How would the poem “We Wear the Mask” be different if Paul Laurence Dunbar had written it in more informal language or without as much structure?

"The mask" mentioned in the poem is a facade Dunbar says is "worn" by African Americans in society. This "mask" portrays one set of socially acceptable emotions and behaviors, regardless of what a person may actually be feeling.

The formal, elevated diction of the poem reflects this idea. Although the African Americans who wear "the mask" likely speak in a less formal dialect common in Dunbar's other works, that way of speaking is not "respectable" or allowed in White society. Much like these people must wear the mask, they must also speak in a way that plays up their "respectability" and hides their own cultural practices and way of speaking. Therefore, the diction of the poem reinforces its theme in a way that a more informal diction could not.

Explanation:

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