Paul Laurence Dunbar Poem Analysis

What the author was trying to do in this poem was describe what him and his people go through on a day to day basis. There are multiple patterns that show such an idea which is the title, the “pain” words, and others such as religious, face, and negative words.

Paul Laurence Dunbar talks uses the word “we” a lot which means he is talking about him and his people in the story, how “we wear the mask” and “we smile, but, O great Christ, our cries” and “we sing”. These words and phrases describe that the author and his people go through the same struggles everyday but wear a mask to hide their true feelings so they can continue to fight everyday.

Paul and his people also go through pains day in and day out throughout the poem. He