“The Unknown Citizen”, a poem written by WH Auden, alludes to a period of great change in American history, in which the poem intends to mock the point of view of government the perfect model for an unrealistic and impractical citizen. The author, W. H. Auden, writes and intends to place the historical context of his poem in the late 1930s, when America was going through the Great Depression. Citizens were losing their sense of nationalism for America and had begun to view the government negatively. During this time, the government had also begun distributing Social Security cards with personalized federal numbers to American citizens, a sign of depersonalization in the American political system. As a result, the tone is one of mockery, satire and, above all, irony. The ironic perspective is evident in some of the following aspects of the poem: the speaker, the portrayal of the speaker, the audience, the speaker's situation, the inconsistency between the character's words and the situation, the use of diction, the use of humor and uniqueness characteristic of poetry. The author's poem is told from the point of view of a member of the State, or the American government; however, the author and speaker are different people in this particular poem. Textual evidence for the poem's speaker is evident in the poem's parenthetical title: "This marble monument is erected by the State." In this case the “State” is the American government, since the speaker is a member of the State. The state closely monitors an American citizen who serves as a perfect role model for his fellow citizens in the eyes of the government. Furthermore, the speaker supports his political background by reporting his sources on how he discovers the citizen... middle of paper... how to go to war, but also his private life, how to have children. The title is therefore ironic and represents the author's satirical vision which indirectly comments on the total control of the State over its citizens. Thus, "The Unknown Citizen" reveals irony. The poem is a bitter satire against forms of government that only want their citizens to conform to the government's rules. The State recognizes the unknown citizen for his compliance with government regulations and carefully examines and records all aspects of his life. In turn, the speaker of the poem, a member of the state, finally asks the audience two rhetorical questions to determine the importance of the citizen's happiness. The State treats the citizen as an individual in describing his life, but brands him as a number like everyone else; therefore, the tone of the poem is pure irony.