We Wear the Mask Quizzes

We Wear the Mask Quiz

By Eunice Lee · Edited by James Cooper · Last reviewed December 07, 2020

1 Which of the following best summarizes the main idea of this poem?

Humanity is inherently kind and loving.

It is dishonest and condemnable to act in a way that belies one's true intentions.

Empathy and altruism are universal values honored by people of all cultures.

To survive a world of injustice, the oppressed must often conceal their pain from their apathetic oppressors.
2 In what year was this poem published?

1893

1895

1896

1894
3 Which of the following best describes the meter of this poem?

Iambic tetrameter

Iambic pentameter

Trochaic pentameter

Iambic tetrameter
4 Which of the following is NOT a major theme of this poem?

War

Racial performance

Trauma

Community
5 Which of the following contains an example of alliteration?

"With torn and bleeding hearts we smile"

"In counting all our tears and sighs?"

"Beneath our feet, and long the mile"

“Why should the world be over-wise”
6 Which of the following INCORRECTLY describes the argument this poem makes about race?

White America can be apathetic and ignorant toward racial injustice.

Racism can easily be overcome through compassion.

Racism often leads to the development of a double consciousness.

Racial injustice oppresses the speech and self-expression of Black Americans.
7 Which of the following literary elements is NOT featured in this poem?

Assonance

Alliteration

Metonymy

Onomatopoeia
8 Which of the following takes place in the final two lines of the poem?

The masqueraders reiterate their wish to keep the rest of the world away from the truth of their masks.

The masqueraders are finally able to sleep after after intense physical labor.

The masqueraders must regulate their speech and actions in the presence of their oppressors.

The masqueraders are toiling in the fields.
9 How many lines does this poem contain?

15

13

14

16
10 Which of the following is a hyperbole?

"But let the world dream otherwise"

"We wear the mask that grins and lies"

"We sing, but oh the clay is vile"

“And mouth with myriad subtleties"
11 Which of the following best describes the form of the poem?

Petrarchan sonnet

Haiku

Villanelle

Rondeau
12 Which of the following best describes the setting of the poem?

Unspecified for most of the poem; agricultural and migratory in Stanza 3

Gothic, haunted, dark

Urban, developed, densely populated

Paradisiacal, Edenic, verdant
13 Which of the following INCORRECTLY describes the conflict taking place in the poem?

Those who wear the mask vs. those who do not and are unable to understand those who do

Those who make the mask vs. those who wear the mask

Black suffering vs. racial injustice in white America

The impression of contentment given off by the mask vs. the suffering hidden behind the mask
14 Which of the following best describes the tone of the speaker?

Humorous, sarcastic, playful

Happy, enthusiastic, ebullient, hopeful

Assertive, critical, forceful, defiant, mournful

Soft, sentimental, nostalgic, enamored
15 Where is the climax of the poem?

The end of Stanza 1

Stanza 2

Stanza 3

The beginning of Stanza 1
16 In which collection was this poem published?

Majors and Minors

Oak and Ivy

Lyrics of the Hearthside

Lyrics of Lowly Life
17 Which of the following INCORRECTLY describes this poem?

It is written in standard English.

It is written in an African-American dialect.

It features Biblical language.

It is written in the first person plural voice.
18 Which of the following best describes the author?

A postcolonial poet of the late twentieth century

An Irish modernist poet of the early twentieth century

A Black American poet of the late-nineteenth- and early-twentieth century

A romantic poet of the early nineteenth century
19 Which of the following is NOT an example of rhyme from this poem?

"lies/eyes"

"cries/arise"

"guile/smile"

"vile/bile"
20 The line "And mouth with myriad subtleties" does NOT feature which of the following?

Hyperbole

A portrayal of verbal oppression

Metonymy

Alliteration
21 When "the world dream[s] otherwise," it does which of the following?

Treat the masqueraders with ignorance and apathy

Experience the same injustice as the masqueraders

Empathize with those who must wear the mask

Develop fantasies about parades and masquerades
22 "We smile, but, O great Christ, / our cries To thee from tortured souls arise" is an example of which of the following?

Shakespearean allusion

Legal allusion

Mythical allusion

Biblical allusion
23 Which of the following is NOT a motif or symbol found in this poem?

The mask

The Bible

Vegetation

Disembodiment
24 Where does the situational irony of this poem lie?

Between the past and the present of the masqueraders

Between the emotions communicated by the mask and those that lie behind the mask

Between what is expected of Christ and what he does

Between what is said by the oppressors and what they intend
25 Which of the following best describes the reception of the book in which this poem was published?

The book was coldly dismissed by critics and the public.

"We Wear the Mask" instantly became the most popular piece from the book.

The book was banned from schools.

A famous critic praised Dunbar for his dialect poems in the book.

Essays for We Wear the Mask

We Wear the Mask essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of We Wear the Mask by Paul Laurence Dunbar.

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