Home › Glossary › Letter M

Mask

Symbolism
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A mask symbolizes concealment, performance, divided identity, or social role.

Detailed Definition
A mask hides one face while presenting another, making it a flexible symbol for deception and self-protection. Poets use masks to explore public versus private identity, racial or gendered roles, grief hidden behind politeness, and the theatrical nature of social life. Removing a mask may promise honesty, but it can also expose vulnerability. Sometimes the mask becomes so familiar that the wearer no longer knows what lies beneath it.
Example
Example in poetry:
A mask can symbolize the difference between a public identity and a private self; Paul Laurence Dunbar's "We Wear the Mask" uses the mask to represent hidden pain beneath a forced social expression; A carnival mask can symbolize freedom to explore forbidden desires or alternative identities; A speaker removing a mask before a mirror can symbolize a difficult moment of honesty or self-recognition
Additional Notes
A mask represents concealment, role-playing, and the difference between public identity and private feeling. It may protect the wearer, deceive others, or reveal that identity itself is performed. Related concepts include persona, disguise, double self, and dramatic irony. Ask what the mask hides and what it unexpectedly exposes.
Also Known As
Disguise Visage vizard
Skip to main content