On Auden's 'The Unknown Citizen'
CONTENT
W.H. Auden, a renowned and truly free-spirited poet of the 20th century, his works encompassed a wide and varied range of themes, including society, politics, history, and the philosophy of life, all of which established him as an almost unrivalled figure in English literature. Time has a profound effect on the poet's life, and the effects of war, struggle, class, economic crisis, unemployment, despair, and social injustice have all deeply touched the mind of WH Auden. In the first half of the twentieth century, during the chaos of the two world wars, Auden's poetry played a truly significant role in capturing the societal aspects of Europe, this raised horror debates and earned him the incredible accolade of having 'the greatest mind of the twentieth century,' as was expressed by Joseph Brodsky.
The Unknown Citizen is undoubtedly one of Auden's most important poems. It tackles the recurring theme of the dilemma and chaos that modern man faces in a rapidly changing world. The poem was written in 1939 during the horrors of World War II and in this poem. Auden encapsulates the post war turmoil and its underlying causes with a chilling precision. Auden highlights the immense difficulty of maintaining individuality and identity amidst the chaotic nature of the contemporary world, the poem's central theme is the loss of identity in a society defined by materialism, conformity, manipulation and the dominance of technology, there is a clear lack of genuine freedom and a complete absence of personal values. This reflects a period of rising authoritarianism in Europe, a time when rationality and personal distinction were being eroded amid the rise of fascism and the very definition of a common citizen was being reduced to mere, unthinking compliance.
ANALYSIS
For me, the most chilling aspect of the poem is how it uses irony to make the reader question everything, the citizen's identity is first introduced not as a name but as a cold string of characters, 'TOJS/07/M/378', this immediately shows the immense and impersonal control of the state. The poem then proceeds to ironically describe him as a 'saint', this word choice is so powerful because it reveals that he is a man who could do no harm, but only according to the official records that have replaced his true self;
He was found by the Bureau of Statistics to be One against whom there was no official complaint And all the reported on his conduct agree That, in the modern senses of the old-fashioned word, he was
a saint.
This quote proves that his life is viewed as perfect only through the lens of the Bureau of Statistics, he did what was right for the community and never caused a problem. He didn't worry about the world around him, he was just a man who did what he had to do to get by, and the state praised him for it. His own feelings on the matter are never mentioned, they are a complete mystery.
His entire existence is presented as a catalogue of perfect conformity. He worked at 'Fudge Motors Inc.', he never got fired. He wasn't a 'scab or odd in his views', his Union reports that he paid his dues, this allusion to his work life paints him as a man of dignity who just follows the rules. This extends to his home life, he was married, and he 'added five children to the population,'. The poem then adds the truly sinister line, 'Which our Eugenist says was the right number for a parent of his generation.' This direct reference to eugenics, a cornerstone of fascist ideology, shows just how deeply the state's control runs, it has dictated the very makeup of his family. He has produced the exact kind of apathetic and obedient citizen that this kind of government needs to survive.
He also perfectly fulfills the material expectations of his time, he possessed 'everything necessary to the Modern Man', this included 'A phonograph, a radio, a car and a frigidaire'. This is the performance of the American Dream, however, it feels like a hollow list. These are just things, and the poem gives us no sense that they brought him one moment of actual joy, it is a critique of a society that has come to value taxable items over human emotions.
Even the poetic form itself seems to hold a clue, the rhyme scheme is irregular and inconsistent. I believe this was a deliberate choice by Auden, it could be interpreted to show how the Unknown Citizen, despite his flawless record, is not in exact harmony with the state that praises him. The form of the poem seems to contradict the perfect citizen it describes, creating a subtle feeling of unease that something is deeply wrong beneath the polished surface.
And then, at the very end, comes the volta, the turn that shatters the entire monument the state has built to this man. Auden asks two devastatingly simple questions, 'Was he free? Was he happy?'. In the context of this society, the questions are deemed 'absurd'. The state's final, chilling response is that 'Had anything been wrong, we should certainly have heard'. This bureaucratic arrogance, this complete and utter indifference to the individual's soul is something that can be linked directly to the cruel, mechanistic universe of Hardy's Tess. The 'President of the Immortals' who ends his 'sport' with her is the same cold force as Auden's Bureau of Statistics, both are vast, impersonal powers that are completely unmoved by the happiness or suffering of the individual. In my opinion, both Tess and the Unknown Citizen are tragic figures precisely because their humanity is rendered irrelevant by a system that only values them for their function, whether that is their lineage or their tax returns.
You can also read this: The Hollow Men by T.S. Eliot
0 Comments