Comparing "We Wear the Mask" by Dunbar and "Richard Cory" "We Wear the Mask," by Paul Laurence Dunbar and "Richard Cory" by an anonymous writer are two poems that illustrate how people hide their feelings from others. They have different voices, or are coming from different views, but they have the same theme. We can not see how people are feeling by their actions or facial expressions. What they feel inside is different than what we perceive. In the poem "We Wear the Mask," Dunbar portrays his view of true feelings. "We wear the mask that grins and lies, It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes" (1