Poem Summary: 'Bureau Of Statistics'
Poem Summary
Lines 1-3
The opening lines of the poem establish an ironic tone as the speaker of the poem begins to construct a satiric portrait of the average citizen. In the first line of the poem the speaker turns to the “Bureau of Statistics,” and in line 3 to “reports,” as a source for information regarding the “unknown” citizen. This is intensely ironic, for while the Bureau does not identify the citizen by name, such a Bureau does contain detailed data regarding every citizen. The data the Bureau collects identifies an individual in terms of detailed facts and figures; however, it fails to truly identify those qualities which distinguish him/her from all others. For instance, such data gives no information regarding a person’s hopes, …show more content…
dreams, or desires, or those personal or idiosyncratic qualities that distinguish each individual. Although certain “details” regarding a person are contained in such reports, the individual remains truly unknown, and this is the central irony the poem plays upon.
Lines 4-5
The irony continues to build in these two lines of the poem.
In line 4, the unknown citizen is referred to as a “saint” in the “modern sense” of the word. In the old-fashioned sense of the word, a saint is someone who overcomes great challenges, maintains their personal convictions in the face of intense adversity, usually stands alone and often perishes while maintaining and defending their beliefs. Such a life, in other words, is an extraordinary one. The poem, however, suggests that in the modern sense of the word, a saint is one whose life in anything but extraordinary.
What distinguishes sainthood in this poem is a life of complete and utter ordinariness. For instance, the unknown citizen always acts in the accepted or expected way. As noted later in the poem, when there was war, he was for war; when there was peace, he was for peace. This suggests that his convictions and beliefs are formed not through individual reflection and personal conviction, but rather by the greater political, social, moral, and economic institutions that seek and dictate conformity to a standard thought and way of life. Thus, the unknown citizen ends up serving the “Greater Community” by perpetuating the ideologies that the modern institutions define, by fitting into the mold instead of breaking
it.
Lines 6-8
These lines begin to detail the unknown citizen’s life of “sainthood.” The flat, matter-of-fact tone is suggestive of a report, the very kind of reports referred to in line 3. Such a compilation of data underscores the citizen’s lack of individuality.
The reference to Fudge Motor as being incorporated (Inc.) suggests that this is a large and powerful company, an institution which can dictate social norms in a significant way, much like the automobile industry does today. This company, like all the other institutions noted in the poem, wields a great deal of power and therefore contributes to the shaping of society and by extension the individual’s life.
Lines 9-11
This section of the poem underscores how average the unknown citizen is, for as line 9 notes, he conforms completely to the given, not questioning or challenging it in any way. These lines also stress the scientific approach to understanding a man, an approach that is deeply layered as the Union’s report is further investigated so that another report examining the Union’s report is generated (line 10). Such a detail is highly ironic for it deliberately exaggerates, while at the same time undercuts, the validity of the “scientific” model and moves it into the realm of ridiculousness.
Lines 12-15
In these four lines the speaker continues to document the “normalcy” of the citizen and compile a list of the organizations that influence his life, often in very subtle ways. The Social Psychology worker’s role is to immediately identify any deviation from the accepted standard and, by implication, correct such behavior. Auden’s poem attacks such organizations and the society that encourages individuals to become mere products of such forces rather than individuals in the true sense. In line 15 the poet touches on the persuasive and insidious manners in which many modern organizations work. The advertising industry is built upon the subtle persuasion that as a citizen one needs whatever product they are selling. However, it is often the case that one does not require that product in any real sense at all. By calling such commonplace institutions into question, the poet encourages the reader to question his/her own role in society and ask if he/she is not unlike the unknown citizen in some ways.
Lines 16-21
Here the poet continues to tabulate the characteristics of the “Modern Man.” The language employed in these lines and throughout the poem is colloquial, and the allusions to common possessions such as a radio and a car, and devices such as installment plans, allow the reader to easily engage in and identify with the poetic statement.
Lines 22-27
In this section the “normalcy” of the unknown citizen is perhaps most clearly stated as the poem explicitly notes how average the citizen is, meeting all the standards of norms expected of a person of his generation. Such complete conformity is suggestive of the power that mass organizations possess in the modern industrial world. The poem addresses the desirability of the citizen’s acceptance of this normalcy.
The reference to eugenics in line 26 is particularly striking, for eugenics is a branch of science concerned with improving the human race through the control of hereditary factors. This single reference touches upon two aspects central to the poem’s theme: the cold and detached “scientific” approach organizations employ to collect “information” on individuals, and the controlled conformity such groups desire.
Lines 28-29
The poem reaches its climax within the closing two lines of the poem. After outlining the standards of normalcy dictated by society, questions regarding freedom and happiness are absurd. They are ridiculous because the modern society defined in the lines above is not concerned with individual notions of freedom and happiness. What it seeks, the poem suggests, is quite the opposite: it encourages citizens to identify happiness and freedom by its own terms. In other words, if one possesses the car, the radio, the frigidaire, and reflects the desires of the all-powerful institutions, accepting peace when peace comes, supporting war when war comes, then one would naturally be happy and free. The poem ends on an ironic note, for if anything had been wrong, the system and society the poem delineates would certainly have not heard.
