The Press are convinced that he bought a paper every day
And that his reactions to advertisements were normal in every way.
Policies taken out in his name prove that he was fully insured,
And his Health-card shows he was once in a hospital but left it cured.
Both Producers Research and High-Grade Living declare
He was fully sensible to the advantages of the Installment Plan
And had everything necessary to the Modern Man,
A phonograph, a radio, a car and a frigidaire.
Our researchers into Public Opinion are content
That he held the proper opinions for the time of year;
When there was peace, he was for peace; when there was war,
he went. (14-24)
The author describes this citizen as being an overall regular man in society, who did not change or impact the world by any means. He was a normal man who bought a paper every day and had no outrageous reactions towards it. The author adds allusions to all these activities such as his Health- card and his belongings to emphasize that the citizen was normal in every way. By using a great deal of allusions the author allows the reader to develop a certain relation to each of the activities or programs, thus creating a comparison with the reader and the citizen receiving the monument as being average. He did not have any rebellious thoughts; therefore, he followed the state when they went to war and when they were at peace. The state is giving a monument to somebody who has never made a difference.
Auden writes, “That, in the modern sense of an old-fashioned word, he was a saint,” (4) and uses this verse to demonstrate that the government cherishes obedience and not triumph. The word “saint” in the old fashioned-sense means a holy person; however, in the modern sense saint signifies obedience to the state. Thus meaning that this state is honouring a person who is docile. Why would a state do this? The state that is erecting the monument is a state that controls every aspect of their citizen’s lives with numbers and statistics. This state is known as a totalitarian state, a state that has complete control over its´ citizens.
The author demonstrates the type of government the state has by using allusions and using the grammar and the structure to emphasize his point. The name of the “unknown citizen” is “JS/07/M/378”, also known as a code or a number. This state recognizes its citizens by a number, and the state further recognizes its citizens with statistics. The government holds records of everything that this citizen has done, but only things that can be documented by paper, such as his position in his work, in war, in his labour Union and so on.
Auden capitalizes certain words in this poem to demonstrate that the government possesses all the activities and programs that are capitalized and those are the things that the government can judge a person by. The capitalized words are capitalized to be conventionally correct, but also to illustrate the things that the government owns. Some words that are capitalized are: “Bureau of Statistics”, “Greater Community”, “War”, “Union”, “Social Psychology”, “Press”, “Modern Man”, “Public Opinion”, and “Eugenist”. As the reader takes a look at the words that are capitalized, he or she can see that this regime is not liberal; nonetheless, it is a completely authoritarian state. This state owns the Press, Public Opinion, and even has a Eugenist department, thus emphasizing the control and power of the government. In line 26 the speaker says, “Which our Eugenist says was the right number for a parent of his generation”. A Eugenist is a specialist of the improvement of the human race by selective breeding, and by writing this, Auden is saying that this particular government is controlling what their citizens can do in relation to their personal life. At the end of the poem, the last couplet describes the allegory of the rest of the poem. “Was he free? Was he happy? The question is absurd:/Had anything been wrong, we should have certainly have heard.”(28-29) This last couplet, emphasizes that the government based their basis of each indivual on statistics, and assumed that these people were happy. However, statistics do not show peoples feelings and emotions, but in this government that does not matter. Throughout the poem Auden evidently expresses his feelings towards our society and government, thus creating a sense of critism, and irony.
Through this poem, the reader can patently distinguish how Auden, the poet, feels towards this subject. The poet is very critical towards the society he lived in or possibly a society he believes he will live in. Auden believes that the government will soon become totalitarian even though it doesn’t bluntly come right out and say it that way. The tone of the poem is a very critical tone; however, the poet is also sarcastic and ironic towards the subject. By writing the whole poem as an epitaph and making it seem like it is a memorial for someone who deserves it, makes the subject ironic. The reader first thinks that this poem is simply a memorial for a special citizen who did everything right, and in this way Auden is ironic and satirical towards his society. Auden illustrates his irony throughout the whole poem, but one verse and illustrates this use very well is in lines (10-11); “For his Union reports that he paid his dues/ (Our report on his Union shows it was sound)” This line is very ironic, because labour Unions are not traditionally sound according to the government, and since the Union is “sound” it is not really a Union. The sense of this poem depends greatly upon the tone, because literally the poem has a completely different connotation than it does if u considers the tone. The poet has a critical attitude towards this subject and it is clearly demonstrates once the reader analysis the poem.
W. H. Auden is a poet who portrays his emotions and feelings through his poetry, and in this certain poem, “The Unknown Citizen”, Auden criticises the state. He uses allusions and capitalization to make the reader understand the actual meaning of the poem and by adding the final couplet in the poem, Auden reaches tries to get the reader to think. Auden leaves the reader hanging and makes them think; is our society and government really totalitarian? Or is this how our government will be?
