile refers to being sly or cunning. When one has guile, this means they are being deceptive, but
perhaps in a way that comes across as charming.

Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “We Wear the Mask”

Form
"We Wear the Mask" is a variation of the rondeau, a form that originated in France in the 14th and
15th centuries. A rondeau consists of three stanzas that incorporate a refrain and a specific rhyme
scheme.

The rondeau has many variants, but the one used here has 15 lines broken up into a quintain (five
lines), quatrain (four lines), and a sestet (six lines), with the refrain "We wear the mask" appearing in
last lines of the second and third stanzas.

The rondeau was originally paired with music and dancing, with the refrain being sung. This might be
subtly alluded to by the singing mentioned in line 12. More broadly, given that singing and dancing
are often seen as expressions of joy, the poem's form itself can be thought of as a kind of "mask": even
as the poem describes the emotional pain and suffering, it has a pleasant rhythm and meter. If you
were to hear this poem without paying close attention to the words, you might even be temporarily
enchanted by the steady, bouncy pacing. Like the mask, then, the poem's form is somewhat deceiving.

What's more, given that the poem can be read as speaking specifically to the way black people must
pretend to be content while being oppressed by society, the musicality of the rondeau could also be
seen as a knowing nod towards the offensive trope of the "happy slave." This trope often included
instances of an enslaved black person engaging in song and dance, meant to be a sign of said person's
joy.

Meter
"We Wear the Mask" employs a fairly regular iambic tetrameter. Each line contains eight syllables in
an unstressed-stressed pattern, with the only exceptions being lines 9 and 15.

For example, line 1 is an example of regular iambic tetrameter:

We wear | the mask | that grins | and lies,

The line begins with an unstressed syllable ("We") and follows that with a stressed syllable ("wear").
"We wear" thus represents one iambic foot. The rest of this line follows the same pattern.

Iambs closely mimic the sound of regular English speech, granting the poem a colloquial feel—a
simplicity of sound that belies the complicated, painful themes being broached. The clear, consistent
meter it perhaps itself a kind of "mask" for the turmoil bubbling underneath the surface of the poem.

However, this pattern is broken in lines 9 and 15, when the refrain is introduced. Unlike the rest of the
poem, the refrain is written in iambic dimeter, meaning there are only two iambs in the lines (and just
four syllables total):

We wear | the mask.

The regularity of the meter throughout this poem enhances the intensity of the much shorter refrain. In
other words, in limiting the variation of the meter, the speaker builds expectations that are broken
when introducing the refrain. This, in turn, enhances the importance of the refrain, while preventing
the regularity of the rhyme scheme and meter from sounding too monotonous.
Rhyme Scheme
"We Wear the Mask" employs the rhyme scheme of the 15-line rondeau (though it is important to note
that the rondeau form has many variations). The rhyme scheme is as follows:

AABBA AABC AABBAC

The "C" in this pattern represents the refrain of the rondeau. The first and the last stanza of the poem
follow the exact same rhyme scheme (with the exception of the refrain in the third stanza). Each
stanza opens with a rhyming couplet using the same "A" rhyme, creating a sense of echoing and
internal consistency. Most of this poem also uses perfect rhymes, allowing the reader/listener to focus
more on the ideas being discussed than to get tripped up by overly complicated language.

However, there is one slant rhyme with the word "subtleties" in line 5. This is an important moment
that contributes to the poem's exploration of deception. The nearly-perfect rhyme scheme builds an
expectation of steadiness in the reader, which is then subverted by the slant-rhyme.

This also contributes to sustaining the "subtlety" of expression being described in this line, with the
word itself becoming a nearly-imperceptible moment of subversion: because the word "subtleties"
doesn't rhyme perfectly with "lies" or "eyes," it appears to be out of place. However, to a keen ear, the
slant rhyme suggests a deliberate slip of the mask, allowing the reader to experience the speaker's
expertise in quiet deception.

“We Wear the Mask” Speaker

The speaker of "We Wear the Mask" never refers to an individual self—rather than saying, "I wear the
mask," the speaker only uses the pronoun "we." By using "we," the reader understands that the
speaker is not an outsider or observer, but rather a member of the group being talked about throughout
the poem. The speaker is thus both anonymous and genderless, representative of an entire community
of people rather than a single human being.

