The Poetry of Paul Laurence Dunbar We Wear the Mask and...

Paul Laurence Dunbar was born in a northern town near Dayton, Ohio on June 27, 1872 (Brawley 12). His parents instilled in him the value of an education, and he excelled at the all-white Dayton Central High-school where he held the titles of class president, the president of the school literary society, and the editor of the schools newspaper (15). Dunbar was extremely well learned; he spoke and wrote in Standard English, but just as often his poetry was written in black dialect. As one of the first professional African American literary figures (Baym 1038), Paul Laurence Dunbars poetry consists of two distinct styles: his dialect pieces with the simple rhyme schemes of the ballad lyrical form, such as his 1897 poem When Malindy†¦show more content†¦In all this is Paul Laurence Dunbar and his poetry. In terms of Dunbar’s poetry, the two-ness Du Bois wrote about applies to the contradictory form and content of both Dunbar’s dialect poetry, as well as his poetry that for my purpose I will put in the category of â€Å"classical.† When Malindy Sings, a dialect piece, does not use Standard English, and is written from the perspective of poor African Americans (Dunbar 1039). We Wear the Mask, a classical style poem, has more complex rhyming and meter, and is written in what is perceivably Dunbar’s voice (Dunbar 1043). In accordance with Du Bois’ definition of double-consciousness, the African American has no true self-consciousness, but does have one that is more true to the self than the other (â€Å"the other† here being how one sees one’s self through the eyes of white America). Being that Dunbar was an African American at the turn of the century, one may assume that Dunbar’s dialect poetry is most true to his â€Å"self† over his â€Å"classical† style, but this is not true. The content and style of Dunbar’s dialect poetry is riddled with incomplete phrasing, poor diction, and is not what he experienced and learned growing up in Dayton, Ohio excelling at an all-white high school. For example, in his dialect poem When Malindy Sings (1897), Dunbar wrote what is assumed to be natural organs as â€Å"nachel o’gans.† (1039).