W.H. Auden's, The Unknown Citizen

In 1939 W.H. Auden and his companion Christopher Isherwood arrived in New York City after traveling much of Europe. Auden was born in York, North Yorkshire in 1907 to a prominent physician and his wife. He was educated at boarding schools throughout his youth, and obtained a degree from Oxford University. Although he had chosen poetry as a profession at the age of fifteen, it was not until the age of twenty one that his first work was published. This collection was entitled Poems, and it quickly gained Auden fame. His work was "versatile and inventive" (Auden par. 1), and until his death in 1973, he completed more than 30,000 lines of verse and wrote several plays.

In 1940 Auden wrote "The Unknown Citizen" , a poem depicting the plight of modern man as he struggles through life and death in a faceless society. The poem makes a statement against technology and it's ability to allow the government to view each individual citizen as nothing more than a complement to a statistic. "The Unknown Citizen" is Auden's satirical portrayal of a man living in a society which views each person as a number, and rewards conformity.

Although JS/07 M 378, the unknown citizen, was important enough to erect a marble statue in his honor, his name is withheld, replaced by government issued numbers. From the opening of this poem, readers grasp the dehumanizing way the government has treated this citizen. The cold marble statue erected in his honor is "as cold and lifeless as his existence was" (Platizky, par.1) and symbolic of the cold lifeless way the government has honored this man.

In the first line of the poem, we are greeted by the Bureau of Statistics and their findings. The incorporation of the Bureau of Statistics into this poem immediately envelopes the reader in the flat, formal tone of the poem. The poem then goes on to say statistically, this man is found to be normal. He was the perfect statistic of a man of his age and era. The poem then states that "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." From these lines we can assume that the modern day definition of saint is someone who conforms completely to society's expectations, behaving in every way to fit the statistic. The fact that he served the "Greater Community" may imply the government itself, as this man has behaved in exactly the way the government has desired. The capitalization of the term "Greater Community" may imply the government attributing godlike qualities to themselves, reinforcing the belief that each citizen should conform to their expectations.

The poem continues with this man's work history. He worked for a major corporation which most likely also influenced this man's behavior, as a large and powerful motor company can "dictate social norms in a significant way"(Overview par 6). The time which he did not work for Fudge Motors Inc. he served in the armed forces, which further reinforces the statistical ideals this man lives out. Both the armed forces as well as major corporations view their underlings in a similar way that the government views its' citizens.

JS/07 M 378 was a member of the Union, who reports he paid his dues and never caused a disturbance. This man had friends and enjoyed a drink now and again. The capitalization of the term Union shows that it too was a powerful entity similar to the government in its' dehumanizing of its' members. The fact that this man likes a drink furthers his normalcy as the practice of workers visiting a pub on their way back from a long day at the factory was a popular pastime during this era. The use of the word "popular" strengthens this citizen's overwhelming compliance with the expected, as this citizen lives adhering to the popular method of behaving.

The Press report that he reacted to advertisements in the way a normal man should, and bought a paper everyday. This man reacted to expectations perfectly; he complied with the norm in every aspect. This is beneficial to advertisers, who form statistics of their own and cater their messages to the reports they form. Since this man conformed perfectly to every statistic, advertisers could easily attract his attention and sell him their products.

The poem goes on to say "Policies taken out in his name prove that he was fully insured, and his Health-card shows he was once in a hospital but left it cured." These lines further the normalcy of this man, who had an illness so normal it was not important enough to mention. The fact that he even had an illness equates more normalcy, as we all get sick with unnamed colds and illnesses in our lifetimes.

More government agencies report, Producers Research and High-Grade Living state that he took advantage of the Installment Plan, and obtained all the material possessions that a normal man of his era should. He had a "phonograph, radio, a car, and a frigidaire.", the frigidaire being the most popular refrigerator brand at the time. By capitalizing the phrase "Modern Man", perhaps Auden is commenting on the government equating divine qualities to citizens who conform to their standards.

In the next few lines, more researchers indicate that the opinions he held corresponded with those the government deemed to be correct, "when there was peace, he was for peace, when there was war, he went." This man never questioned anything for himself, he went along with the crowd, never stepping outside the norm and thinking. He went to war, "not questioning or challenging it any way" (Overview par. 8), simply conforming and blindly believing his government was justified in going to war.

The next three lines speak of his family. He was married and had five children, which the Eugenist declares is the correct amount. The fact that Auden used the term Eugenist perhaps implies a connection between the governments' treatment of this citizen with that of Nazi Germanys' treatment of its' citizens. Eugenics is "selective breeding as proposed human improvement" (MSN Encarta). It is well known that Nazi Germany favored the practice of eugenics in the effort to create a perfect, uniform society. Perhaps Auden is making the statement that with conformity comes chaos, as was the case with Nazi Germany. If every citizen's life fit the statistic, conformity will ultimately lead to the downfall of society.

The final rhyming couplet asks a question, then answers it from the governments' perspective. "Was he free? Was he happy? The question is absurd: Had anything been wrong, we certainly should have heard." This man was in no way free, a person who conforms to society's standards his whole life is certainly not free. As for his happiness, there is never mention that he is happy, and no government report can tell whether or not someone is happy.

