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ENG111 Assignment 2 - Literary Analysis: Humanity through the Lenses of Symbolism, Irony, and Imagery

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Course
BUS/MKTG (ENG111)

Institution
Thompson River University (TRU )

Book
W. H. Auden

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 ...

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Uploaded on January 4, 2021
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symbolism
irony
imagery
the unknown citizen
musee des beaux arts
eng111 literary analysis assignment 2

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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

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ENG111 Assignment 2 - Literary Analysis: Humanity through the Lenses of Symbolism, Irony, and Imagery

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