Question

How would the poem “We Wear the Mask” be different if Paul Laurence Dunbar had written it in more informal language or without as much structure?

Answer 1

I believe that if Paul Laurence Dunbar would have written this extraordinary poem using, for instance, dialect (or "danced language," as he did, and very successfully, in many of his other poems), rather than literary English, or, in other words, a light verse versus a more structured verse, the poem would have been perhaps more widely understood, and certainly better received by his white readers, which is what they expected from him, but it also would have been definitely less categorical, unequivocal, and truthful. Dunbar used formal and even archaic language - guile, myriad subtleties, nay, thee - and  a significant array of rhetorical figures in order to elevate the significance of his words, grieving words that speak of the suffering and the incomprehension experienced by African Americans in their own homeland. It is a reflection of Dunbar's mastery of literary English, and if he had used a more informal structure and language it would not be as poignant and powerful as it is.        

Answer 2

“We Wear the Mask” would have been interpreted as subjective and emotional if Dunbar had used more informal language and fewer structural elements. Simpler words would have been more accessible to his audience. However, the formal structure allows all Americans to relate to the poem, no matter their race. The formal structure is evident in the following lines:
Why should the world be over-wise, 
In counting all our tears and sighs? 
Nay, let them only see us, while
In this case, Dunbar uses an old English word, nay—not likely a word that every African American at the time knew. Dunbar uses such formal language and structure to present his point of view in an objective manner to readers.