Generally, it is important to separate the identity of the poet from the speaker of a poem. However, it
can be safely assumed (based on the context of the time period, the race of the author, and the overall
themes of Dunbar's work at large) that this poem is speaking specifically to the black experience
under white supremacy. In other words, while the reader could extend the "we" to generally represent
any oppressed group, it is perhaps most informative, given the context, to see the "we" as being
representative of the black community.

Many scholars have also noted that "We Wear the Mask" could be linked to Dunbar's more
controversial dialectic work. Dialectics, or dialect, refers to work that seeks to evoke the language of a
particular place or region. Dunbar, for example, would sometimes use a dialect considered specific to
black people in the antebellum South, often referred to as a "Negro dialect." Here is an example from
Dunbar's "A Cabin Tale":

Whut you say, dah? huh, uh! chile,

You's enough to dribe me wile.

Dunbar's use of "Negro dialect" in certain works has been criticized as being inaccurate and used to
appeal to white readers by adopting racial stereotypes. Scholars have argued that this poem in
particular could be Dunbar's way of illustrating that he was well-aware of the prejudices in his
dialectic work and that, perhaps upon a closer read, they expose a more nuanced and abstract portrait
of black experience through the writer himself.

“We Wear the Mask” Setting

"We Wear the Mask" offers little information in regards to physical setting. Although the third stanza
does mention the "clay," beneath the speaker's feet, this image is more metaphorical than literal, as it
is meant to demonstrate the harsh emotional environment surrounding the speaker. That being said,
were the reader to believe that the poem was meant to illustrate the experience of victims of the
United States slave trade, then the environmental details could be interpreted more literally.

The reader could see the poem as taking place during the late 1800s in the United States, as this was
the time and place in which the poem was written. However, the poem is generalized enough that it is
applicable to any point in time in which an oppressed group of people have suffered.

Literary and Historical Context of “We Wear the Mask”

Literary Context
Paul Laurence Dunbar published "We Wear the Mask" in his collection Lyrics of Lowly Life in 1896.
While the poem's language and themes are representative of the majority of Dunbar's writing, the
poet's popularity in the late 1800s had much to do with his work in something called dialectics
(literary work that evokes the language of a specific region or country), especially in regards to his
popularity with white readers.

Dunbar's use of "Negro dialect" is debated among scholars (as is the concept of "Negro dialect" in
general, as many consider it to be a racist caricature). Some argue that Dunbar's dialectic work is both
inaccurate to the groups he seeks to represent and a perpetuation of racist stereotypes meant to attract
white readership. Others counter that his dialectic work represents only a fraction of his literary
output. "We Wear the Mask" is an especially pertinent poem in this conversation, as many believe that
it is Dunbar's way of acknowledging and complicating his dialectic work.

"We Wear the Mask" is also not the only poem in which Dunbar explores his own personal use of the
"mask.""The Poet," for example, describes a poet who "sang of life" in all of its multitudes but was
only praised by "the world" when singing "a jingle in a broken tongue" (that is, in dialect). It appears
that Dunbar struggled with feeling somehow complicit in regards to using racist stereotypes in his
own writing, but simultaneously compelled to continue doing so because it was the only work white
society chose to recognize.

Dunbar's contemporaries included activists and writers W.E.B. Du Bois, Booker T. Washington, and
Frederick Douglass, as well as James D. Corrothers (who wrote poems specifically citing Dunbar,
such as "Me 'n' Dunbar," and "Paul Laurence Dunbar.") and his own wife, poet and musician Alice
Moore Dunbar Nelson. Unlike her husband, Alice was criticized for lacking racial themes in her work,
with her rebuttal being that she intended to expand upon what black literature could look like, citing
that black people could write about more than just the experience of being black or a Southerner.

Famous black poet and activist Maya Angelou cites Dunbar as a major literary influence: the title for
her autobiography, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, is a line from Dunbar's poem, "Sympathy."
Angelou also adapted "We Wear the Mask," in which she expanded upon its themes of race,
oppression, and survival.
Historical Context
Dunbar was a poet of the post-Reconstruction era of the United States. Reconstruction, which lasted
from 1863-1877, was a significant era in the history of civil rights, as it marked the end of both
slavery and the Southern state's secession. The term "Reconstruction" both refers to the era, and also
refers to the attempt at transforming the former Confederate states after the Civil War.

Reconstruction is largely considered a failure by most historians, for various reasons. For one thing,
during this time the "Black Codes" were established in the American South to restrict the
recently-freed black population in an attempt to maintain political and social dominance. The Black
Codes eventually evolved into Jim Crow laws, which established racial segregation. The
Reconstruction era also saw the beginnings of terrorist group the Klu Klux Klan, which targeted black
leaders with racially-motivated violence. Thus, while slavery has been outlawed in the United States
by Dunbar's day, this certainly did not mark an end to the suffering and discrimination of black
Americans.

