The Human Condition in Modern Society: The Unknown Citizen by W. H. Auden and Richard Cory by Edwin Arlington Robinson - Essay Example

Submitted: The Human Condition in Modern Society: ‘The Unknown Citizen’ by W. H. Auden and ‘Richard Cory’ by Edwin Arlington Robinson In the poems ‘The Unknown Citizen’ by Auden and ‘Richard Cory’ by Robinson, the reader is witness to two works which satirize the human condition in quite similar ways of style, poetic devices and use of irony. ‘The Unknown Citizen’ recounts the life of an unnamed and perfectly adequate individual as reflected upon by a government agency. ‘Richard Cory’ then explores the life and attitude of a specific man who is thought of as perfect by everyone else, but then goes on to commit suicide in a very surprising and effective turn of events and tone. By using highly simple language, lyrical rhyming schemes and irony, both poems satirize the human condition. In ‘The Unknown Citizen’ Auden styles the poem as a sort of epitaph of an unnamed man identified only by a series of numbers. This individual is described entirely within the context of external attributes as reflected upon by a government agency that seem to deem him perfectly adequate as he meets all of their requirements and statistical expectations of a man within his demographic at the time. The description is extremely cold and impersonal and it is quite ironic and unsettling that the description of a man’s life is given without any reference at all to his personal attributes. Instead of regaling the reader with this man’s beliefs, attitudes, loves and interests, it is his government data which is offered as descriptive of his life, “And all the reports on his conduct agree / That, in the modern sense of an old-fashioned word, he was a / saint” (3-5). Even alluding to this man as a saint, without reference to his internal or personal traits, is extremely ironic and almost nonsensical as it is obviously impossible to describe a person in this way purely by reference to their demographic particulars. The man is praised by the agency, due to the fact that he did not get in anyone’s way “One against whom there was no official complaint” (2) and he did not deviate outside of any government norms “he wasn’t a scab or odd in his views / For his union reports that he paid his dues” (10-11). The agency even go on to admire his purchases and reactions to media “The Press are convinced that he bought a paper every day / And that his reactions to advertisements were normal in every way” (15-17). The irony here is extremely effective in that the praise given is very impersonal, detached and succinct in a way which contrasts with the subject matter of the poem. In determining that this man lead an exemplary life due to the fact that he was entirely average and did not deviate from societal norms in any way, is highly satirical of the human condition. Instead of valuing individualism and diversity, it seems here that society instead values conformity and obedience and that these traits are the most desired and respected of attributes. In a very similar way to Auden’s work, Robinson uses irony in his poem ‘Richard Cory’ to comment on the human condition in modern society. Here again, a man, in this case a named man, is described by others in an admirable way. The character is identified as being wealthy, liked and of a pleasing appearance, “He was a gentleman from sole to crown / clean favored, and imperially slim” (3-4). His appearance, personal qualities and lifestyle are even envied by those around him “In fine, we thought that he was everything / To make us wish that we were in his place” (11-12). Unlike ‘The Unknown Soldier’, this man is actually described by people who have interacted with him and there is talk of his manner, appearance and attitude towards others. However, very much like ‘The Unknown Citizen’, these characteristics are relatively external as they all involve outward qualities as opposed to internal characteristics and achievements. The language is very simple, and the lyrical rhyming scheme is extremely deceptive due to the fact that the last two lines of the poem inform us that this man has actually killed himself. The reader is almost lulled into a false sense of security as the positive descriptions, musical rhyme and simple language suggest that all is straight-forward but in the end, nothing is as it seems as the final piece of information is then extremely shocking and contrasts dramatically with the expectations of the reader “And Richard Cory, one calm summer night / Went home and put a bullet through his head” (15-16). There is a huge degree of irony here as the man whom everyone else deemed as perfect, with all of the attributes of success, happiness and health, actually was so unhappy on the inside that he killed himself. The materialism that is admired in the poem with reference to this man’s wealth and pleasantly polished appearance is therefore a comment on the human condition. Wealth and external attributes, though admired and envied by others, is clearly not the answer to happiness and personal fulfilment. While society may value wealth, external appearance and outward qualities, it is clearly the inner personal attitudes of people which matter in terms of individual happiness. In both poems, there is absolutely no reference to either man’s personal or inner thoughts. Their descriptions are third party observations and in the case of ‘The Unknown Citizen’, they are not even from a primary source but from documents and government data. While both men appear to fall within highly desirable categories of society and general expectations, there is no evidence of their personal states of mind. The reader’s judgement of these men lie only in the fact that they met societal norms very well, paid their bills, were polite and hard-working, and had no apparent enemies or problems that anyone else was aware of. In ‘The Unknown Citizen’ we never know if this man has been happy or truly content. The society in which he lived has decided that he in fact did lead a good and happy life as he met with all of their expectations and did not cause problems nor show any signs of deviating outside of popular opinion, behavior or belief. In ‘Richard Cory’ it is quite safe to assume that this man was highly unhappy and dissatisfied with life for some reason, due to the fact that he took his own life in such an abrupt and violent way. While all else assumed he must be happy and content, this is entirely due to the fact that he had material possessions, manners and all manner of external qualities considered valuable at the time. In this way, both poems satirize the lack of individualism and materialism which dictates the human condition and the fact that outward appearances are a very poor indication of a person’s true beliefs or values. Works Cited Auden, W. H. The Unknown Citizen. PoetryX, 2012. Web. 20 May 2012. Robinson, E. A. Richard Cory. PoetryX, 2012. Web. 20 May 2012. Read More