Seb Calderon This poem entitled ‘The Right Mask’ was written by Brian Patten in 2003 !mploying a third person speaker" Patten establishes a tone #rom the start to the beginning o# the poem o# an old #airy tale or $hildren’s story" story" presenting the reader with a metaphori$al meeting and dialog%e between a poem poe m and a Poet" who remains nameless The meeting with the personi&ed poem is abo%t the need to wear makes" and ends with the Poet tearing at his own #a$e and %sing the poem as a mask Patten %ses the di'erent masks as metaphors #or o%r personal identity" identity" and des$ribes the problems we #a$e in &nding o%rsel(es and %ltimately dis$o(ering ‘who’ we are )n line *+ we are presented with a new stan,a" showing a $lear sign o# progression within the poem - the personi&ed poem has be$ome angry" as opposed to its pre(io%s demeano%r The poem is now $hara$teri,ed by Patten as a $hild ha(ing a tantr%m. %sing the simile ‘stamped its #eet like a $hild’ and des$ribing it as ‘getting impatient’ and ‘s$reaming’ /#ter #ailing to $on(in$e the poet to $on#orm" it has re(ealed its $hildish and immat%re nat%re by ha(ing a tantr%m ere the poem s%ggests to try on ‘yo%r own #a$e’ ere the poem shows awareness o# the Poet’s desire o# being %ni1%e. addressing dire$tly to the Poet and %sing the anaphora o# ‘only yo% $o%ld’ in lines 232" s%ggesting that the Poet has the ability to be %ni1%e Patten %ses this emoti(e and angry lang%age #rom the poem poe m to s%ggest the potential hardships and problems that a person may #a$e when stri(ing to be %ni1%e4 when the Poet re5e$ts the $li$h6d ideas that the poem s%ggests in the &rst stan,a" the poem be$omes angry and lashes o%t There is another dramati$ transition in line 27" in whi$h the Poet be$omes (iolent. Patten’s %se o# (iolent imagery ‘tore at his #a$e til it bled’" this is the &rst %se o# s%$h (iolent imagery Patten s%ggests thro%gh this imagery that the a$t o# mask wearing has $reated a
Seb Calderon separation between the Poet’s ‘real’ identity" and his ‘Poet’ persona e is no longer de&ned by a name or who he is - only by what he does This (iolent a$t $o%ld also be interpreted as a p%nishment #or trying to be %ni1%e by so$iety - when asking i# it is the right mask" the poem responds with a simple ‘yes’" repeated twi$e thro%gh a $aes%ra in line 28 The $aes%ra is %sed by Patten to emphasise this &nal a$knowledgement by the poem - the poem belie(es that this is the ‘$orre$t’ mask" and makes no attempt to stop the poet #rom h%rting himsel#
