What central message does this poem communicate about following the status quo?
https://poets.org/poem/unknown-citizenRead W.H. Audens poem, The Unknown Citizen. Consider Audens poem with the same questions in mind that you considered for the short stories about conformity and following the status quo.Read first to get an understanding of the poem: who is the speaker in the poem? Who is the subject of the poem? What is the tone of the poem, and why? Consider the level of diction the poet uses and read the poem aloud to take note of any interesting uses of sound.Next, read for the deeper meaning in the poem: why might Auden have chosen the speaker he did? What central message does this poem communicate about following the status quo? What types of figurative language did he use, and how do you see it at work to create meaning or emphasis in the poem? What is the epigraph, and why might it be important to the meaning of the poem?Finally, how does this poem allude to a cultural icon in America? What might be Audens reason for creating that allusion?
