Named source · 1896

We Wear the Mask Quotes by Paul Laurence Dunbar: Context & Meanings

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We wear the mask that grins and lies, It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,—

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“We wear the mask that grins and lies, It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,—”

Paul Laurence Dunbar

Meaning & context

Dunbar’s collective speaker describes a public performance that conceals pain, making outward appearance and inward suffering deliberately diverge.

Source details

“We Wear the Mask,” represented in Lyrics of Lowly Life (1896) on Wikisource. The poem’s collective voice and historical reception connect concealment with racial and social pressure; it should not be reduced to personal dishonesty or a generic “fake people” slogan.

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