The year in which "We Wear the Mask" was published—1896—was also the same year in which the
United States Supreme Court upheld the legality of racial segregation, via the Plessy v. Ferguson court
case. Homer Plessy, a biracial man from Louisiana, violated the Separate Car Act, which stated that
white people and black people must ride in separate train cars. The case went to trial and ultimately
resulted in a loss for Plessy, with the Supreme Court establishing that, as long as public facilities were
"equal" in quality, the separation of black people from white people was constitutional.

This emotional impact of this event (and of racial segregation and racism as a whole) roots itself in
"We Wear the Mask," which highlights the coded ways in which the African American people
conducted themselves under white supremacy.

Throughout ‘When I Think About Myself’ readers will find themselves confronted with images of
oppression and control as described in Angelou’s well-known style. She uses techniques like
repetition and enjambment in order to create a pattern to her poem without controlling it with a strict
rhyme scheme. The speaker spends the poem creating allusions suggesting the nature of her life while
also “laughing” at its facts. She is likely an enslaved person or is living a comparable life where she is
at the beck and call of a family, including a child. She laughs at her situation and her suffering as if
trying to come to terms with it but being unable to. She laughs at the lives of her people and the scraps
they get from the work they complete. While it’s easy to simply equate this poem to slavery in the
United States, it’s also important to consider how these lines suggest the African American
community today. Angelou wants readers to think deeply about the long-lasting consequences of these
attitudes.

Themes:
n ‘When I Think About Myself,’ the poet engages with themes of oppression and life, among others.
She alludes to, without directly stating, the oppressed nature of her life and the lives of her people.
She’s in a situation that is dark and seemingly inescapable. She uses words like “death” and “choke”
alongside “laugh” to try to describe what her world is like and how she makes it through the day.
Readers should also take the time to consider the strength of this speaker and how she shows it
through her words.
Structure and Form
‘When I Think About Myself’ by Maya Angelou is a three-stanza poem that is separated into sets of
seven lines. These lines do not make use of a specific rhyme scheme but there are very clear uses of
rhyme in each. For example, in stanza one lines three, five, and six all rhyme with the end words
“joke,” “spoke,” and “choke.” In the second stanza, the same lines rhyme with the words “sake,”
“break,” and “ache.” In the third stanza, it changes and the first and second lines rhyme with “side”
and “died” and lines three and six rhyme with “lying” and “crying.” It should also be noted that the
use of the refrain, “When I think about myself,” creates what’s known as a perfect rhyme. “Myself”
ends lines one and seven of the first stanza and line seven of the second stanza.

Literary Devices
Angelou makes use of several literary devices in ‘When I Think About Myself.’ These include but are
not limited to enjambment, alliteration, and juxtaposition. The first of these is a common formal
device that occurs when the poet cuts off a line before its natural conclusion. For example, the
transition between lines four and five of the first stanza as well as lines one and two of the second
stanza. In both of these instances, as well as in others, the poet forces the reader to jump down to the
next line to find out how the previous concluded.

Alliteration is another common device, one that occurs when the poet repeats the same consonant
sound at the beginning of multiple words. For example, “laugh” and “life” in lines two and three of
the first stanza as well as “proud” and “poor” in lines four and five of the second stanza.

Juxtaposition occurs when the poet places two contrasting images, feelings, or experiences alongside
one another. In this case, Angelou brings together sorrow/death and laughter. She creates a powerful
image of her speaker’s life through this combination.

Analysis, Stanza by Stanza

Stanza One
When I think about myself,
(…)
I laugh so hard I almost choke
When I think about myself.

In the first stanza of ‘When I Think About Myself,’ the speaker begins by using the time that later
came to be used as the title of the poem. It is also the refrain, appearing again at the end of the first
and second stanzas. When the speaker thinks about her life, which she later compares to a dance and a
song, she feels that it’s some sort of “joke.” She can’t stop laughing when she looks over what she’s
done. She almost laughs herself “to death.”
There is a skillful use of juxtaposition in these lines that make the poem disturbing and troubling to
read. The poet’s speaker compares laughing with death and choking. These things are quite dark,
especially when compared with laugher. At this point though, it’s unclear why she’s laughing at her
life or thinking about death.
Lines four and five are also noteworthy. She compares her life to a “dance that’s walked” and “a song
that’s spoke.” Her life has not been what it should’ve been, joyous things like dancing and singing
have been reduced down to walking and speaking.

