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We Wear the Mask Worksheet - One Pot Learning | Resources ... Flipbook PDF
"We Wear the Mask" Worksheet Name:_____ Date:_____ Read the poem and answer the questions below. We Wear the M
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"We Wear the Mask" Worksheet Name:___________________
Date:_____________
Read the poem and answer the questions below. We Wear the Mask By Paul Laurence Dunbar
4. We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries Find the alliteration in the line above:
1 We wear the mask that grins and lies, 2 It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,— 3 This debt we pay to human guile; 4 With torn and bleeding hearts we smile, 5 And mouth with myriad subtleties. 6 Why should the world be over-wise, 7 In counting all our tears and sighs? 8 Nay, let them only see us, while 9 We wear the mask. 10 We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries 11 To thee from tortured souls arise. 12 We sing, but oh the clay is vile 13 Beneath our feet, and long the mile; 14 But let the world dream otherwise, 15 We wear the mask! Let's figure out the rhyme scheme or pattern.
________________________________________________ 5. Consonance is similar consonant sounds. Alliteration is similar consonant sounds at the beginning of words, so alliteration is a special type of consonance. Let's find consonance that's not at the beginning of words. It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes In the line above you have consonance in the dz-sound in the words hides and shades. Try to find another example of consonance at the end of two words in that same line: ________________________________________________ 6. Assonance is similar vowel sounds in nearby words. We wear the mask that grins and lies, It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,—
1. Lines 1 and 2 rhyme at the end with lies and eyes. Lines 6 In the two lines above you have the long i-sound in the and 7 have the same rhyme with over-wise and sighs. Find words lies, hides, eyes. three more lines that rhyme with lines 1, 2, 6 and 7 and write the line numbers: Where does assonance occur in the line below? ________________________________________________ Beneath our feet, and long the mile; 2. Find five more lines that rhyme with each other and write the line numbers: ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ 7. Where does assonance occur in the line below? Alliteration, consonance, and assonance
We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries
3. Alliteration is the same beginning consonant sound in nearby words. For example, in "crazy ketchup" both words begin with the hard c or k sound.
________________________________________________ 8. Now for a little meter.
Nay, let them only see us, while We wear the mask. Find the alliteration in the above two lines (look at the beginning sounds of words):
We wear || the mask || that grins || and lies, da DUM || da DUM || da DUM || da DUM
Notice that the second syllable (the bolded parts) is stressed. ________________________________________________ You say those syllables more loudly and with more emphasis. This creates a special rhythm. If you were to play this on a drum, you would beat every second syllable harder than the one before -- da DUM || da DUM || da DUM || da DUM.
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Each unstressed and stressed syllable (da DUM) is called an iamb. There are four of them, so this meter is called iambic tetrameter ("tetra" means four). 1 2 3 4 It hides || our cheeks || and shades || our eyes,— 1 2 3 unstressed stressed || unstressed stressed || unstressed 4 stressed || unstressed stressed
them. Find three more.
Underline the syllables that are stressed in the line below:
what does he mean by "human guile"?
This debt we pay to human guile; Is this iambic tetrameter or something else?
________________________________________________ 15. The person speaking in the poem is called the speaker. It is not always the poet though it could be. When the speaker says, This debt we pay to human guile;
________________________________________________ 16. How do we pay off our debt to human guile? by doing what?
9. Underline the syllables that are stressed in the line below: ________________________________________________ We wear the mask!
17. What kind of figure of speech is contained in this line?
*Bonus question!* Is this iambic tetrameter? If not, what is ________________________________________________ it called? 18. In this line, Now we're going to try to figure out what this poem means or is trying to say. To do that you have to first look up any And mouth with myriad subtleties. words you don't know. what part of speech is "mouth"? 10. Write down the meaning of the six underlined words in the poem. Be sure to choose the definition in the dictionary a. adjective that fits the meaning of the word as it is used in the poem. b. noun Also, write the part of speech of the word, as it is used in the c. verb poem. The first one has been done for you: d. adverb e. none of the above guile (noun) skillful deceit or trickery 19. What does "mouth" mean in the line above? 11. Now write a sentence using each word you looked up in #10. a. part of the body that we eat and speak with b. to speak 12. Research: Read about the life of Paul Lawrence Dunbar c. to frown on the internet. Who do you think "we" refers to in the d. to smile poem? In other words, who is "we"? e. none of the above ________________________________________________ 13. True or false? The mask that "we" wear is a mask that shows our suffering and misery. Find at least two lines that support your answer:
20. In the following lines, Why should the world be over-wise, In counting all our tears and sighs? what does "over-wise" mean?