Lines 1-3
The opening lines of the poem establish an ironic tone as the speaker of the poem begins to construct a satiric portrait of the average citizen. In the first line of the poem the speaker turns to the “Bureau of Statistics,” and in line 3 to “reports,” as a source for information regarding the “unknown” citizen. This is intensely ironic, for while the Bureau does not identify the citizen by name, such a Bureau does contain detailed data regarding every citizen. The data the Bureau collects identifies an individual in terms of detailed facts and figures; however, it fails to truly identify those qualities which distinguish him/her from all others. For instance, such data gives no information regarding a person’s hopes, …show more content…
dreams, or desires, or those personal or idiosyncratic qualities that distinguish each individual. Although certain “details” regarding a person are contained in such reports, the individual remains truly unknown, and this is the central irony the poem plays upon.
Lines 4-5
The irony continues to build in these two lines of the poem.
In line 4, the unknown citizen is referred to as a “saint” in the “modern sense” of the word. In the old-fashioned sense of the word, a saint is someone who overcomes great challenges, maintains their personal convictions in the face of intense adversity, usually stands alone and often perishes while maintaining and defending their beliefs. Such a life, in other words, is an extraordinary one. The poem, however, suggests that in the modern sense of the word, a saint is one whose life in anything but extraordinary.
What distinguishes sainthood in this poem is a life of complete and utter ordinariness. For instance, the unknown citizen always acts in the accepted or expected way. As noted later in the poem, when there was war, he was for war; when there was peace, he was for peace. This suggests that his convictions and beliefs are formed not through individual reflection and personal conviction, but rather by the greater political, social, moral, and economic institutions that seek and dictate conformity to a standard thought and way of life. Thus, the unknown citizen ends up serving the “Greater Community” by perpetuating the ideologies that the modern institutions define, by fitting into the mold instead of breaking
it.
Lines 6-8
These lines begin to detail the unknown citizen’s life of “sainthood.” The flat, matter-of-fact tone is suggestive of a report, the very kind of reports referred to in line 3. Such a compilation of data underscores the citizen’s lack of individuality.
The reference to Fudge Motor as being incorporated (Inc.) suggests that this is a large and powerful company, an institution which can dictate social norms in a significant way, much like the automobile industry does today. This company, like all the other institutions noted in the poem, wields a great deal of power and therefore contributes to the shaping of society and by extension the individual’s life.
Lines 9-11
This section of the poem underscores how average the unknown citizen is, for as line 9 notes, he conforms completely to the given, not questioning or challenging it in any way. These lines also stress the scientific approach to understanding a man, an approach that is deeply layered as the Union’s report is further investigated so that another report examining the Union’s report is generated (line 10). Such a detail is highly ironic for it deliberately exaggerates, while at the same time undercuts, the validity of the “scientific” model and moves it into the realm of ridiculousness.
Lines 12-15
In these four lines the speaker continues to document the “normalcy” of the citizen and compile a list of the organizations that influence his life, often in very subtle ways. The Social Psychology worker’s role is to immediately identify any deviation from the accepted standard and, by implication, correct such behavior. Auden’s poem attacks such organizations and the society that encourages individuals to become mere products of such forces rather than individuals in the true sense. In line 15 the poet touches on the persuasive and insidious manners in which many modern organizations work. The advertising industry is built upon the subtle persuasion that as a citizen one needs whatever product they are selling. However, it is often the case that one does not require that product in any real sense at all. By calling such commonplace institutions into question, the poet encourages the reader to question his/her own role in society and ask if he/she is not unlike the unknown citizen in some ways.
Lines 16-21
Here the poet continues to tabulate the characteristics of the “Modern Man.” The language employed in these lines and throughout the poem is colloquial, and the allusions to common possessions such as a radio and a car, and devices such as installment plans, allow the reader to easily engage in and identify with the poetic statement.
Lines 22-27
In this section the “normalcy” of the unknown citizen is perhaps most clearly stated as the poem explicitly notes how average the citizen is, meeting all the standards of norms expected of a person of his generation. Such complete conformity is suggestive of the power that mass organizations possess in the modern industrial world. The poem addresses the desirability of the citizen’s acceptance of this normalcy.
The reference to eugenics in line 26 is particularly striking, for eugenics is a branch of science concerned with improving the human race through the control of hereditary factors. This single reference touches upon two aspects central to the poem’s theme: the cold and detached “scientific” approach organizations employ to collect “information” on individuals, and the controlled conformity such groups desire.
Lines 28-29
The poem reaches its climax within the closing two lines of the poem. After outlining the standards of normalcy dictated by society, questions regarding freedom and happiness are absurd. They are ridiculous because the modern society defined in the lines above is not concerned with individual notions of freedom and happiness. What it seeks, the poem suggests, is quite the opposite: it encourages citizens to identify happiness and freedom by its own terms. In other words, if one possesses the car, the radio, the frigidaire, and reflects the desires of the all-powerful institutions, accepting peace when peace comes, supporting war when war comes, then one would naturally be happy and free. The poem ends on an ironic note, for if anything had been wrong, the system and society the poem delineates would certainly have not heard.