|
|
 |
|
|
User Rating: |
|
7.4
/10
(17
votes)
|
|
|
|
|
|
(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 oldfashioned word, he was a
saint,
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,
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
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
And had everything necessary to the Modern Man,
A phonograph, a radio, a car and a frigidaire.
Our researchers 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.
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.
W.H. Auden
|
|
Read poems about / on: education, war, peace, car, children, happy, teacher, work, child
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Comments about this poem (The Unknown Citizen
by
W.H. Auden
) |
|
Click here to write your
comments about this poem (The Unknown Citizen by
W.H. Auden
)
 |
Sahrish Shaikh
(11/14/2006 10:32:00 AM) |
The poem tells a story of a Middle Class man who is just another face in the crowd and who never raised his voice in government matters nor did he interfere in any policies made by government this might be an indication that he was satisfied and content from the government but it seems this poem is criticism to the government where the common men might seem satisfied but they are actually not free to give their opinions or tell their problems to officials. The poem is about the citizen who was least concerned about his homeland's policies in times of war without knowing any reason the citizen fought for his country. This piece of poetry by Auden may give us the conclusion that if we raise our voice in official matters through this way we might exercise our rights and make things easier for government by informing our problems to them. If we all take our place as responsible citizens we might be helpful to develop our country and help for its future to be bright.
|
|
|
|
Protik Basu
(12/26/2005 6:33:00 AM) |
a poem that has influenced me from childhood.....this is a very thought provoking poem.....on the necessity of free thought, of dissent in life, however small may it be, otherwise as the poem fortells, you just become a statistic.
|
|
Read all
2
comments >>
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
|
|
 |
|
People who read
W.H. Auden
|
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
