Themes of W.H. Auden's "The Unknown Citizen": Conformity and Anonymity in The Modern World

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

Citizen"
Conformity and Anonymity in the Modern World
Julie Moore, Yahoo! Contributor Network
Jan 4, 2008
"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

Themes of W.H. Auden's "The Unknown Citizen": Conformity and Anonymity in The Modern World

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Themes of W.H. Auden's "The Unknown Citizen": Conformity and Anonymity in The Modern World

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Themes of W.H.

Auden's "The Unknown

You might also like