Page 329 - SpringBoard_ELA_Grade7_Flipbook

ACTIvITy 4.9
putting on the mask
leArNING sTrATeGIes:
Marking the Text, SIFT, Summarizing, Rereading, Rehearsing
About the Author
The son of former slaves, Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872–1907) was the first African American writer to earn his living solely by writing poetry and fiction. He was also the first to gain a national audience of mostly white readers.
poetry
guile: deception
myriad: numerous, countless
Word CoNNeCTIoNs
Cognates
The noun mask means “something worn to cover the face” or “a pretense to hide true feelings or character.” The verb mask means “cover with a mask” or “hide, conceal.” The adjective masked means “wearing a mask; hidden.” These English words come from the same root as the Spanish words una máscara, enmascarar, and enmascarado.
my Notes
Learning Targets
• Analyze a poem for symbols, imagery, figurative language, tone, and theme.
• Create a visual interpretation of a text using symbols and imagery to convey tone.
Preview
In this activity, you will read a poem and think about symbols and imagery. Then you will use symbols and imagery to create a visual interpretation of a text.
Setting a Purpose for Reading
• As you read the poem, underline words and phrases that describe emotions or that have strong connotations.
• Circle unknown words and phrases. Try to determine the meaning of the words by using context clues, word parts, or a dictionary.
Mask by Paul Laurence Dunbar
We Wear the
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We wear the mask that grins and lies,
It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,— This debt we pay to human guile;
With torn and bleeding hearts we smile, And mouth with myriad subtleties.
Why should the world be over-wise,
In counting all our tears and sighs?
Nay, let them only see us, while
We wear the mask.
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; But let the world dream otherwise,
We wear the mask!
302 SpringBoard® English Language Arts Grade 7
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