Discuss the use of irony and staire in the poem the unknown citizen
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Answer:
“The Unknown Citizen” by W.H. Auden, uses irony to show how a person’s well being does not depend on statistics or the praising of a government. Auden delivers his message by writing a poem about how a government grants an ordinary citizen a monument because of his attributes and deeds to make him a model citizen for the government. Auden chooses to write with a dull, ordinary tone, which makes it ironic how the poem is supposed to be about a monumental praising of a citizen. Deeper into the poem, the speaker begins to refer the unknown citizen as a “saint” despite knowing his first or last name. Finally, Auden creates irony by providing two deep questions to the audience regarding the well being of the unknown citizen. In the poem, Auden uses irony to play with our expectations by tone and diction to deliver a message of whether facts and the praising of the government are can be used to determine the well being of an unknown citizen.
Auden uses irony by writing a poem of praise with such a dull, ordinary tone. Auden sets up the poem as a monumental ceremony to praise a man the government provides for doing deeds that make him a model citizen. However, with the poem’s dull tone, the poem sounds more like a boring business letter of facts and statistics rather than a joyful celebratory document of recognition. “For in everything he did he served the Greater Community
. The way the poem is dictated by the speaker reflects to the unknown citizen; ordinary. The unknown citizen is described in a very mundane way with no personality or interest shown by the government. It is ironic how the speaker sounds uninterested about the person who he is praising. Based on the tone, the speaker makes it seem that the government is not truly interested in the unknown citizen and is only using as a model citizen through his ordinary facts.
The speaker compares the unknown citizen to mighty things despite not even knowing his name. It is ironic how a man referred to as a saint is labeled as a statistic. The speaker calls the unknown citizen a “saint” because he serves the government perfectly through his records and statistics to make it suitable for the government to call him one. The government is only using the unknown citizen as a tool to make other citizens like him. The unknown citizen is just an ordinary man who does ordinary things that the government supports to make him a model citizen.
The speaker finally uses irony by stating two questions regarding the well being of the unknown citizen. The questions are, “Was he free? Was he Happy?” (Auden 29). Based on the whole poem, the speaker states relentless facts of how the unknown citizen is the perfect model citizen to the government for others. However, based on those facts, some people would automatically believe that the answers to those questions are yes. Really, the government has absolutely no idea how or what the well being of the unknown citizen is. The unknown citizen could be a miserable man chained up to a wall while keeping the same records and still being praised by the government. The government is ridiculous for recognizing an unknown citizen to turn him into a model for others by performing ordinary tasks to maintain the country the way the government wants.
W.H. Auden creates irony by playing with our expectations in, “The Unknown Citizen”. Auden’s goal in writing this poem is to convey a message of facts and statistics cannot determine the well being of a person. Auden achieves his goal by conveying his message through irony. The main character is unknown while known so much from the government that gives the whole story an ironic feel. The unknown citizen is compared to holy virtuous person while his name and most of his life behind the statistics is a mystery.