The title of this poem, "The Unknown Citizen", is the only time this phrase is mentioned and is basically the key to keeping the reader from knowing the man's identity. The speaker appears to be reading a eulogy that highlights an ironic contrast in this poor man's life. Although the speaker praises the citizen, his choice of words reveals a condescending tone. He talks about the citizen as if he were a good boy and the speaker was the teacher. The reader is given countless pieces of information about the man, but none of it is personal. The rhyme scheme of this poem makes the tone a little humorous but for the most part it is ironic and sarcastic. Ultimately, the speaker states that if anything had gone wrong with the man, they would definitely have felt it. But when asked whether the man was happy or free, the speaker states that the question is absurd. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The diction of this poem can be considered complex. The reader could analyze this poem over and over again and would probably have a different opinion about the poem. This is how Auden wanted the reader to want to know more so he could fill in the gaps. The syntax in this poem is unusual, in lines 5-6 we read: “For in all he did he served the Greater Community. Except for the war until the day he retired” stating that the man was a saint all his life except when he was called to war. The vocabulary of this poem is also from another time, for example the man was said to have "Everything needed for a modern man, a gramophone, a radio, a car and a refrigerator". This gives readers the feeling that Auden probably wrote this poem during World War II. This poem does not use many similes and metaphors. Indeed, at times it seems deliberately unpoetic. The only metaphor found was the comparison between the Unknown Citizen and a saint. The word "saint" is a religious term, so the Unknown Citizen cannot actually be one, except in the modern sense. In line 20, it says that the man had everything he needed but mentions nothing about the basic necessities needed to survive such as food, water, etc., making the whole thing hyperbole. Auden used almost no sound devices in this poem, well at least not many that can be identified. Which is a bit strange since most poets use this to their advantage to create a greater emotional response from the reader. He certainly had plenty of opportunities to do so, and if he had, he might have made the poem a little more interesting. The only thing I could notice was the use of alliteration here and there. For example, in line 21 it says, “A phonograph, a radio, a car, and a Frigidaire” where the repeated consonant would be the vowel A. Once read aloud, I could see that this poem did not follow a pattern of standard rhyme. It alternates between a few simple and different rhyme schemes. The poem begins with an ABAB pattern, but then switches to a rhyming pair, after which it starts hopping around. Lines 8-13 follow the ABBCCA scheme, the rhyme scheme that begins with the word “Inc.”. I wasn't sure if Auden would be able to rhyme it, but he definitely uses "drink" in line 13. The two words are so far apart that I didn't even know they rhymed until I read the poem aloud a few times. Finally, the rhythm of the poem centers roughly on the anapesto, a metrical foot that has two unaccented beats followed by one accented beat. For example at the beginning, "It was FOUND by the Bureau of Statistics...". Here.