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.
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
Kunal Goel says:
haha, excellent poem!
January 14th, 2006 at 08:51 pm
Anusha Mujumdar says:
yuck. this is in the 11th std cbse english textbook.
January 14th, 2006 at 11:14 pm
Kunal Goel says:
oh shit.
January 14th, 2006 at 11:50 pm
Isaiah says:
haha
January 15th, 2006 at 01:10 am
Dolphin says:
Is it really a poem?…..it’s looks like a ad in the newspaper
January 15th, 2006 at 10:45 am
duh nston says:
yes, these would be the points of true contention
January 15th, 2006 at 01:01 pm
ER@sUrf3R says:
no, its a poem all right..CBSE 11th grade is correct
January 23rd, 2006 at 01:26 am
Melissa Lauenstein says:
I think this poem really expresses the governments attitudes toward the general public and its lack of appretiation or undertanding of the individual. I als think that it displays an accurate recollection of the governments atempt to mould the citizens of their country to fit what they expect, this however doesn’t allow for individuality at all.
March 20th, 2006 at 01:47 pm