W. H. AUDEN

Wystan Hugh Auden (1907–1973) was born in York, England, and educated at Oxford University. In the 1930s his witty left-wing poetry earned him wide acclaim as the leading poet of his generation. In 1939 he came to the United States, becoming a citizen in 1946 but returning to England for his last years. Much of Auden’s poetry is characterized by a combination of colloquial diction and technical dexterity. The poem reprinted here was originally published in 1940.

663

The Unknown Citizen

(To JS/07/M/378

This Marble Monument

Is Erected by the State)

He was found by the Bureau of Statistics to be

One against whom there was no official complaint,

And all the reports on his conduct agree

That, in the modern sense of an old-fashioned word, he was a saint,

5 For in everything he did he served the Greater Community.

Except for the War till the day he retired

He worked in a factory and never got fired,

But satisfied his employers, Fudge Motors Inc.

Yet he wasn’t a scab or odd in his views,

10 For his Union reports that he paid his dues,

(Our report on his Union shows it was sound)

And our Social Psychology workers found

That he was popular with his mates and liked a drink.

The Press are convinced that he bought a paper every day

15 And that his reactions to advertisements were normal in every way.

Policies taken out in his name prove that he was fully insured,

And his Health-card shows he was once in hospital but left it cured.

Both Producers Research and High-Grade Living declare

He was fully sensible to the advantages of the Installment Plan

20 And had everything necessary to the Modern Man,

A phonograph, radio, a car and a frigidaire.

Our researches into Public Opinion are content

That he held the proper opinions for the time of year;

When there was peace, he was for peace; when there was war, he went.

25 He was married and added five children to the population,

Which our Eugenist says was the right number for a parent of his generation,

And our teachers report that he never interfered with their education.

Was he free? Was he happy? The question is absurd:

Had anything been wrong, we should certainly have heard.

Topics for Critical Thinking and Writing

  1. Who is the narrator in W. H. Auden’s poem, and on what sort of occasion is he speaking? How do you know?

  2. France, Great Britain, and the United States all have monuments to “The Unknown” (formerly “The Unknown Soldier”). How is Auden’s proposed monument like and unlike these war memorials?

  3. The poem ends by asking “Was he free? Was he happy?” and the questions are dismissed summarily. Is that because the answers are so obvious? What answers (obvious or subtle) do you think the poem offers to these questions?

  4. Evaluate the poem, making clear the reasons behind your evaluation.

  5. If you have read the selection from Thomas More’s Utopia, write an essay of 500 to 750 words — in More’s voice — setting forth More’s response to Auden’s poem.