“We Wear the Mask”
by: Paul Laurence Dunbar

DIRECTIONS: Read the text below, and complete the TPCASTT chart in the margin. Then, answer the questions below the poem.

T-Title:
Make a prediction of what the poem will be about before you read it.

We Wear the Mask

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 a 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!

guile- deception
myriad- numerous, countless
P-Paraphrase:
Explain the poem in your own words.


C-Connotation- (word choice) List positive and negative words and figurative language below.
Positive words-

Negative words-

Figurative language-

A-Attitude:
What tone of voice does the speaker have?


S-Shifts:
Does anything shift/change from the beginning to the end of the poem?


T-Title:
What does the title mean now that you’ve read the poem?


T-Theme:
What is the theme or lesson about life you can learn from the poem?


Identify an example of alliteration in the poem. (alliteration is words near each other that start with the same sound)
An example of alliteration in this poem is,

What is your opinion or impression of the poem? Explain your response.