Paul Laurence Dunbar, addresses the cold issues of African Americans in the lyric poem "We Wear the Mask." In this poem, Dunbar connects imagery, rhythm, rhyme, and word choice to establish a connection with the reader. From reading the poem one can deduce that Mr. Dunbar is speaking generally about the misery that many people keep hidden under a smile that they wear very well. But if one were to go further and take the time to research Mr. Dunbar's selection of this piece and the era in which this poem was written, one would come to understand that this poem focuses entirely on Paul's views Laurence Dunbar on racial prejudice and the fight for equality for African Americans of his time. Although this analysis is not based on the meaning of this poem, it is necessary that in order to demonstrate the sound of the analysis, one must first understand the poem. To begin, it is possible to demonstrate that the sound of this poem contributes strongly to an effect on the message of this piece. This poem contains traditional meter. All lines of the poem, except lines nine and 15, are in iambic tetrameter. In this metrical scheme, a line has four pairs of stressed and unstressed syllables, for a total of eight syllables. This is relevant for the force of poetry to operate dynamically. The poem speaks in a tenor of veiled confessions. For so long, the narrator finally speaks openly, honestly, and doesn't hold back. Yet even if what has been hidden eventually comes out, there is still this mask, a facade that is being worn. In sequence, the last words of each of the verses, once again, with the exception of verses 9 and 15, are all rhythmic, "lies, eyes, cunning, smile, subtleties, too wise, sighs, shouts, arise, cowardly.. . .... half a sheet ... even once we speak of blacks or racial prejudices. frustrated black man. In other words, it removes all facade and all deception. What remains then is a poem that obscures and reveals all at the same time. However, if the reader sees the narrator as a sort of universal voice, rather than as a specific man, then the paradox does not hold. Ultimately, the overall language could be about anyone, of any race, veiling their emotions to move forward in the world. the concept alone would not be possible, without the sounds and visual images that have a strong impact in this piece. Works Cited http://www.bookrags.com/essay-2005/11/8/10054/0623