Humanity through the Lenses of Symbolism, Irony, and Imagery.
4 views 0 purchase
Course
ENG103
Institution
Lakeland College (
)
Through his two poems, The Unknown Citizen and Musee des Beaux Arts W.H 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...
Humanity through the Lenses of Symbolism, Irony, and Imagery
Through his two poems, The Unknown Citizen and Musee des Beaux Arts W.H 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 meant to evoke 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. Today we’ve
peace, yet tomorrow it might all go away. This paper will be exploring two similar works.
However, it would be unjust to the man to not 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 human condition of the times when the two works were written
whereby human existence is ironical in itself.
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
, Surname 2
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 is determined by their conformity to the societal structure with their happiness
anchored in being a model citizen. The poem was written just prior to the start of World War
Two when the 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 Auden 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 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 personal passion in the name of social
well-being.” Auden is satirizes how the human being has become a statistic rather than an
individual. The poem glorifies his unimpressive and undistinguished life of conformity as a way
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller klausspader. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $7.69. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
