tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post5965582806942481915..comments2024-03-26T01:52:45.563-07:00Comments on Fred's Place: Paul Lawrence Dunbar: "The Mystery"Fredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10233846613173866140noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post-43171832831067888012017-07-24T10:11:26.204-07:002017-07-24T10:11:26.204-07:00Sharon--fear not. I had to read it several times ...Sharon--fear not. I had to read it several times also.<br /><br />As you point out, there are two ways of thinking about his situation. And, the gap between the two is unbridgeable or so it seems to me. <br /><br /> Fredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10233846613173866140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post-63658932309941303732017-07-24T08:28:12.066-07:002017-07-24T08:28:12.066-07:00R.T., I checked and it's that way in my copy ...R.T., I checked and it's that way in my copy of it. Perhaps it's a typo. Or, perhaps the first time, Power refers to the deity while the second time it refers to a power that isn't there and therefore is not a deity. A stretch I reaize.<br /><br />Yes, it initially refers to his status, but I think it also can be generalized to much of humanity.<br />Fredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10233846613173866140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post-41612211852875613072017-07-24T08:18:30.334-07:002017-07-24T08:18:30.334-07:00Mudpuddle, that could be.
You say that he realiz...Mudpuddle, that could be. <br /><br />You say that he realized he wore a mask--that suggests that he didn't deliberately decide to hide himself in the first place. Something out there caused him to begin wearing the mask. Is this what you're suggesting or am I over-reading again?<br /><br />I wonder why we or many of us feel the need to wear a mask. Fredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10233846613173866140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post-19506422646229444532017-07-24T08:12:33.897-07:002017-07-24T08:12:33.897-07:00Hi Fred. I'm not very good at poetry and I ha...Hi Fred. I'm not very good at poetry and I had to read the poem a couple of times. <br /><br />On the one hand he seems to refer to a Power that denies him his desire, but later states that people who believe in a guiding Power are faking it.<br /><br />So maybe he believes in the higher Power but an un-involved or indifferent one. <br /><br />Yet he may need to consider (I guess he's dead now) that those who claim to be lead are not "feigning" but rather he is deaf and blind to the guidance, since it demands a surrender of the will.Sharon Wilfonghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17466621290140789056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post-4835509596565421362017-07-24T07:52:24.491-07:002017-07-24T07:52:24.491-07:00Fred, Dunbar does tap into that essential existent...Fred, Dunbar does tap into that essential existential human dilemma: here and now and Power. I wonder why Dunbar capitalizes Power the first time but not the second time. <br /><br />Regarding "masks" in the other poem, consider his need as a black man to fit in (survive) among everyone in a society dominated not by black men. RTDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17113953356514605424noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post-37356880444420176842017-07-23T18:51:26.146-07:002017-07-23T18:51:26.146-07:00actually, i got the impression that the poem resul...actually, i got the impression that the poem resulted from Dunbar's realization that he himself wore a mask and that that awareness allowed him to see a similar behavior in others...Mudpuddlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17194891656971454279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post-72651192930017005942017-07-23T17:08:23.781-07:002017-07-23T17:08:23.781-07:00Mudpuddle,
I haven't read that much by Steven...Mudpuddle,<br /><br />I haven't read that much by Stevens, so I never noticed that in him. However, I shall keep that in mind when I next dip into his poetry.<br /><br />Doesn't Dunbar's narrator speak about a conscious decision to wear the mask? Therefore, I'm not too clear about it being unconscious or about the "distance" you mention.<br /><br />I would agree that a considerable amount of our behavior is such that we aren't aware of it, but I don't think Dunbar's narrator is talking about that in Masks.<br /><br />Over time, perhaps, one might notice inconsistencies in the person if the mask "slips" now and then, which might give one a clue as to what is behind the mask. <br />Fredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10233846613173866140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post-27760627053845926452017-07-23T12:21:04.475-07:002017-07-23T12:21:04.475-07:00Stevens seems to me to have that "eternity in... Stevens seems to me to have that "eternity in a grain of sand" approach in much the same way as Dunbar; just better hidden below metaphorical and ancillary ideas: kind of a poetic overgloss that smears his intention somewhat...<br /> "Mask" speaks of the learned armor that everyone uses to relate to the world, social mainly... often these learned behaviors are completely unconscious; it takes a certain amount of distance to perceive others as they really are... if that makes any sense... i'm remembering the ancient tale of the Spartan youth who allowed the captured fox to chew on his stomach without revealing any agony on his face or body... one of those old tales that applies to everyone, i think...Mudpuddlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17194891656971454279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post-66749898382295518822017-07-22T19:39:37.096-07:002017-07-22T19:39:37.096-07:00Mudpuddle,
Just out of curiosity, why Wallace Ste...Mudpuddle,<br /><br />Just out of curiosity, why Wallace Stevens for comparison?<br /><br />I would say Stevens is more intellectual, while Dunbar is more on the feeling or emotional level. <br /><br />I have posted a number of Dunbar's poems here. It would be interesting to hear how you compare them. I would especially like to hear what you think of his "We Wear the Mask." That's the one that got me interested in Dunbar. <br />Fredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10233846613173866140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post-1686681079763990702017-07-22T19:30:54.470-07:002017-07-22T19:30:54.470-07:00pretty good... how would you compare Dunbar with ...pretty good... how would you compare Dunbar with Wallace Stevens? just curious...Mudpuddlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17194891656971454279noreply@blogger.com