"We Wear The Mask"
Which literary term refers to: "The message the author wants you the reader to take away from the text."
Is it POINT OF VIEW or THEME?
What is theme?
What will you use to determine the meaning of an unknown word if/when you encounter one on the EOG?
What can be inferred from the following lines?
Why should the world be over-wise
In counting all our tears and sighs
Nay, let them only see us, while
We wear a mask
What is the speaker thinks no one needs to know how we really feel inside?
The "paragraphs" or divisions in poems are known as
Is it prose or stanzas?
What are stanzas?
Who is the Author?
Is it Paul Laurence Dunbar or is it Langston Hughes?
What is Paul Laurence Dunbar?
In the poem, "We Wear the Mask," what is the "mask" the speaker speaks of?
What is the fake front or false face we put on to hide our feelings?
What does "tortured" mean in the following lines:
We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries/To Thee from tortured souls arise?"
What are suffering, pain, and anguish we feel?
What is MOST LIKELY the author's theme in the poem?
Is it "masking personal feelings is never a good idea because it causes pain and anguish," or "all people wear a mask when they want to hide how they truly feel?"
What is "all people wear a mask when they want to hide how they truly feel?"
According to the poem, the metaphoric mask in the poem is worn for what reason?
Is it to cover up wrongdoing OR as a survival strategy?
What is survival strategy?
How many stanzas are in the poem?
What are three?
Why is "We Wear The Mask" repeated throughout the poem?
What is because it is important, significant, and the author wants to drive home the point to readers.
What does the word "over-wise" mean in
"Why should the world be over-wise"
What is know too much about something or someone?
In the lines, "Nay, let THEM" only see us while We Wear the Mask" the "THEM" refers to...
Mask makers, dark forces, people who must mask their feelings, or society
What is society?
Is it AABCA, AABBC, or ABABAB?
How many lines are in the poem?
What are 15?
What is to hide our true feelings from others so we put on a fake "face" to hide our emotions.
What does the word guile mean in the context of: The debt we pay to human guile?
CHOOSE 1: "A sudden movement," "human innocence," "human cunningness," or "acts of kindness."
What is human cunningness?
Based on the poem and the following lines, what is the TONE of the poem?
"Why should the world be overwise, in counting all our tears and signs? Nay, let them only see us, while We wear the mask."
What is bitter or serious? (ANSWERS VARY...NO POSITIVES TONES THOUGH)
The speaker in the poem is speaking from first person point of view. Which words help us know that?
We wear the mask that grins and lies, it hides our cheeks and shades our eyes
What are "we" and "our?"
Why is wearing "the mask" considered a lie?
What is we over up our real emotions, suffering, and feelings from the world by pretending everything is fine?
What line shows the speaker's point of view on masks?
In counting all our tears and sighs?
It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes
We wear the mask.
Nay, only let them see us, while We wear the mask,
What is "Nay, only let them see us, while We wear the mask,"
What does "debt" mean in the following lines:
"This debt we pay to human guile;/With torn and bleeding hearts we smile."
What is the "price we pay" or "cost" we pay to society when we don't wear a mask so they can be entertained by our suffering.
Which supports the theme of the poem?
CHOOSE 1: "This debt we pay to human guile" OR "Why should the world be over-wise, in counting our tears and sighs?"
What is "Why should the world be over-wise, in counting our tears and sighs?"
The speaker is not talking about a real mask; it is a figurative mask. It functions as a cover for our feelings.
Comparing two things without using like or as is a
simile or metaphor
What is a metaphor?
We have one more holiday off before summer break. What holiday is it?
What is Memorial Day?