Different themes are used in different types of literature. Many of the same themes are used over and over and sometimes people do not notice. Two pieces of literature that use the same type of theme I think is “Richard Cory” by Edwin Arlington Robinson and “We Wear the Mask” by Paul Laurence Dunbar. There are three things I am going to be talking about with these two poems. What the “Mask’s” theme is, and then what “Richard Cory’s” theme is, and lastly compare how they are similar in theme. “We Wear the Mask” has a very powerful message or theme. Paul likes to express the pain of racial injustice and the struggle of African Americans. But this in this poem it is not just about being racist against blacks. The theme in this poem is society. In this piece of poetry, Dunbar is explaining on how society wears masks. He is saying that even though someone is smiling, you will never know how they are actually feeling. Something may be going on that is hurting them deeply but, “We Wear the Mask” to hide it from everyone else. That’s how society is now, and it is not a good place to be. That is the theme in this short poem which leads into my next topic the theme of “Richard Cory.”…show more content… Written by Edwin Robinson, “Richard Cory” also has a theme of society. In this poem Edwin talks about how this man was always looked at as “that guy.” What guy you might ask? Well the guy that seems to have a great attitude, dressed nice, was always friendly, just seemed to have it all going for him. Making us want to him almost because we see how he is and looks and we think that we want to be them. One night though the man went and shot himself in the head and committed suicide. This is trying to show that even though everyone saw this man as happy, and they thought he was, he really was not. Which leads into my last topic on how these two poems are