The Unknown Citizen

- Wystan Hugh Auden

Satire: The use of humour, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize

people’s stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and

other topical issues

Conformity: Behaviour in accordance with socially accepted conventions

E.g. The State expects unquestioned conformity from its citizens.

Individuality: The quality or character of a particular person or thing that

distinguishes them from others of the same kind, especially when strongly marked.

E.g. Self-expression and individuality are the greatest weapons against tyranny.

Elegy: A poem of serious reflection, typically a lament for the dead

Mass Surveillance: The intricate surveillance of an entire or a substantial fraction

of a population in order to monitor that group of citizens.

“The Unknown Citizen” by W. H. Auden is a satirical poem based on the very

serious military Unknown Soldier which is a tribute to those soldiers who died

fighting for their country but could not be identified. 

The title establishes the subject of the poem but is never mentioned again. The

poem is supposedly written on a statue built by the state.

THE USE OF IRONY IN THE POEM

There are three main types of irony. In verbal irony, a statement means the

opposite of its literal meaning. In situational irony, a situation is the opposite of

what it is presented to be. In dramatic irony, audiences or readers know something

that the characters in a literary work do not.

Though Auden employs a good deal of verbal irony and some dramatic irony, the

main thrust of the poem is to express situational irony. The irony is that although

the unknown citizen is being celebrated with a "marble monument" for his

exemplary life, the poem, in reality, depicts a mindless person brainwashed to

conform to the desires of the state. He is more a machine than a human. This is

emphasized in the rhetorical questions asked and then dismissed as "absurd" at the

end of the poem:

Was he free? Was he happy?

The poem shows that simply doing what you are programmed to do robs a person

of freedom and happiness. It is ironic to honor this way of living.

The speaker believes that the questions, "Was he free? Was he happy?" are absurd

and have no real bearing or relevance on this citizen's story. Typically, we think of

freedom and happiness as quite important, but the speaker seems to think of

meeting one's obligations to society as paramount: so the irony begins. The speaker

reports that the man was "fully insured," and when he was once admitted to the

hospital, the man left "cured." He had the "right number" of children for a person

of his era, and he owned all of the appropriate appliances: kitchen and otherwise.

The citizen, it seems, did everything that society says that one is supposed to do: he

didn't rock the boat or make waves; instead, he did what seemed right and proper

to others at each stage of his life, including his death.

In everything he did, the speaker says, "he served the Greater Community." But is

this really what makes a person a "saint," even in "the modern sense"? The speaker

does not seem to have any awareness of how ludicrous, how meaningless his praise

is. Paying one's Union dues and never getting fired hardly, or should hardly qualify

one for sainthood! The speaker, however, does not realize the problem, that his

assessment of another person's life is so radically shallow and incomplete, and this

is what creates the dramatic irony: we become increasingly aware of this

shallowness while the speaker remains ignorant of it.

One piece of irony is that the "unknown citizen" is quite well-known. The reader

knows that the citizen worked at the Fudge Motor Company, that he had five

children, and that he was married. He was a union member. Everything that is

"known" about the man comes from the reports of various experts. The man is

known by the paper trail that he left behind in his life. The questions "Was he

free?" and "Was he happy?" are only mentioned at the end of the poem as

afterthoughts, since according to society, they did not really matter as much as the

measurable things he did with his life, such as work in a factory and have children.

The citizen in "The Unknown Citizen" was neither happy nor free. What's more,

the speaker regards the very question as absurd.

The unknown citizen, like all citizens in this regimented society, isn't supposed to

be happy or free. He's expected to conform; to do what the government wants him

to do. And throughout his life that's just what he's done.

This man is a government's dream; he does everything expected of him, making

him easy to control. If the man had been free, then the speaker's assessment of him

wouldn't have been nearly as positive. Then, the citizen would've been more

difficult to control, his habits more difficult to fit into the precise categories of

behavior laid down by the bureaucracy.

As for the unknown citizen's happiness, that's also completely irrelevant to the

powers-that-be. Whether the man is happy or sad is of no concern to the

government's large and growing army of statisticians, economists, and social

researchers. All that matters to them is that he can be controlled and surveilled so

that he doesn't step out of line. 

What does the poet want to convey about modern society through the poem

"The Unknown Citizen"?

Through the poem “The Unknown Citizen,” Auden wants to convey the idea that

modern society is overly regimented and controlled by the state. As a result, people

have become dehumanized, treated as nothing more than cogs in a gigantic

machine.

