W.H. AUDEN The Unknown Citizen

1. W.H. AUDEN The Unknown Citizen Doug Bauer & Matt Madler

2. If YOU Died TodayWhat would People Say About You? • What would your friends say? • What about your Parents? • What about the Government? • To the Government are you unique, or are you just a number? • Would they say all the emotional things your friends and parents would? • Would they even care that you died?

3. W.H. Auden • W.H. Auden was Homosexual • He was an advocate of socialism and Freudian psychoanalysis • Auden was also a noted playwright, librettist, editor, and essayist • W. H. Auden was a Chancellor of The Academy of American Poets from 1954 to 1973

4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 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. Except for the War till the day he retired He worked in a factory and never got fired, But satisfied his employers, Fudge Motors Inc. Yet he wasn't a scab or odd in his views, For his Union reports that he paid his dues, (Our report on his Union shows it was sound) And our Social Psychology workers found That he was popular with his mates and liked a drink. 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 hospital but left it cured. Both Producers Research and High-Grade Living declare He was fully sensible to the advantages of the Instalment 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. He was married and added five children to the population, Which our Eugenist says was the right number for a parent of his generation. And our teachers report that he never interfered with their education. Was he free? Was he happy? The question is absurd: Had anything been wrong, we should certainly have heard. The Unknown Citizen

5. General Analysis • The poem is meant to be a government’s report on a man who has passed away. • There is no emotion in this report, telling us of only the basic facts of the man’s life. • This is supposed to show us how the government only views the citizens as a number, and not a unique individual.

6. Free Verse • Free Verse is defined as: verse without regular meter or rhyme. 12 And our Social Psychology workers found 13 That he was popular with his mates and liked a drink. 14 The Press are convinced that he bought a paper every day 15 And that his reactions to advertisements were normal in every way. • These lines show how he used free verse by rhyming some lines while in others he did not. • These also show his use of free verse by the difference in meter and syllables per line.

7. Theme • Theme is defined as: A subject or topic on which a person writes or speaks. • Auden use’s Theme by keeping his poem, The Unknown Citizen about one central topic. • The theme in this poem is the life of a man told by the government. • Auden stays on this topic throughout the poem and does not go off on unrelated tangents. • By sticking to this general theme he is able to convey a message to his readers.

8. Lines 1-5 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. • The passive voice indicates the citizen’s lack of initiative. • His life is constrained by the rules and laws of the state. • The government calls him a saint, because he served the community and conformed. Auden is criticizing the government for promoting conformity and not individualism.

9. Lines 7-8 He worked in a factory and never got fired, But satisfied his employers, Fudge Motors Inc. He worked in a factory and never got fired, But satisfied his employers, Fudge Motors Inc. • He is just a normal working man, and the government only cares that he never got fired, not the quality of his work. • Auden makes a parody of Ford Motors, by calling it Fudge Motors. He is criticizing large businesses. • He is implying that gods have been replaced by big businesses. That money has become more important in modern society. • He is just a normal working man, and the government only cares that he never got fired, not the quality of his work. • Auden makes a parody of Ford Motors, by calling it Fudge Motors. He is criticizing large businesses. • He is implying that gods have been replaced by big businesses. That money has become more important in modern society.

10. Line 20-26 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. He was married and added five children to the population, Which our Eugenist says was the right number for a parent of his generation. • Here Auden shows how he believes the government has a predetermined formula of what a proper man is • How the government believes you should have certain possessions, appliances, and a certain number of kids to be accepted. • The quality of a person is now based not on their character or personality but their material possessions.

11. Final Analysis • Throughout Auden suggests our society has created a set of rules and regulations which we are supposed to follow. • The stress for individuals to conform to this system makes one lose their individuality. • This conformity creates the “unknown citizen”

12. Questions ? • What did you think of the poem? • Do you believe its message rings true in today's world? • What is theme and free verse?

13. Bibliography "W.H. Auden." Poets.org. 1997. The Academy of American Poets. Web.12 May 2009. <http://poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/120>. "Auden, W. H.." The Oxford Companion to Twentieth-Century Poetry in English. 1999. Biography Reference Bank. H. W. Wilson. NASH Library, Wexford, PA, 15090. 13 May 2009 <http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com/. "Auden, W(ystan) H(ugh) (1907-1973)." DISCovering Authors. Online ed.  Detroit: Gale, 2003. Student Resource Center - Bronze. Gale. North Allegheny Senior High School. 13 May 2009 <http://find.galegroup.com/ips/start.do?prodId=IPS>.