Extended Metaphor

An ordinary metaphor asserts a comparison between two things without using words such as “like” or “as” to make the association. An extended metaphor functions in the same way, but it differs in the amount of space devoted to its development. Whereas an ordinary metaphor may be mentioned in passing, an extended metaphor unfolds over the course of many lines. In the case of “We Wear the Mask,” the speaker sustains an extended metaphor over the course of the entire poem. Perhaps unsurprisingly, this metaphor revolves around the mask mentioned in the poem’s opening stanza:

     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 mouth with myriad subtleties.

In these lines (lines 1–5), the speaker describes the act of wearing a mask that conceals what a person really feels. Although they and their companions suffer from “torn and bleeding hearts,” they sport a mask with a large grin on it. The speaker sustains the same metaphor in the stanzas that follow, continuously insisting that they and their companions “wear the mask.” Of course, neither the speaker nor the members of the group for which they speak wears a literal mask. Rather, they use the mask figuratively, to describe how they hide their true feelings of pain and suffering behind a sunny disposition.

Refrain

A unique feature of the rondeau verse form is the fact that it requires the use of a refrain. In poetry, the term refrain refers to any word, phrase, line, or group of lines that gets repeated over the course of a poem. In a 15-line rondeau like Dunbar’s poem, the refrain appears three times, each in a predetermined place. Traditionally, the poem begins with the phrase that will reappear later as the refrain. In most cases, though, the refrain only takes up half the first line. Dunbar follows this model in the opening of his poem: “We wear the mask that grins and lies” (line 1). Only the first half of this line will return later in the poem, at the end of the second and third stanzas (i.e., lines 9 and 15). In both cases, the refrain appears on its own, creating two half-lines—that is, two lines of iambic dimeter rather than iambic tetrameter. The refrain “We wear the mask” is significant because it announces the speaker’s desire to protect themself by concealing their true feelings. Of course, the refrain also gives the poem its title.

Rhetorical Question

The speaker of “We Wear the Mask” asks a rhetorical question at the beginning of the second stanza. Rhetorical questions aren’t generally meant to be answered. Rather, writers use them to make a point or create a dramatic effect. In this case, the speaker asks a rhetorical question to reiterate their larger point about the importance of concealing their real feelings: “Why should the world be over-wise / In counting all our tears and sighs?” (lines 6–7). Essentially, the speaker is asking why they should allow the outside world to see their pain. But even as they ask the question, it’s already clear that there’s no good reason why. It’s worth noting that the speaker uses a metrical variation to place extra emphasis on their rhetorical question. Up to this point, each line in the poem has displayed perfectly regular iambic tetrameter. However, the first line of the second stanza begins with a trochee (line 6):

     Why should | the world | be o- | ver-wise[?]

The introduction of a trochee in the first foot provides a pleasing rhythmic variation, since it creates a subtle syncopation before returning to an iambic flow. More importantly, though, this deviation ensures that emphasis is placed on the question-word, “why.”

Apostrophe

Apostrophe (uh-PAW-struh-FEE) is a rhetorical figure in which a speaker makes a direct and explicit address, usually to an absent person or to an object or abstract entity. In the third stanza of “We Wear the Mask,” the speaker makes just such a direct address to Christ: “We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries / To thee from tortured souls arise” (lines 10–11). The speaker’s apostrophe to Christ is significant for two reasons. First, the address introduces a religious element to the poem, indicating that the speaker belongs to a community that is partly characterized by its Christian faith. Second, the address suggests that the community’s faith has been challenged by certain social, political, and/or economic conditions that have conspired to make them suffer. The religious reference become more significant as the stanza continues and the speaker evokes the treacherous spiritual path that lies ahead: “We sing, but oh the clay is vile / Beneath our feet, and long the mile” (lines 12–13). The speaker trudges forward on their painful path to salvation, praying to Christ for deliverance from an earthly suffering made especially intolerable by their community’s marginalized status.