THE UNKNOWN CITIZEN - WYSTAN HUGH AUDEN

Text for III Semester B. A./ B. Com./ B. Sc. Additional English

THE UNKNOWN CITIZEN

WYSTAN HUGH AUDEN

                                                       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 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 opinion are for the time of year;

When there was peace, he was for peace; when there was 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.

Glossary:

Bureau:           Government or Municipal department of office

Fudge Motors: an imaginary motor company

Inc.:                 Short form of ‘Incorporated’; American equivalent of Ltd. (Limited)

Scab:               workman who refuses to join a strike or who takes a striker’s place; blackleg

Health Card:   a card issued by a doctor or hospital on which the patient’s illnesses and treatments are recorded.

Producers Research and High-Grade Living: Imaginary names of two firms which conduct research to find out the customer’s reactions to various products.

Eugenist:         A student of Eugenics; a study of the factors which lead to the birth of fine children and improvement of human genetic stock.

*****