Monday, May 2, 2011

The Unknown Citizen - W.H. Auden

The Unknown Citizen is a brilliant poem written by W.H.Auden. The concept of the poem is related with a political situation in which he emphasizes the representatives of political leaders of the state. In essence, the main idea of this poem is that it is dedicated to a citizen and the monument that the state representatives are erecting for him. This citizen is not special person or has special attitudes,however, the state decide to honor him because of being normal. In other words, it is symbolization of the strong commitment or servility to the state directives.

He was found by the Bureau of Statistics to be
One against whom there was no official complaint,
And all the reports on his conduct agree
That, in the modern sense of an old-fashioned word, he was a
 saint,
For in everything he did he served the Greater Community
That is, Auden use this as instrument to criticize the whole society of that time. Additionally, he makes appeal toward the society to raise awareness and to stop many irregularities of that time. The author illustrates the situation and hard times that labor experienced in that particular period.  In the end, Audin's real message was to show the difficulties of an average person in the his or her life.

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