Paul Laurence Dunbar
(1872-1906)

Paul Dunbar A Critical Review

by
Kay Combs

Millikin University, PACE
EN 340, Studies in Poetry
Dr. Randy Brooks, Ph.D.

January 9, 2006

Paul Laurence Dunbar, born June 27, 1872, in Dayton, Ohio, was well known for his poetry of romantic verse. I picked this up immediately upon being introduced to this author. Having read only a few of his poems, at that time, I was unaware of the versatility of this author. Having now indulged in many of his works I have made several opinions about them, which I wish to share.

First, I wish to share some insightful background information about Paul Laurence Dunbar which I feel accounts for the slant in his writing. In Victor Lawson’s book, Dunbar Critically Examined, he states that Dunbar copies the writing’s of Tennyson and Poe instead of using his own original ideas. Also Dunbar, criticized by Lawson and other literary experts, used the “plantation tradition” writing style, often distorting factual accounts of history. Remember though, both Dunbar’s parents were former slaves, (Brown 1937). His parents recounted many stories about what it was like to be a slave on a plantation during its time of glory. Fond memories of the Master on the porch and the hands in the field were instilled in Dunbar as a child, (Brown 1937). It is quite possible that stories of lynching, beatings, and lousy living conditions were not considered suitable material to feed to a young child. Could it be his parents emphasized the better parts of slavery? Maybe that was what he keep hold of most from his early learning and he passed it on. With Dunbar’s flair for the romantic, I perceive him to be a gentle man, not one prone to violence. He also is an educated man of rather high stature. Such atrocities may not have been something he chose to pass on. I am sure Dunbar was made aware of such carnage, but maybe it was not in his soul to make a living reaping rewards from his fellow man’s hardship.

There may be other reasons for Dunbar’s lack of desire to spill words of death and despair of his own people. Dunbar’s father was a civil war hero to many of Dunbar’s race. Joshua Dunbar, Paul Laurence Dunbar’s father, escaped slavery in Kentucky and proudly served with the 55th Massachusetts Volunteers, the famous African-American regiment, (Archives). Pride takes a man to many levels in life. I think Paul Laurence Dunbar had great pride ingrained in him by his father. I think by not reliving the bad times of slavery Dunbar somehow thought he was helping his people forget all that chaos. We must not forget that Dunbar was a Negro, and to strong of a voice could have killed his career or possibly even him. Freedom of speech was not very acceptable behavior for blacks; racial tensions were explosive. I do think that Dunbar proved that he had sympathy for his People and it is expressed in one of my favorite poems, ironically named Sympathy, (Braxton 1993, p. 102). I will let you read it and judge for yourself. It is as follows:

I know what the caged bird feels, alas!
When the sun is bright on the upland slopes;
When the wind stirs soft through the springing grass,
And the river flows like a stream of glass;
When the first bird sings and the first bud opes,
And the faint perfume from its chalice steals—
I know what the caged bird feels!

I know why the caged bird beats his wing
Till its blood is red on the cruel bars;
For he must fly back to his perch and cling
When he fain would be on the bough-a-swing;
And a pain still throbs in the old, old scars
And they pulse again with a keener sting—
I know why he beats his wings!

I know why the caged bird sings, ah me,
When his wing is bruised and his bosom sore,--
When he beats his bars and he would be free;
It is not a carol of joy or glee,
But a prayer that he sends from his heart’s deep core,
But a plea, that upward to Heaven he flings—
I know why the caged bird sings!

To me this is an excellent example of Dunbar’s talent as a gifted poet, but I also think it’s shows how deeply emotional the subject of freedom was to him. He understands that anyone or anything will do what ever it takes to be free. I am not alone in my opinion on the reason Dunbar put such context into this poem. Nikki Giovanni, wrote, in Shimmy Shimmy Shimmy Like My Sister Kate

…Looking at the Harlem Renissance through Poems, “Dunbar’s line “I know why the caged bird sings!” That line has been used a million times. It comes right from Dunbar’s poem, and he is right. We all know why. We understand what it feels, what it would hope for, and why it sings despite it all.”

Giovanni also states that “ life is a prayer”, ( Giovanni 1996, p.29), and for me that seems to mean we never stop believing in God, even caged (which depict slaves); there is always hope. I do not think this kind of depiction could come from someone so close-minded as Dunbar was alleged to be. I think that this is a good time to bring another favorite poem into play. It is called We Wear the Mask, (Braxton 1993, p.71). First, I will let you read the poem and then I will tell you its symbolic message for me. It is as follows:

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 overwise,
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.

This poem visualizes what I think Paul Laurence Dunbar believes. Please reread this line. “Why should the world be overwise…let them only see us, while we wear the mask.” Doesn’t Dunbar make his position clear? I think it says, “don’t let them really know who we are”. I think he wears that mask when he writes. I do not think he wants us to know his passions. They are his secrets to keep, only his. His reason for not making his view of the harsh treatment of slaves will never be known; he took the mask to his grave. I have another poem that I feel shows how tormented or torn Dunbar was, possibly because he was lucky enough to come from a world that had survived slavery. The poem is called Life, (Braxton 1993, p. 8). This poem, and the previously mentioned poems, can all be found in The Collected Poetry of Paul Laurence Dunbar, (1913 edition). It is as follows:

A crust of bread and a corner to
          Sleep in,
A minute to smile and an hour to
          Weep in,
A pint of joy to a peck of trouble,
And never a laugh but the moans
          Come double;
                    And that is life!