Auden wrote "The Unknown Citizen" in 1939 after he moved to The United States.

It was published early in 1940. At this point, World War II had begun in Europe,

but the US would not enter the war for almost two more years. (When the poem

mentions "the War," it is referring to World War I.)

The poem critiques the way modern society instrumentalizes human beings. To

instrumentalize a person is to use them merely to extract as much value or profit

from them as possible. It is considered unethical, for instance, to have a second

child so that that child's bone marrow can be extracted to treat an illness in the first

child. A person should not be birthed simply to be used.

In this poem, however, the state finds in the unknown citizen the model citizen

because he is utterly instrumentalized. He completely conforms and does

everything he is supposed to do, without deviation. He comes to work regularly

and without complaint, so society is able to extract maximum value from his

labor. 

The Dangers of Conformity

The poem "The Unknown Citizen " by W.H. Auden, is a poem about the dangers

of conformity and the failure to cultivate a sense of individuality. The individual

that is described in the story is somebody who never made a mark on society. He

did everything that he thought was supposed to be done and never took his own

individualism into account.            

This poem is being written by W.H. Auden but it is actually the inscription on the

man's headstone. The man who is not even identified by a name, only a number, is

being honored by the state. The entire poem is a description of his life but in a very

detached sort of way. They describe his life from the beginning when he worked at

a car manufacturing plant, to entering the army, having children, and then dying.

The way they describe is harsh. They do not say whether he was happy with his job
at the factory or whether he liked being in the army. They simply say it as though

he were a robot and that he was preprogrammed and expected to follow this route.

When they describe him having children, they simply state that he added five

children to the population instead of describing it as him having had children.

Every bureau or department just viewed him as a number. The government tracked

his life in every minute detail without really caring if the person was happy or

enjoyed his life, just as long as he followed the path set forth by the state.

Discuss the state versus the individual in the poem "The Unknown Citizen."

The state’s perspective of the unknown citizen is made absolutely clear in the

poem’s subheading, where the state addresses the citizen by a selection of letters

and numbers, “JS/07 M 378.” The unknown citizen is reduced to this

administrative label which fits a bureaucratic system and is devoid of any

sentiment or human distinction.

The speaker in the poem, the state, goes on to elaborate why this “Marble

Monument / Is Erected by the State” by listing the attributes which the unknown

citizen has fulfilled. In listing these attributes, the reader is able to understand what

the state values in its citizens. This is also very telling, as it reveals that
individuality is, by implication, not valued. What is valued is complying with

behavior and attitudes the state deems appropriate.

The state values citizens who behave appropriately and do not cause complaints to

be lodged by their community or employers. Behavior is the first attribute to be

listed and as such is surely essential from the state’s perspective. There is not a

single “official complaint” against the unknown citizen; he “served the Greater

Community” and “never got fired” from his job at the automotive factory. This

suggests that he complied with the rules and regulations set by his employer as

well as the social norms and values implicit within his community. The state

values this ability to remain assimilated within an occupational and communal

environment.

Not being a “scab or odd in his views” tells the reader that the citizen neither

betrayed his fellow employees nor supported views contradictory to his employer.

Consider “odd” to not only mean “strange” but also to recall the phrase “to be at

odds” with someone, which suggests being in conflict with someone. The fact that

the unknown citizen also maintains suitable social ties outside of work and “was

popular with his mates” supports his ability to conform socially and not be

confrontational on any level. The unknown citizen is a well-oiled cog in the

economy and society. In this manner the unknown citizen has contributed to the
governing force, the state, being able to maintain its control and authority over

other citizens.

Further on in the poem, the state reveals that this citizen effectively fulfilled his

role as a consumer in all areas. His “normal” reactions to advertisements fulfilled

the expectation by the Press. Remember to consider the role of the press in

furthering the state’s goals. Responding in a “normal” manner also suggests

support for the information being shared by the state. This is further emphasized by

the state later on in the poem when the reader sees that the unknown citizen “held

the proper opinions for the time of year.” The state needs to control public opinion

to the extent that it protects itself from criticism and attack. This unknown citizen

is celebrated for conforming to the opinions the state deems acceptable and

changing his views to follow the changing views of the state.

Additional economic contribution can be noted in the description that the unknown

citizen complies with responsible requirements to pay for insurance policies, attend

the hospital as needed, and make use of debt (“Installment Plan”). He purchases

things “necessary to the Modern Man,” no doubt adding to his debt in the process.

