The Unknown Citizen Explication Essay Example for Free

The Unknown Citizen Explication EssaySeveral conflicts are dramatized in The Unknown Citizen, the most heavy(a) being conformity of the middle class, government manipulation, and the loss of individualism to the standards of an average citizen. The speaker of this meter is non-traditional as the meter is, in fact, an inscription on a marble monument erected by the State. The inscription is consecrated to a JS/07 M 378presumably, The Unknown Citizen, although this term entirely appears in the title. The Unknown Citizen is essenti entirelyy an elegy, a wail for the dead, written by either a government official or a strong believer in the government. This becomes clear through the speakers repeated use of possession, much(prenominal) as in gunstock 12, our Social Psychology workers found and Our researchers into public opinion are content (22). These references establish the poems criticism of government manipulation and very closely mirror the same notions within the unf ermented 1984. The speaker offers insight into just how severe this government infiltration is, mentioning an active Bureau of Statistics (1), a Health-card administered to all citizens (17), and personal information drawn from reports on his conduct (3).Another conflict that arises within the poem is that of a dominating middle class. The pen defines the Modern Manwhich is similarly capitalized to represent a distinct juntoas one who possesses all the necessities, including a phonograph, a radio, a car, and a Frigidaire (21). The poem becomes almost satirical here. The speaker continues, He was married and added five children to the populationthe right number for a parent of his contemporaries (25-26). The poet outlines society and the governments idea of the ideal middle class modern man, however, with much irony.Regardless, with this elegy, the author intends to praise the life of the unknown citizen, but succeeds plainly in detailing the fact that his life was undisruptive and that he closely followed the acceptations of a rigid society. Among his praises, for example When there was peace, he was for peace when there was war, he went (24). In this, it becomes clear to the reader that you do not inadequacy to be an average citizen you do not want this to be your elegy. Some critics argue this, however, as Auden stating that there is postal code disgraceful in being unknown.The poem is, above all, a satire of the way conformity hinders the individual and leaves ridiculous and solely external distinctions amongst human beings. Auden presents an allegory in The Unknown Citizen that begins even before the poem itself. The phrase Unknown Citizen appears only oncein the title. This term is an immediate allusion to and parody of the Unknown Soldier, especially considering the details of who the poem is utilize to and the fact that it is found on a marble monument, much like those one might expect to see in Washington, D. C. here the United States is kinf olk to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.The Unknown Solider is a pass who cannot be recognized after being found in battle. This sometimes-controversial idea can be taken to mean that many people die as unknowns because they lived uninfluential lives. Aside from this large allegory, the poem uses only a few rhetorical devices. In line four, for example, in the modern sense of an old-fashioned word, he was a saint is quite an exaggeration because being one against whom there was no official unhealthiness is hardly saintly (2).Another example, in line 20, is had everything necessary to the Modern Man. If this were not an exaggeration, it would be super disturbing to agree that all one needs are the classic symbols of a squeaky-clean 1930s home a car, a radio, and a refrigerator. This 1930s theme continues in two particular allusions. In line eight, it is written that the citizen was employed by Fudge Motors, Inc. which closely resembles the automobile giant of both(prenominal) t hen and now, hybridization Motors, Inc. , but is, through fudge, slightly more appealing.Next, in line 18, are mentions of the groups Producers Research and High-Grade keep which are likely allusions to Consumer Reports and Good Housekeeping, respectively. Both U. S. publications are tokens of a middle class, perfect society. The Unknown Citizen consists of both patterned meter and verse, however, both are inconsistent. The meter is loosely anapestic, meaning that each metrical pes consists of two unstressed beats followed by a stressed beat. Line one is an example of such He was found by the Bureau of Statistics to be. Other anapestic lines are scattered throughout the poem.The rhyme scheme begins as ABAB and then, in line 9, proceeds for some time in rhyming couplets. These patterns are occasionally broken, however. Consistent or not, this rhyme does create a sort of melodious honorable piece reading. Some lines even resemble the simplistic and song-like style of nursery rh ymes. For example Yet he wasnt a scab or odd in his views/ For his Union reports that he paid his dues (9-10). This type of sound is rather merry and is a stark contrast to the less-than-celebratory subject matter, which is yet another development of irony.The poem, because of how it rhymes, is also highly particular, almost robotic or even perfect, which parallels to the citizens perfect life. Auden completes the poem masterfully by divergence two questions on the monument questions that any reader would beg after such an elegy. The speaker asks Was he free? Was he happy? and is immediately defensive upon answering, an obvious tone shift. Although the speaker insists that had anything been wrong, we should certainly assume heard (29), it is impossible to trust a government that erects expensive marble statues in honor of nothing more than numbers, statistics, and the status quo.