The poem “The Unknown Citizen” written by Wystan Hugh Auden, a prominent figure of the literary circle of the 20th century. The Unknown Citizen is termed as an elegy, written in the praise of an undisclosed nationalist who has recently died.
According to the statistics and vigilance institute of the state, the unknown citizen was a perfect model for the society. He strictly followed the norms of the religion, traditions of the society, and laws of the state. He was a good citizen with cleared records and good standards of living, but the question hovered in the poet's mind that; was he free and happy. It is basically, a lament on the freedom of an individual to keep someone in such strict surveillance.
He did nothing wrong means that vigilant institutions kept him under strict view. Here the poet criticizes the laws of the state being implied on the citizen’s personal life. He argued that it is not freedom at all. The poem attempts to make a relationship between modern man and the state. Chronologically, the poem has been written around 1940, where the world was fighting against one other. World War 2, was going on, and every citizen was strictly cared for by the state’s institution. The close analysis of the poem Unknown Citizen clearly shows that government encroaches on every aspect of its citizen and he/she is forced to strictly obey the rules.
Superficially, the poem is an attempt to praise the citizen who is perfect having good records and the right number of children, but in fact, the state breaks into his personal life and he is not independent anymore. Such strict vigilance led to the end up of the happiness of a citizen. W.H Auden asks, was he happy? Was he free? The poem has an open interpretation, might some nationalists find him a standard citizen, but while on the other hand, the unknown citizen was not free at all.
The state wants that its citizen should be a perfect model and he/she should follow each and every rule. To check the loyalty of a citizen, the state sinks into the private life of a citizen. In fact, according to the Human Rights Commission, such surveillance affects the freedom circle of a citizen. The poem represents the so-called democracy and bleak nature of the state. The in-depth study clearly shows that it is a satire and lament on the state. The state should not be supposed to collect each and every piece of information about a citizen, rather the state care either its citizen is happy or not.
