The Unknown Citizen
E519950
"The Unknown Citizen" is a satirical poem by W. H. Auden that critiques modern bureaucratic society’s tendency to reduce individuals to statistics and official records.
Statements (48)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf | poem ⓘ |
| analyzedFor |
social commentary
ⓘ
use of irony ⓘ |
| author | W. H. Auden NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| contains | epitaph-like dedication ⓘ |
| countryOfOrigin |
United States of America
ⓘ
surface form:
United States
|
| criticizes |
impersonal state record-keeping
ⓘ
modern bureaucratic society ⓘ reduction of individuals to statistics ⓘ |
| firstPublicationYear | 1940 ⓘ |
| focusesOn | an unnamed model citizen ⓘ |
| form | free verse ⓘ |
| frequentlyAnthologizedIn | 20th-century English poetry collections ⓘ |
| genre |
modernist poetry
ⓘ
satire ⓘ social criticism ⓘ |
| hasTitleAllusionTo | The Unknown Soldier NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| language | English ⓘ |
| literaryMovement | Modernism ⓘ |
| meter | irregular ⓘ |
| narrativeVoice | impersonal bureaucratic observer ⓘ |
| partOf | W. H. Auden's mid-career work ⓘ |
| protagonistType | anonymous citizen ⓘ |
| publicationDecade | 1940s ⓘ |
| publicationMedium | magazine ⓘ |
| publishedIn | The New Yorker NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| questionedBy | literary critics ⓘ |
| questionedConcept |
freedom
ⓘ
happiness ⓘ |
| rhymeScheme | irregular ⓘ |
| setting | modern industrial society ⓘ |
| structure | mock-official report ⓘ |
| subjectMatter |
official records versus real life
ⓘ
relationship between individual and state ⓘ |
| taughtIn |
high school English curricula
ⓘ
university literature courses ⓘ |
| theme |
bureaucracy
ⓘ
conformity ⓘ dehumanization ⓘ individuality ⓘ loss of personal identity ⓘ mass society ⓘ state control ⓘ statistics and data ⓘ surveillance ⓘ |
| tone |
ironic
ⓘ
satirical ⓘ |
| writer | W. H. Auden NERFINISHED ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.