Stanza Two
Sixty years in these folks’ world
(…)
I laugh until my stomach ache,
When I think about myself.

In the second stanza, the speaker goes on to refer to her age, “sixty,” and to mention “these folks’
world.” This line makes it clear that the speaker feels like an outsider in her life. She’s degraded and
controlled by others, as the next lines assert. She works in a home for a child who “calls” her “girl.”
This disturbing phrase, when considered along with the bulk of Angelou’s other works, evokes an
image of Black enslavement at the hands of white Europeans and Americans.
She uses the word “ma’am” when addressing this child who can tell her what to do because that’s
what the world demands. She does it for “working’s sake.” She’s beyond being broken or bent though,
she adds. She’s too proud and too poor for either.
Stanza Three
My folks can make me split my side,
I laughed so hard I nearly died,
(…)
When I think about my folks.

In the final lines of the poem, the speaker broadens her laughter to include her “folks,” or Black men
and women whose lives are very much like her own. She laughs so much at the thought of them that
she “nearly died” and split her “side.” Their world is absurd in a way that is in this moment depicted
by a woman laughing at the horror. The laughing might also be interpreted as a way of trying to break
up the darkness with joy (albeit joy that doesn’t appear to actually exist).
The lines “they grow the fruit, / But eat the rinds” is also quite evocative. It alludes to the labor her
“folks” engage in and how they receive none of the benefits. They’re left with the scraps.

“In this poem, Angelou presents the perspective of an aging maid to make a statement about Blacks
surviving in a world dominated by whites. The central theme of the poem is self-pride which prevents
one from losing one’s will in spite of experiences involving degradation. The narrator has lived for
more than sixty years in “these folks’ world” and now she chooses to laugh at her painful past, albeit
the laughter chokes, aches, and makes her cry. When I Think About Myself is perhaps the most
famous poem from Angelou’s first poetry collection Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water ‘fore I Die,
which was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.

Summary
When I Think About Myself by Maya Angelou, a celebrated American poet, is a remarkable poem
that alludes to the struggle of her life. Maya begins the poem with a special note about herself. She
says that thinking about herself makes her laugh to death. The juxtaposition of ideas in the opening
lines suggests that her life has not been what it should have been. Expressions like “dance that’s
walked” and “song that spoke” hints her discontent as the most joyous moments are reduced to
something ordinary.

The second stanza further sheds light on her distress when she says that she has spent sixty years in a
world that makes her feel like an outsider. She does everything to please others with a resultant loss of
eternal joy. After talking specifically about herself, she extends her laughter to include her folks or the
black community who share the same phenomenon. The thought of her community once again made
her laugh so hard that she nearly died. The world’s absurdity is reflected clearly in the poem’s final
lines; it makes a woman laugh during her worst times. While thinking about the struggle of her
community makes her laugh apparently, but deep inside, she cries and mourns.

“When I Think About Myself” Themes

“When I Think About Myself” by Maya Angelou carries various themes, including man versus the
world, the absurdity of the world, the struggle of the black community, and the distress of a person.
This short and straightforward poetic piece makes the reader reflect upon the lives of African
Americans who gave their best to the world, but their sacrifices could not bring them the desired
status. The thought of being an outsider in a world where the speaker has spent her whole life makes
her laugh to death.

First, she laughs a lot thinking about her life and the way she spent it. As the poem goes on, she
broadens her laughter and adds the misfortune of her community into her laughter. Their struggle to
please the world, living standards and unfulfilled desires make her laugh and cry simultaneously. To
make the readers understand her unexpressed grief, she alludes to the labor of the blacks in the final
lines. She laments the way they are engaged in hard labor without receiving the benefits of their hard
work.

“When I Think About Myself”, Conclusion

“When I Think About Myself” by Maya Angelou is a thought-provoking poem that questions the
unjust approach of the world. The ironic laughter of the speaker leaves various questions for the world
to answer. First, she wonders about the cruelty, brutality, and insanity of the world that fails to
appreciate and acknowledge the hard work of her community. The industrious people of her
community strived to benefit the world through ages, sustaining hardships and austerity. But,
unfortunately, the whites retained the formal prerogative power to stop her folks from making
progress. These injustices, discrimination, and prejudice make her laugh until her inner grief shines in
her tears.