the unknown citizen

• w. h. auden'ın mükemmel şiiri. şöyledir:
  
  the unknown citizen
  
  (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 installment 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 opinions for he time of year;
  when there was peace, he was for peace; when there was war, 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.
• özünde modern hayatın insanı nasıl ele geçirdiğini, individualistic dediğimiz bireysel yaşam tarzını nasıl erittiğini konu alırken, arkadan da devlet dediğimiz örgütlenmenin aslında insanların mutlu olup olmadıklarını özgür olup olmadıklarını hiç mi hiç umursamadığını anlatan bir şiirdir. auden der ki bu şiirde, malesef modern dünyada o kadar çok " unknown citizen" var ki, belki içimizde bile var, bütün bu insanlar sorgu ve yargı olmadan devletin koyduğu kuralları takip etmekle yükümlü ve bu durumdan hiç rahatsız değiller ve işte bu da " conformity" dediğimiz uyum sağlama planının bir parçası. insanların kişisel kimliklerini kaybetmeleri ve modern teknolojik hayata bağlı hale getirilmeleri çok acı, ve ne yazık ki bundan en ufak bir kaçış ihtimali de görünmüyor...
• (bkz: meçhul vatandaş)