Auden intentionally wrote this poem in a very clinical way to make a point about the flawed government that judges people based on reports and documents, and what they believe to be correct and normal. The poem's uneven lines further contribute to its purpose as it reads more like a government report than a poem. It's flat, matter of fact tone enhance the poem's irony as this man's life seems as boring and cold as the reports written about him. Auden's use of rhyme help to exaggerate the uneasy feeling the poem gives the reader. Rhymes vary through the poem, for instance as Carol Pippen writes "Auden uses rhyming lines, but he varies the rhyme so the reader is slightly off balance. The first few lines begin an abab pattern, but by the sixth line Auden fails to supply a b to complement the a rhyme in the fifth line. From then on, Auden rhymes in short spurts." "Just as the reader is expecting rhymes, Auden puts off the rhyme for a few lines." (par. 8).

Auden comments on human nature and our struggle to fit into our society. It is human nature to want to belong, but where does belonging end and denial begin? Auden was himself homosexual, in an era where homosexuality was shunned, and in some countries illegal. In his autobiography Auden writes " We were the tail, a sort of poor relation/To that debauched, eccentric generation/ That grew up with their fathers at the war,/ and made new glosses on the noun Amor." (Callan pg. 34) Auden lived in a time where his lifestyle was irregular and looked down upon. Many homosexuals during this time were forced to live life as heterosexuals, or face the wrath of society. Auden tried to make sense of his sexuality by citing contributing factors such as "the eleven years he spent away from home and parents between the ages of seven and eighteen at boarding schools for boys, and also the fact that between his seventh and twelfth year, his father was absent on war service in France and Egypt." (Callan pg. 34) Perhaps during the time of this poem, he felt the need to fight against the society who had not accepted him, so this poem is enabling him to speak o the homosexuals of his era to break free of the society's expectations, and live their lives as they please. Why try to fit into a society where normalcy will bring you nothing more than being remembered as numbers and reports. Stepping outside the norm, your life perhaps would be remembered for your actions, beliefs, and thoughts.

Perhaps another reason why Auden wrote "The Unknown Citizen" is the outbreak of World War II. The unknown citizen served in the war, and the title itself is reminiscent of "The Unknown Soldier". Auden may have felt hurt and abandoned as a child, when his father was in the medical corps. Maybe this feeling of abandonment gave way to anger at a government that gave life or death commands to soldiers that are honored only as a faceless statistic by the government they fought to uphold. Perhaps Auden is speaking to the many soldiers deployed in World War II, telling them to question the authority that is sending them into harm's way

W.H. Auden wrote this poem in 1940, and although over sixty five years have passed, this poem rings truer than ever. As technology becomes faster, better, and more accurate, we are becoming less human and more of a statistic. We are "losing our personal identity and autonomy" (Pippen par.1) in a society where we are labeled, given a number, and are faceless citizens forming together like a sea of ants. Yet we still all want to fit into the society that dehumanizes us. We do not want to be labeled an outcast, or looked down upon as being different. But if all we achieve for all our efforts to be normal is to be part of a statistic, and remembered as a number, what is the point?

Works Cited

Auden, W.H. "The Unknown Citizen" Literature: The Human Experience shorter 8th Ed. Eds. Richard Abcarion and Marvin Klotz. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2004. 390

Callan, Edward. Auden A Carnival of Intellect Ed. Callan, Edward New York: Oxford University Press 1983

Pippen, Carol Lawson "The Unknown Citizen" Literary Reference Center 4th November, 2006. http://search.ebschost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=1fh&AN=MOLO3s 51000258&site=lrc-live, http://web.ebscohost.com/lrc/detail?vid=14&hid=119&sid=2c369955-5924-4039- 8709-885a9ffa03ba%40sessionmgr7

Platizky, Roger S. "Auden's The Unknown Citizen" Literary Reference Center. 4th November, 2006 http://search.ebscohost&&.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lfh&AN=9203 092930&site=lrc-live, http://web.ebscohost.com/lrc/detail?vid=12&hid=19&sid=2c369955-5924-4039- 8709-885a9ffa03ba%40sessionmgr7

MSN Encarta Dictionary. Eugenics Definition 9th November, 2006 http://encarta.msn.com/dictionary_/eugenics.html

"W.H. Auden" Housatonic Community College Library Literature Resource Center. 27th October, 2006. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/LitRC?vrsn=3&OP=contains&locID=h ousaton_main

Meyer, Bruce " An essay on "The Unknown Citizen" Housatonic Community College Library Literature Resource Center Poetry for Students, Gale 1998. 27th October, 2006. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/LitRC?vrsn=3&OP=contains&locID=h ousaton_main

"Overview : "The Unknown Citizen", by W.H. Auden" Housatonic Community College Library Literature Resource Center--Author Resource Pages 27^th October, 2006. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/LitRC?YBE=A.D.&locID=housaton_m ain&srchtp