A crust and a corner that love
          Makes precious,
With a smile to warm and the
          Tears to refresh us;
And joy seems sweeter when cares
          Come after,
And a moan is the finest of foils
          For laughter;
                    And that is life!

I am not surprised by this poem. Again, I think it shows what Dunbar’s reality is behind the mask. He quite often seems to view life as disappointing; I think the phrases “a minute to smile…an hour…to weep”, and “smiles to warm…tears to refresh us” show how he felt about the lives of so many. Lawson agrees in his critical review that had Dunbar lived longer he would have contributed many more poems, novels, and stories, which were bound to be well received as his writing were starting to be more and more of his own thoughts and style, (Lawson 1941 p. 137). The Sport of the Gods was an example of this, in which Dunbar actually broke the “plantation tradition” and portrayed the Negro as main characters, (Lawson 1941 p. 130).

The poems and novels referenced above illustrate how I believe Paul Laurence Dunbar evolved to become a great poet, but I still have not shown you why I am so inspired by his work. I am overwhelmed by the feelings he infuses in the love poems he writes. I am by no means qualified enough in poetry criteria of meters and rhythms or dialects and verse to judge Paul Laurence Dunbar’s ability to measure up to other poets of his similarity and era. I have, however, been given new insight to poetry and have determined certain styles I find extremely pleasing. I am a very sentimental person, have a deep respect for beauty and nature, and a strong passion for life and love. The following poem fills many of those desires. I would like to share it with you. The poem is rather long but I think you will agree, it displays imagery in a way so vivid you practically think you are a part of the story. I will leave you with my favorite poem and hope you agree that Paul Laurence Dunbar is a terrific poet, then and now.

For you, from me: The Lover and the Moon (Braxton 1993, p.29)

A Lover whom duty called over
          The wave,
With himself communed:
          “Will my love be true
If left to herself? Had I better
          Not sue
Some friend to watch over her,
          Good and grave?
But my friend might fail in my
          Need,” he said.
“And I return to find love
          dead.
Since friendships fade like the
          Flow’rs of June,
I will leave her in charge of the
          Stable moon.”

Then he said to the moon: “O
          Dear old moon,
Who for years and years from
          thy thrown above
hast nurtured and guarded
          young lovers and love,
My heart has but come to its
          Waiting June,
And the promise time of the
          Budding vine;
Oh, guard thee well this love
          Of mine.”
And he harked him then while
          All was still,
And the pale moon answered
          And said, “I will.”

And he sailed in his ship o’er
          Many seas,
And he wandered wide o’er
          Strange far strands;
In isles of the south and in
          Orient lands,
Where pestilence lurks in the
          Breath of the breeze.
But his star was high, so he
          Braved the main,
And sailed him blithely home
          Again;
And with joy he bended his
          Footsteps soon
To learn of his love from the
          Matron moon.

She sat as of yore, in her olden
          Place,
Serene as death, in her silver
          Chair.
A white rose gleamed in her
          Whiter hair,
And the tint of a blush was on
          Her face.
At sight of the youth she sadly
          Bowed
And hid her face ‘neath a
          Gracious cloud.
She faltered faint on the night’s
          Dim marge,
But “How,” spoke the youth
          “have you kept your charge?”

The moon was sad at a trust
          Ill-kept;
The blush went out in her
          Blanching cheek,
And her voice was timid and
          Low and weak,
As she made her plea and signed
          And wept.
“Oh, another prayed and
          another plead,
And I couldn’t resist,” she
          Answering said;
“But love still grows in the
          hearts of men:
Go forth, dear youth, and love
          Again.”

But he turned him away from her
          Proffered grace.
“Thou art false, O moon, as
          the hearts of men,
I will not, will not love again.”

And he turned sheer ‘round with
          A soul-sick face
To the sea, and cried: “Sea,
          Curse the moon,
Who makes her vows and
          Forgets so soon.”
And the awful sea with anger
          Stirred,
And his breast heaved hard as
          He lay and heard.

And ever the moon wept down in
          Rain.
And ever her sighs rose high in
          Wind;
But the earth and sea were deaf
          And blind,
And she wept and sighed her
          Griefs in vain.
And ever at night, when the
          Storm is fierce,
The cries of a wraith through
          The thunder pierce;
And the waves strain their
          Awful hands on high
To tears the false moon from the
          Sky.

References

Braxton, J. (1993). The collected poetry of Paul Laurence Dunbar. Virginia: University
Press of Virginia

Brown, S. (1937). Sterling Brown on Dunbar (1937). Retrieved January 05, 2006.
From HYPERLINK "http://www.english.uiuc.edu" http://www.english.uiuc.edu

Giovanni, N. (1996). Shimmy shimmy shimmy like my sister Kate. New York: Holt

Lawson, V. (1941). Dunbar critically examined. Washington: Associated
Detailed Biography Archives. (2001).

Paul Laurence Dunbar digital collection. Retrieved January 05, 2006. From HYPERLINK "http://www.libraries.wright.edu" http://www.libraries.wright.edu