Learning Goal After reading “The Unknown Citizen”, SWBAT provide a brief analysis by considering theme, tone, and diction In addition, SWBAT engage in accountable talk Rate yourself – now, in the middle, and before the end of the period Listen to poem at -

DO NOW - If YOU died today what would people say about you? What would your friends say? What about your Parents? What about the Government? –To the Government are you unique, or are you just a number? –Would they say all the emotional things your friends and parents would? –Would they even care that you died?

W.H. Auden W.H. Auden was homosexual He was an advocate of socialism and Freudian psychoanalysis Auden was also a noted playwright, editor, and author W. H. Auden was a Chancellor of The Academy of American Poets from 1954 to 1973

An added note The epigraph or the subtitle of the poem we are going to study today reads: “To JS/07/M/378/ This Marble Monument Is Erected by the State”.

The Unknown Citizen 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. 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 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.

Provide a General Analysis The poem is meant to be a government’s report on a man who has passed away. There is no emotion in this report, telling us of only the basic facts of the man’s life. This is supposed to show us how the government only views the citizens as a number, and not a unique individual.

Lines 1-5 (questions 1-4) 1 st, when considering diction, notice the passive voice, which indicates the citizen’s lack of initiative. 1.The use of “statistics” means a collection of numerical data, suggesting he is responsible for producing data about the American people and economy, so he is constrained by the rules and laws of the state. 2.The government calls him a saint because he serves the community and conforms. Auden is criticizing the government for promoting conformity and not individualism. 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.

Lines 1-5 (questions 1-4) 3. Why is the word, “saint” considered an old – fashioned word” in line 4? “Saint” is used as a metaphor, yet it is considered “old- fashioned” because the picture that the poem paints of a 'Modern Man' is that he is someone who is devoid of the values that make him human. 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.

a)Lived a moral life b)Served in the armed forces when he was drafted c)Dedicated his resources to the poor around the world d)Was religiously pious e)Fulfilled the expectations of the well- known organizations, such as the government who describe him throughout the poem 4. The punctuating of the phrase “served the Greater Community” suggests that the Unknown Citizen…

a)Lived a moral life b)Served in the armed forces when he was drafted c)Dedicated his resources to the poor around the world d)Was religiously pious e)Fulfilled the expectations of the well- known organizations, such as the government who describe him throughout the poem 4. The punctuating of the phrase “served the Greater Community” suggests that the Unknown Citizen…

The use of capital letters throughout the poem reveals a pattern: all capitalized words relate to the concept of people as groups ( “Bureau of Statistics”, “Greater Community,” “Union,” “Health - card,” “Eugenist”). Humankind, then, can be seen as just another unit of the state.

Let’s work together - Lines 7-8 He worked in a factory and never got fired, But satisfied his employers, Fudge Motors Inc. 5. What might the employer name, “Fudge Motors,” (line 8) parody today? He worked in a factory and never got fired, But satisfied his employers, Fudge Motors Inc. Auden makes a parody of Ford Motors, by calling it Fudge Motors. He is criticizing large businesses.

Line 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. 12. They own mechanical goods; hence, the quality of a person is now based NOT on their character or personality but their material possessions. He himself has become a machine that does nothing out of his normal routine and lives in a state of mental slavery to the government. 13. Line 23 means he works in the way the society runs.

Theme Theme is defined as: A subject or topic on which a person writes or speaks. Auden use’s Theme by keeping his poem, The Unknown Citizen about one central topic. The theme in this poem is the life of a man told by the government. Auden stays on this topic throughout the poem and does not go off on unrelated tangents. By sticking to this general theme he is able to convey a message to his readers. Create a claim that illustrates your understanding of a theme.

a)Solemn b)Diagnostic c)Appreciative d)Condescending e)Awe-inspired So far…the tone of “The Unknown Citizen” is best described as…

a)Solemn b)Diagnostic c)Appreciative d)Condescending e)Awe-inspired The tone of “The Unknown Citizen” is best described as…

Diction The speaker's language can be seen as a reflection of his values. The level of diction is consistently formal and remote, almost computerized. (e.g. “he added five children to the population.”

Free Verse Free Verse is defined as: verse without regular meter or rhyme. 12And our Social Psychology workers found 13That he was popular with his mates and liked a drink. 14The Press are convinced that he bought a paper every day 15And that his reactions to advertisements were normal in every way. These lines show how he used free verse by rhyming some lines while in others he did not. These also show his use of free verse by the difference in meter and syllables per line.

Final Analysis Throughout Auden suggests our society has created a set of rules and regulations which we are supposed to follow, but the stress for individuals to conform to this system makes one lose his individuality. This conformity creates the “unknown citizen”

Questions? What did you think of the poem? Do you believe its message rings true in today's world? What is theme and free verse?

Bibliography " W.H. Auden." Poets.org The Academy of American Poets. Web.12 May "Auden, W. H.." The Oxford Companion to Twentieth-Century Poetry in English Biography Reference Bank. H. W. Wilson. NASH Library, Wexford, PA, May 2009 < "Auden, W(ystan) H(ugh) ( )." DISCovering Authors. Online ed. Detroit: Gale, Student Resource Center - Bronze. Gale. North Allegheny Senior High School. 13 May 2009.