The English-born American writer Wystan Hugh Auden was one of the most important poets of the 20th century. Educated at Oxford‚ he attracted attention as a prominent member of a group of young leftist writers who generally expressed a socialist viewpoint. The poem I have chosen for this essay is "The Unknown Citizen". I felt the time period reflected W.H. Auden’s views‚ making the unknown citizen an example of the government’s view of the perfect modern man in an overrated unrealistic society.<br><br>In
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The Unknown Citizen Wystan Hugh Auden (To JS/07/M/378 This Marble Monument Is Erected by the State) 1. He was found by the Bureau of Statistics to be 2. One against whom there was no official complaint‚ 3. And all the reports on his conduct agree 4. That‚ in the modern sense of an old-fashioned word‚ he was a saint‚ 5. For in everything he did he served the Greater Community. 6. Except for the War till the day he retired 7. He worked in a factory and never got fired‚ 8. But satisfied
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The poem the unknown citizen written by w.h Auden portrays from the point of view of the government what or how an ideal citizen should look like. This piece is written in third person omniscient to project a non-bias perspective and that way transmit the “truth” without being affected by feelings or personal point of views. Moreover at the end of the poem the author makes a relevant turn which effect is making the reader question himself if what was depicted before is the right thing‚ if that ideal
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Brother The poem “The Unknown Citizen”‚ by W.H. Auden‚ is about the ideal person that the government wants in their society. The man does everything the right way and always agrees with the government‚ whether they are at war or they are at peace. Although the man is a perfect citizen to the government‚ they do not even know what his name is. At the top of the poem‚ they refer to the man as “JS/07/M/378”(343) and do not even bother to learn what his name is. To the government‚ this man was nothing but
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Auden’s "The Unknown Citizen" Conformity and Anonymity in the Modern World "Social Security Number? Birth date? Nine digit telephone number starting with area code? Mother’s Maiden Name?" In many ways‚ we are simply faceless numbers to modern society‚ not individuals with feelings and emotions and dreams. W.H. Auden‚ a well-known English poet and dramatist‚ discusses this important theme in his poem "An Unknown Soldier." Auden‚ being a modernist‚ is concerned with this modern idea of people
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The Unknown Citizen : W.H. Auden - Summary and Critical Analysis | The Unknown Citizen by W.H. Auden is a satiric poem. It describes an average citizen in a government-controlled state. In many big cities‚ there is a monument to the Unknown Soldier that stands for the thousands of unknown soldiers who die for their country. The title of Auden’s poem parodies this. | | The citizen to whom the monument has been built has been found to be without any fault. He was a saint not because he searched
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<center><b>The Unknown Citizen Is Me</b></center> <br> <br>"The Unknown Citizen"‚ a poem written by W.H. Auden‚ reflects a period of vast change in America’s history‚ making "The Unknown Citizen" an example of the government’s view of the perfect modern man in an overrated‚ unrealistic society. <br> <br>During the time period that this poem was written‚ in the late 1930’s‚ The United States was going through tremendous social‚ political and economic change. Following the passing of Black Monday
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Karen Cote English 102 15 February 2011 W. H Auden: The Unknown Citizen The marble monument erected by the state or town is usually of a hometown hero. The person is almost always someone who did well for the country and originated from a certain town. The statue is almost never of someone who is just an ordinary man living life just like everyone else around him. This man is the model citizen; one who never causes a stir‚ goes to war when asked‚ and does everything to serve the common good
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The Unknown Citizen "The Unknown Citizen" by W.H. Auden‚ is a commentary on government and the materialism of modern man. The poem is written in the form of an obituary inscribed on a monument built by the government in commemoration of an average‚ upstanding‚ and decent community member. Throughout the passage‚ the speaker lists facts about the citizen’s life which he believes prove that the deceased was a valuable person. In actuality these facts represent nothing more than the socially accepted
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The poem “ The Unknown Citizen By W H Auden is a poem that pokes fun at the life of a automaton working in a factory. Reading it in a glance‚ I find the title that catches my very first attention. It is because Auden gives the poem such a title that the whole poem sounds so dramatic and pompous‚ as if it is dedicated to some citizen who have sacrificed so much for the nation. The citizen‚ to my dismay‚ is never named and remains as the unknown one throughout the whole poem. The citizen is referred to
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