The poem summarizes the life of an "Unknown Citizen" through impersonal reports from various government organizations. It describes the man's perfect conformity to society - he was a model employee, bought newspapers daily, had a family of the recommended size, and agreed with whatever political views were expected of him. The last lines dismiss the question of whether he was truly free or happy, as the government claims it would have known if anything was wrong. Through this dystopian portrayal, the poem criticizes how the modern state reduces citizens to statistics and prioritizes conformity over individualism.

1. The Unknown citizen
W H Auden

2. About Poem
• "The Unknown Citizen" is a poem written by W. H. Auden in 1939.
• The poem was first published on January 6, 1940 in The New Yorker, and first
appeared in book form in Auden's collection Another Time (Random House,
1940).
• The poem is the epitaph of a man identified only by a combination of letters and
numbers somewhat like an American Social Security number ("JS/07/M/378"),
who is described entirely in external terms: from the point of view of
government organizations such as the fictional "Bureau of Statistics."
• The poem is a satire of standardization at the expense of individualism.
• Tone : impersonal and monotone

3. 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,
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.
Bureau of statistics : स ांख्यिकी
ब्यूरो
Saint : good person , आचरण
Conduct : behaviour
Greater community : स म जिक
जित
Community : group
Fired : dismiss ,जिक ल ि ि

4. 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
Instalment Plan
Scab : odd , जिजचत्र
Dues : expected at or planned for at a
certain time
Union : सांघ
Social psychology : स म जिक
मिोजिज्ञ ि
Mates : friends
Press : media
Convince : satisfy
Cured : recover
Sensible : mature

5. 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.
Necessary : required
Frigidaire : fridge
Content : satisfied
Opinions : judgement
Peace : calm
Phonograph : gramophone, tape
recorder
Eugenist : those who study genetic
quality of population
Absurd : pointless
Certainly : definitely

6. Interpretation
“The Unknown Citizen” by W.H. Auden describes, through the form of a dystopian report,
the life of an unknown man.[3]
By describing the "average citizen" through the eyes of various government organizations, the poem
criticizes standardization and the modern state's relationship with its citizens. The last lines of the
poem dismiss the questions of whether he was "free" or "happy", implicitly because the 'statistical
method' strategy used by the state to judge his life cannot understand such questions.
The manipulative "State" in Auden's poem celebrates "The Unknown Citizen" as the ideal citizen.
The epigraph to "The Unknown Citizen" is a parody of the symbolic Tomb of the Unknown
Soldier commemorating unidentified soldiers; tombs of unknown soldiers were first created following
the first World War.[5]
It is not just government organizations that Auden criticizes. His employer is "satisfied", his union
"reports he paid his dues", his mates are found to like him, and the press are pleased with his buying
papers daily and responding to the ads. The industry poll takers are happy with his buying habits,
and teachers are glad he stayed out of their way. In Auden's poem, the entire system and society
are responsible for the loss of individualism, whether or not government was the initial cause of
the decline.

7. Summary
The poem begins with the speaker stating the fact that throughout his life there was never
one “complaint” against the citizen. No one thought badly of him, in fact, he was more
like a “saint” than anything else. The next section of the poem tells of the man’s
popularity. He was well-liked by his friends, social enough to be normal, and dedicated to
his work. The man served the “Community” for his entire life. The only lapse in his work
for his company was when he went to serve in the “War,” and now, after he has died.
The speaker also states that the man read the newspapers to a sufficient degree. He went
to the hospital once, but left quickly, “cured,” as he should have been. The citizen
consumed all the latest technologies, as a “Modern Man” should, and owned the proper
devices.
In the final section of the poem, the speaker concludes his report. He states that the man
was “for” war when he was supposed to be, and for “peace,” when the government told him
to be. The last lines prompt the questions a reader might have been wondering the whole
time. Was this man happy? Was he free? These are things that the speaker sees as
“absurd.” He states that, of course, the man was happy, the government would have
“known” if he wasn’t.

8. The End