Being in debt further solidifies his need to acquiesce to the demands set by his

employer and to obediently remain a cog in the wheels of the state’s economy.
Even in terms of his most basic humanity, the unknown citizen fulfills the state’s

expectations by accepting peace and risking his life in war when necessary. He

contributes children to the population with “the right number for a parent of his

generation” and in doing so provides the state with more citizens to support its

goals. This is emphasized with the line: “our teachers report that he never

interfered with their education.” The implication being that the state now has more

faithful citizens, more cogs in the social and economical machines that sustain its

power.

All these attributes are listed by the state in the form of a eulogy celebrating citizen

JS/07 M 378’s existence. The fact that the state values these particular attributes

shows that the state, as a larger, powerful entity, has triumphed over the individual.

None of the attributes suggest any form of creativity or individuality or that the

citizen made a noteworthy comment or action at any point in his life. Considering

the unknown citizen to be an individual is, in this context, a contradiction in terms,

as there is simply nothing individualistic about him.

The last two lines of the poem emphasize the state's dislike of individuality when

the reader is told that questions of happiness and freedom are “absurd.” Individuals

experience happiness and freedom differently. If the citizen had ever attempted

freedom from conforming to the occupational, social, materialistic, and political

expectations of the state, it would have been “wrong” and something “we should

certainly have heard.” Happiness for the individual is also deemed an “absurd”

consideration, as contentment with conformity is what is valued by the state. There

is therefore no room for the individual in the state’s bureaucratic management of

existence.

The citizen in this context is not viewed as an individual but is instead measured in

terms of his successful membership in groups valued by the state and his ability to

assimilate and lose his individuality within these groups.

To the state, such a citizen is no more than a collection of statistics. This unknown

citizen is, judging by the state's statistics, relatively obedient. He is a diligent

worker. He pays his Union dues. He goes to war when there is war and embraces

peace when there is peace. He has the right amount of children, as determined by

the state. He buys the right products. The state notes all of these statistics about this

individual, but the statistics do not tell us the personality of the man. In terms of

recognizing this man's humanity, his hopes, and dreams, the essence of this

individual cannot be condensed to a set of categories and appliances that the man

owned. 

The poem ends with legitimate questions which are dismissed. The speaker or

speakers of the poem (presumably speaking as the state or the Bureau) ask if the
man was free or happy. They answer their own question, saying that such questions

are absurd. Clearly, the state does not care if he had been happy or free. He was a

good citizen if he was obedient. His happiness is irrelevant to them. 

Auden also presents the notion that the obedient citizen is perhaps less free and

maybe less happy. If the citizen would instead resist the state's institutional

instructions, he might be more free. And if he makes a name for himself in this

way (via protest, alternate lifestyle, etc.) he or she would become "known."

However, becoming known as a dissenter is something the state would try to

repress or discipline. 

This poem is quite prescient considering how citizens' information is collected

today. With most things computerized, all of our information is archived. Even our

names are replaced with usernames and passwords. All of our information is based

upon bank codes, purchase records, etc. If he had been alive during the computer

age, Auden might have slightly altered his poem and called it "The Unknown

Consumer." 

The overall language of the poem is quite plain. The speaker's language can be

seen as a reflection of his values. The level of diction is consistently formal and

remote, almost computerized. (e.g. “he added five children to the population.”)
Although the speaker commends the citizen, his word choices reveal a patronizing

tone. The speaker is clearly pleased with what he considers exemplary behavior on

the part of the citizen, but the poem leads us to question the standards by which the

citizen is being judged. Through dramatic irony we find how Auden and the

speaker differ in attitude towards the citizen. The speaker praises the citizen

because “Ourresearchers into Public Opinion are content/That he held the proper

opinions for the time of year,” but Auden’s implication is that the citizen didn’t

think for himself. “he bought a paper every day/And his reactions to

advertisements were normal in every way.” Auden, by associating the citizen’s

daily purchase of the newspaper with his reactions to the ads, is suggesting that the

citizen’s reading of the papers was superficial and mechanical. A clue to Auden's

attitude towards the speaker comes in the two words 'happy' and 'free'. The

questions of citizen's happiness and freedom are said to be absurd by the speaker;

absurd in the sense that it is far-fetched to even consider finding out the true

answer or in the sense that there is absolutely no chance of the citizen being

unhappy. This ambiguity shows that speaker possibly holds negative views for

happiness and freedom. The overall tone of the poem is mocking and satirical.