Themes of W.H. Auden's "The Unknown Citizen"

"Social Security Number? Birthdate? 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 losing their identities in the face of the changing, technological world. In the poem "An Unknown Soldier," Auden speaks of the dangers of modern society to the individual including anonymity, conformity, and government control.

The anonymity of the unknown citizen is shown in Auden's repeated use of metaphor. Auden shows the reader everything the unknown citizen was and was not-"a saint" (line 4), "wasn't odd in his views" (line 9), "normal in every way" (line 15), "was insured" (line 16), "had everything necessary to the Modern man" (line 20), "held proper opinions for the time of year" (line 23), and added the right number of children to the population (line 25.). While it seems as though the unknown citizen is praised for these qualities, Auden is mocking how anonymous the man has become. This citizen is completely defined by his statistics, not by any of his qualities or feelings. He isn't even given a name but is referred to by a number.

Conformity is the virtue in most in demand by society as Emerson pointed out many years before. Auden's unknown citizen is a model of conformity in a society where everyone must follow the rules if things are to run smoothly. He does all the right things. The government can produce reports to show that he did all the right things. He had the right opinions, owned the right products, and even had the correct number of kids. In this poem, people have become noting more than commodities that must fulfill their roles for the wheel to turn. Conformity has created apathetic and obedient citizens which is exactly what the government wants.

Lastly an unknown citizen falls prey to government control. The speaker in this poem is the government itself. That's why Auden uses plurals like ours. In the eyes of the state, this man was a saint (line 4) because he fit into the government's idea of the perfect man. The poem is written in rather a choppy way as though it is a statistical report listing all his "assets." The government does not truly care about him, only the fact that he does what he is told. Words are capitalized like Greater Community, Installment Plan, Modern Man, and Public Opinion to show the emphasis that the government puts on these concepts. Everything about his life is closely monitored, even his private life as the government knows things like the fact that he likes to drink. The government does not care about people's happiness or freedom as evidenced by the last lines. "Was he free? Was he happy? The question is absurd: Had anything been wrong, we should certainly have heard." As Platizky says in Explicator, "The agencies are content with empirical evidence about his life" (Platizky). There is no need to ask for any more. He was a good follower and that is what counts.

Auden's "An Unknown Soldier" warns us about the dangers of modern society in much the same way as the novel 1984 by George Orwell. Conformity is dangerous. Allowing ourselves to be reduced to faceless numbers is dangerous. Allowing the government too much control is dangerous. As Platizsky says, "In essence, the satriric speaker seemingly praises but, of course, actually mocks the kind of citizen who blindly relinquishes his individuality to the 'Greater Community' (line 5) and the kind of society that insists and depends on such sacrifices from its modern-day Saint (line 4), a saint who does not seek higher truth but merely exists to perpetuate the status quo" (Platizsky). Auden would say that this is the way government wants us to function in the modern-day world, and unfortunately, there are many unknown citizens around, maybe even some of us.

Works Cited

Platizky, R.S., Auden's The Unknown Citizen, Explicator, Fall 1991, Retrieved

December 18, 2007 at Web Site:

http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=8&hid=115&sid=9607aeb1-b37c-4e10-8e93-1a32c33bf423%40sessionmgr107

Auden, W.H. "The Unknown Soldier. Retrieved December 18, 2007 at Web Site:

http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15549