Analysis Of The Poem The Unknown Citizen - 1518 Words

â€Å"The Unknown Citizen† by W.H Auden and â€Å"next to of course god america i† by e.e. cumming are two poems that deal with similar issues. They both address the issue of dying soldiers and blame blind patriotism for the deaths of these soldiers. The theme of both poems deals with the need for citizens to become more outspoken and follow their own beliefs instead of simply following their country. However, each poem addresses a topic that isn’t found in the other poem, and the poems themselves are structurally different. Auden’s poem is simply a description of a man who lived in the past. It is very reasonable to say that this man lived in the first half of the 20th Century, considering the fact that Auden states that the average person owned: â€Å"a phonograph, a radio, a car and a Frigidaire† (line 21). At the beginning of the poem, the man is described as a â€Å"saint† (4). However, as the poem/description continues, it becomes apparent that he was hardly a praise-worthy person. He was simply a man who did what he was told. In Bruce Meyer’s essay, he states that â€Å"the Unknown Citizen was a law-abiding veteran and union member who served his community through his very facelessness and his participation in a consumer society† (par. 9). He was never â€Å"odd in his views†, meaning that he was completely conformed to the views of the nation (Auden 9). The poem continues to describe this excessively normal man, and at the end of the poem, Auden writes: â€Å"Was he free? Was he happy? The questionShow MoreRelatedPoem Analysis: The Unknown Citizen Essay977 Words   |  4 Pagesthose who actually never do anything. However, the Unknown Citizen has a monument built as a symbol of his perfection. Thus, Audens The Unknown Citizen shows how the government makes each individual merely a number unless they do not conform to societys norms. The monument of the unknown citizen is erected not to honor the memory of a man, but to show how he is the perfect example of a good citizen (Auden). In this poem, the citizen is just an average person who never stands out amongRead MoreAnalysis Of The Poem Unknown Citizen And The Short Story The Lottery 1230 Words   |  5 PagesUnexpected Truth The Poem Unknown Citizen and the short story The Lottery give examples how people can rebel and conform in different ways. The way these stories were written evokes a lot of emotions, from anger to confusion. In life there are two people in the world, ones who conform to every whim and those who will rebel to create a difference in their society or others. The Unknown Citizen, by W. H. Auden, is about a man who obeys the law and does what needs to done by a normal citizen. The author paintedRead MoreThe Unknown Citizen by W.H. Auden Essay970 Words   |  4 PagesThe Unknown Citizen by W.H. Auden The poem that I am going to talk about is the Unknown Citizen by W.H Auden. I am going to talk about what I first glimpse in the poem but then after further study what you actually see. At the start of the poem under the title it hasRead MoreThe Unknown Citizen By. Auden1527 Words   |  7 PagesThe Unknown Citizen Analysis The Unknown Citizen, written by W.H. Auden, is a satirical poem declaring the petty accomplishments achieved by an unnamed citizen in a presumably American or industrialized society. Through several readings of the poem, many would not even consider the Unknown Citizen as a poem, but rather, a letter of recommendation or a speech for a political election. The only obvious characteristic of this piece resembling a poem is the rhyming scheme. Other than rhyming, thereRead More Analysis of The Unknown Citizen by W.H. Auden Essay examples1464 Words   |  6 PagesAnalysis of The Unknown Citizen by W.H. Auden â€Å"The Unknown Citizen†, written by W.H. Auden during 1940, is a poem where the speaker, a representative of the state or government, directs a speech to the audience about a monument being erected for a citizen. Written in free verse, although using many couplets, this poem is a poem that describes the life of a certain person through his records and documents. This citizen is portrayed as a normal and average human being who is being honouredRead MoreThe Unknown Citizen by W.H.Auden1320 Words   |  5 PagesThe poem â€Å"The Unknown Citizen† by W.H. Auden is a poem with a strong message to a wide audience. It portrays a political system’s control over its citizen. The poem is telling us we are a product of our countries, we are nothing but a number of digits to be identified. The poem revolves around the life of the unknown citizen, JS/07/M/378, who was granted a monument by the government in honor of his flawless life in an un-free society. He is by all means the perfect citizen, the citizen who has devotedRead MoreWho Are We to Judge? Essay example578 Words   |  3 Pagesand Wystan Audens, The Unknown Citizen try to do this. Who is to say that their analysis of the two characters is correct? The two poems are based only on what is observed, not what is known. Richard Cory is structured in a very consistent, easy to read manner, but is as harsh and radical as the form is classical and neat. The poem is an extended description of a man, a very rich, successful man, named Richard Cory. The narrator of the poem spends a good part of the poem, the first three stanzasRead MoreAnalysis Of Auden s The Unknown Citizen, And Funeral Blues All By Auden2119 Words   |  9 Pagesduring this period was strong, influenced mostly by his experiences in the Spanish Civil War, but his social views were always more complex labels that were given to him. Three works of Auden that can be analysed are â€Å"September 1, 1939†, â€Å"The Unknown Citizen†, and â€Å"Funeral Blues† all by Auden all share ideas of totalitarianism and death even though they all have varying structures. Auden was born in York, England on February 21, 1907. He was raised in a very industrial area in Northern EnglandRead MoreCritical Analysis Of Richard Cory820 Words   |  4 PagesThe poem â€Å"Richard Cory† is Robinson’s famous poem about a man named Richard Cory who was outwardly wealthy and admirable to many. The poem adopts an overly narrative style. Through this style, the poet is able to detail of the life and timesof Robinson Cory as a loner of the upper social class in America. It is a tale of internal conflict and dissatisfaction experienced by a man who everybody admired. The personadescribes him using finest terms such as ‘gentleman’ to denote of how people of the lowerRead MoreThe World Is Too Much With Us And The Unknown Citizen2049 Words   |  9 PagesWorld Is Too Much With Us / The Unknown Citizen† This is a critical analysis of two poems – The world is too much with us by William Wordsworth, and The Unknown Citizen by W.H. Auden focusing on how the two poems highlight the mundane drudgery of life. It is a drudgery, and one that people do not even recognize because they are consumed in leading materialistic ways of life, conforming to the state and the society or both. The text proceeds from analyzing each poem individually, and later draws parallels