The Poem "The Unknown Citizen" by W.H. Auden is a satire. Its narrator is the state. In this‚ the state pays tribute and describes a successful and positive product of its efficiency and effectiveness. In other words‚ it builds the character later described to the reader as "the perfect citizen." The narrator speaks as if he is delivering a speech or common tribute using words and phrases that are familiar to the reader. Using such imagery helps the reader paint a clear picture of the character
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"The Unknown Citizen" is an occasional poem. That is to say‚ it is a poem written to mark a specific occasion or event. The occasion is indicated in the lines contained in parenthesis that precede the body of the poem. As these lines indicate‚ the poem is a written monument that functions like a cenotaph: it commemorates a fallen man whose identity is unknown. However‚ unlike the soldier who falls in a battle of war‚ the battle this individual appears to be unwittingly a part of is a social battle
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POETRY ANALYSIS THE UNKNOWN CITIZEN BY W. H. AUDEN PENGKAJIAN TEKS SASTRA INGGRIS Fakultas Ilmu Pengetahuan Budaya - Universitas Indonesia Kampus Baru UI‚ Depok The Unknown Citizen By W. H. Auden (To JS/07 M 378 This Marble Monument Is Erected by the State) He was found by the Bureau of Statistics to be (A) One against whom there was no official complaint‚ (B) And all the reports on his conduct agree (A) That‚ in the modern sense of an old-fashioned
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Werner 05 March 2012 The Unknown Citizen By W. H. Auden Several conflicts are dramatized in The Unknown Citizen‚ the most prominent being: conformity of the middle class‚ government manipulation‚ and the loss of individualism to the standards of an average citizen. The speaker of this poem is non-traditional as the poem is‚ in fact‚ an inscription on a “marble monument erected by the State.” The inscription is dedicated to a “JS/07 M 378”—presumably‚ “The Unknown Citizen‚” although this term only
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Auden: A Modern Poet To justify Auden as a great modern poet it can be said that Auden stands out among modern poets by his earnest effort to be great modern thinker. He was well versed in history‚ philosophy and theology and had a remarkable grip on contemporary currents of thought in political theory‚ science and psychology. Auden extraordinary style and diction make his poetry strikingly obscure. Sometimes the style makes his poem difficult to understand. This difficulty and obscurity arises
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them for succumbing to peer pressure. In “The Unknown Citizen” by W. H. Auden‚ the speaker‚ a government bureaucrat‚ also takes on this two-faced attitude towards a man identified as the unknown citizen. At first glance‚ this poem seems like the well-deserved tribute to a man who lived the perfect life‚ but after a more detailed analysis‚ the speaker reveals his attitude towards his subject. The speaker uses diction and irony to criticize the citizen for following the standards set forth by society
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Unknown Citizen Analysis "The Unknown Citizen" seems to describe story about the Unknown Soldier‚ a term used to recognize people whose bodies are found after a battle but cannot be identified. This poem begins by the word “He was found by the Bureau of Statistics...” It is describing a person referred to as‚ simply‚ "He." We take this to be "The Unknown Citizen‚" which makes sense because his name isn’t known‚ the ordinary average citizen in the modern industrialized urban society who has no individuality
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are setting‚ conflict‚ theme and tone. The Unknown Citizen‚ written by W.H Auden‚ is a poem that will be compared with the lottery‚ written by Shirley Jackson. Both‚ the short story and poem‚ share 2 literature devices in common. They exhibit Irony and symbolism within them. The usage of both will be compared to acknowledge the similarities between the two different literature styles. Although they may not fall into the same genre‚ both the Unknown Citizen and The Lottery share common literature devices
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the War In the poem‚ “The Unknown Citizen‚” a short eulogy is presented at a funeral for an unidentified soldier. When providing details about the citizens life‚ the speaker instead uses impersonal facts and government based statistics‚ rather than intimate components about who the soldier was personally. The author also displays the tone of the poem as lighthearted‚ making the speaker seem untroubled about the death of the soldier. In W.H Auden’s poem‚ “The Unknown Citizen‚” the author uses his objective
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The Average Man W. H. Auden satirizes the United States as an entity‚ which restrains individual advancement. Through depersonalization‚ the government rewards those who actually never do anything. However‚ the "Unknown Citizen" has a monument built as a symbol of his perfection. Thus‚ Auden’s "The Unknown Citizen" shows how the government makes each individual merely a number unless they do not conform to society’s norms. The monument of the "unknown citizen" is erected not to honor the
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