________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________
a. too knowing b. too smart-alecky c. finished d. upside down e. none of the above
14. We wear a mask to deceive other people, so they don't know what we really feel or think. Find the words in the first stanza that suggest deception. lies and hides are two of
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21. True or false? In the above two lines, the speaker is asking why should the world know how miserable "we" actually are.
28. If you have done your research on Paul Lawrence Dunbar, you should know that he was an African American poet who was born in the late 1800s and died at the age of 33 in 1906. So, he was born not too long after the end of the Civil War and the emancipation of slaves. The "we" in the 22. True or false? The speaker says that "we" should take poem most likely represents the African Americans suffering off the mask so the world can see "our" real selves. Write from racism and discrimination. Why do you think "we" -below the line or lines that support your answer: African Americans -- wear the mask? Do they have to wear a mask? What would happen if they didn't wear a mask and ________________________________________________ showed the world how much they suffered? Write a short paragraph to answer this question. ________________________________________________ 29. Can the "we" stand for everyone? Do other people, 23. In the following lines, besides African Americans, wear a mask? Do they hide what they really feel? What about you? Do you think you wear a We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries mask sometimes? Write a short paragraph to answer this To thee from tortured souls arise. question. who is "thee"? ________________________________________________ 24. *Bonus question!* In the above lines, the speaker addresses Christ as if Christ were there with him. What kind of rhetorical device is this where someone who is absent is addressed? ________________________________________________ 25. True or false? Underneath the happy mask, "we" are really suffering and miserable. Find at least two quotes that support your answer: ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ 26. In the line, But let the world dream otherwise, the speaker is saying the world should be allowed to a. believe that "we" are happy b. believe that "we" are miserable c. dream whatever the world wants to dream d. none of the above 27. Wearing a mask is a metaphor for what? (Hint: What is meant by wearing a mask? Is someone literally wearing a real mask?)
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"We Wear the Mask" Worksheet Answers 1. lines 10, 11, 14 2. lines 3, 4, 8, 12, 13 3. the w-sound in while we / Wear 4. the hard c-sound in Christ ... cries 5. the s-sound at the end of cheeks...eyes 6. the long e-sound in beneath...feet 7. the long i-sound in smile...Christ...cries 8. This debt we pay to human guile; -- Yes, it's iambic tetrameter 9. No, it's iambic dimeter (2 feet to a meter). 10. myriad (adjectives) very many, a great number of subtleties (noun) something that is deceptive or devious nay (adverb) an archaic word for "no" vile (adjective) disgusting, extremely unpleasant, miserably poor and degrading otherwise (adverb) in another way; differently 11. Sentences should use the word with the meanings above. 12. "We" refers to African Americans of Dunbar's time suffering from racism and discrimination 13. False, " We wear the mask that grins..."; " With torn and bleeding hearts we smile"; "We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries"; "We sing, but oh the clay is vile" (any three) 14. shades, guile, subtleties 15. human deception or human trait of tricking people into believing a falsehood 16. by wearing a mask; in other words, by pretending to be happy on the outside when we are really suffering on the inside 17. personification (human guile, an abstract idea, is given the human trait being able to receive payment for debt, to being owed a debt) 18. c 19. b 20. a 21. True 22. False, "Nay, let them only see us, while / We wear the mask." OR "But let the world dream otherwise," 23. Christ 24. apostrophe 25. True, "With torn and bleeding hearts we smile,"; "Why should the world be over-wise, / In counting all our tears and sighs?"; "We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries / To thee from tortured souls arise."; "We sing, but oh the clay is vile / Beneath our feet, and long the mile;" (any two) 26. a 27. Wearing a mask is a metaphor for hiding one's true thoughts and feelings and showing something different on the outside to the world. 28. Answers may vary somewhat. One answer might be: During the time period in which the poet lived, African Americans had to, in a sense, wear a mask to get along with white people. White people were responsible for the suffering of African Americans through racism and discrimination, so if blacks didn't wear a mask and the whites saw their suffering they would be disturbed in their idea that all was well. This could have provoked white people into treating African Americans even worse than they were treated because people often grow angry and lash out when their wrongs are held up to them. Another answer might be: African Americans might have worn a mask or hidden their suffering out of a sense of privacy or dignity or pride. Most people usually do not want to show everyone that they are suffering as it could be an admission of weakness or lack of self-control over their emotions. 28. Answers may vary. (Of course, African Americans are not the only ones to wear a mask. Anyone could wear a mask, so the experience described in the poem could be universalized and applied to all people.)
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