Surname 1
Name
Course
Tutor
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Humanity through the Lenses of Symbolism, Irony, and Imagery
Through his two poems, The Unknown Citizen and Musee des Beaux Arts Wystan Hugh Auden
explores the human condition through time, expressing ordinary aspects of people’s interactions
on a daily basis. The mundane nature of the human existence is clearly presented in Auden’s
work using different literary devices. Most of his poetry is means to evoke the fear and terror of
human existence in times of great uncertainties. Perhaps in so doing Auden hoped to remind his
audience of the true nature of man and indeed of the uncertain nature of tomorrow. According to
Auden, the true nature of man is founded on his ability to identify with the issues of his fellow
human beings.Today we have peace, yet tomorrow it might all go away. This paper will be
exploring two similar works which express the divisions in social class among people in any
society. However, it would be unjust to the man not to note that he also expressed themes of love
and peace is some of his poems. While the style of writing is simple, its effectiveness to the
reader is evident from the success of Auden’s works in whatever theme he explored. An analysis
of Auden’s works illustrates that symbolism and irony with complementing imagery are used
extensively to express the exploitation of the common citizens by the polticians and the rich in
the society back in the days when the poems were written.
, Surname 2
In reverse analytical-then-description fashion, Auden used satire to criticize civilization
that did not amount to much in terms of happiness for the general public. According to Meyer,
Auden's “The Unknown Citizen” is a satire on the nature of a society and an ethos that pursues
progress in the name of the common good while missing the point that all good should lead to
human happiness (1)”. An example of the use of satire is where Auden describes the unknown
citizen as a saint only because there was no official complaint against him. The value of the
individual as a model citizen is determined by their conformity to the societal structure with their
happiness anchored in their domain. The poem was written just prior to the start of World War
Two when the American society was geared toward a conformed society. The human element of
joy and satisfaction in life was superseded by the need to conform. The tone of the poem satirizes
and ridicules the manner in which human beings were reduced to cogs in the society’s machine.
The irony is evident where the narrator praises the unknown citizen for being an exemplary
worker who had the proper opinions for the time.
The societal perspective prior to the Second World War is largely responsible for
Auden’s approach to poetry. Auden was very concerned with the persistent dehumanization of
the individual. The ironical statements where Auden states that, “And he had everything
necessary for the modern man/ A phonograph, radio, a car and a Frigidaire” show how the
standards for humanity were limited. The human element of enjoying life and achieving anything
outside the expected societal role was not seen as an important issue. Given the society’s
problems at that time, it seems that the reinforcement of civil duty was considered to be the only
important issue of the day. Meyer a critique of Auden’s works states that, “Individuals were
honored for their faceless roles in being good citizens who behaved according to both laws and
programmatic probabilities, yet they were asked to make the sacrifice of individuality and
Name
Course
Tutor
Date
Humanity through the Lenses of Symbolism, Irony, and Imagery
Through his two poems, The Unknown Citizen and Musee des Beaux Arts Wystan Hugh Auden
explores the human condition through time, expressing ordinary aspects of people’s interactions
on a daily basis. The mundane nature of the human existence is clearly presented in Auden’s
work using different literary devices. Most of his poetry is means to evoke the fear and terror of
human existence in times of great uncertainties. Perhaps in so doing Auden hoped to remind his
audience of the true nature of man and indeed of the uncertain nature of tomorrow. According to
Auden, the true nature of man is founded on his ability to identify with the issues of his fellow
human beings.Today we have peace, yet tomorrow it might all go away. This paper will be
exploring two similar works which express the divisions in social class among people in any
society. However, it would be unjust to the man not to note that he also expressed themes of love
and peace is some of his poems. While the style of writing is simple, its effectiveness to the
reader is evident from the success of Auden’s works in whatever theme he explored. An analysis
of Auden’s works illustrates that symbolism and irony with complementing imagery are used
extensively to express the exploitation of the common citizens by the polticians and the rich in
the society back in the days when the poems were written.
, Surname 2
In reverse analytical-then-description fashion, Auden used satire to criticize civilization
that did not amount to much in terms of happiness for the general public. According to Meyer,
Auden's “The Unknown Citizen” is a satire on the nature of a society and an ethos that pursues
progress in the name of the common good while missing the point that all good should lead to
human happiness (1)”. An example of the use of satire is where Auden describes the unknown
citizen as a saint only because there was no official complaint against him. The value of the
individual as a model citizen is determined by their conformity to the societal structure with their
happiness anchored in their domain. The poem was written just prior to the start of World War
Two when the American society was geared toward a conformed society. The human element of
joy and satisfaction in life was superseded by the need to conform. The tone of the poem satirizes
and ridicules the manner in which human beings were reduced to cogs in the society’s machine.
The irony is evident where the narrator praises the unknown citizen for being an exemplary
worker who had the proper opinions for the time.
The societal perspective prior to the Second World War is largely responsible for
Auden’s approach to poetry. Auden was very concerned with the persistent dehumanization of
the individual. The ironical statements where Auden states that, “And he had everything
necessary for the modern man/ A phonograph, radio, a car and a Frigidaire” show how the
standards for humanity were limited. The human element of enjoying life and achieving anything
outside the expected societal role was not seen as an important issue. Given the society’s
problems at that time, it seems that the reinforcement of civil duty was considered to be the only
important issue of the day. Meyer a critique of Auden’s works states that, “Individuals were
honored for their faceless roles in being good citizens who behaved according to both laws and
programmatic probabilities, yet they were asked to make the sacrifice of individuality and
