The Unknown Citizen: W.H. Auden - Summary and Critical Analysis The Unknown Citizen by W.H. Auden is a satiric poem. It describes an average citizen in a government-controlled state. In many big cities, there is a monument to the Unknown Soldier that stands for the thousands of unknown soldiers who die for their country. Wystan Hugh Auden The citizen to whom the monument has been built has been found to be without any fault. He had good health and although he went to the hospital once, he came out quite cured. The Unknown Citizen is a typical Auden’s poem in that it shows the poet’s profound concern for the modern world and its problems. In the phrase ‘The Unknown’ the word ‘unknown’ means ordinary, obscure. At the end of the poem the poet asks two questions.
13 Essential Literary Terms by Dictionary.com Slideshow 13 Essential Literary Terms [met-uh-fawr, -fer] Aristotle wrote that mastery over the art of metaphor is a sign of genius, but what does this ubiquitous literary term mean in its most basic form? [sim-uh-lee] Metaphor is often confused with simile, a figure of speech in which two unlike things are explicitly compared. [uh-nal-uh-jee] Simile and metaphor are both forms of analogy, the illustration of one idea by a more familiar or accessible idea that is in some way parallel. [hahy-pur-buh-lee] Hyperbole is an obvious and intentional exaggeration, such as “I read a million books this summer.” [uh-loo-zhuhn] An allusion is an indirect reference to a person, place, event, or artistic work. [yoo-fuh-miz-uhm] Euphemism is the substitution of a mild, indirect, or vague expression for one thought to be harsh, blunt, or offensive. [par-uh-doks] A paradox is a statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but may in reality express a truth or tension. [ok-si-mawr-on, -mohr-]
The Unknown Citizen Study Guide During the 1920s and 30s, many American writers left the states to become expatriates overseas, particularly in Europe. Ernest Hemingway, T. S. Eliot, and F. As a poet, Auden is a chameleon capable of writing in many different forms and styles. The poem is written in the voice of a fictional government bureaucrat – someone who sits at a desk and shuffles papers all day – whose decisions affect the lives of people he has never met. "The Unknown Citizen" is a great poem to read in an election year. Why? The person Auden calls "The Unknown Citizen" is a composite of information from every poll and survey that politicians use to figure out what the people called "swing voters" are really like. With his completely inoffensive background, we think the Unknown Citizen would do well running for office himself.
Download 20 Popular High School Books Available as Free eBooks & Audio Books Every year, thousands of American high school students read a common selection of great novels — classics loved by young and old readers alike. Today, we have selected 20 of the most popular books and highlighted ways that you can download versions for free, mostly as free audio books and ebooks, and sometimes as movies and radio dramas. You will find more great works — and sometimes other digital formats — in our twin collections: 600 Free eBooks for iPad, Kindle & Other Devices and 550 Free Audio Books. 1984 by George Orwell: Free eBook – Free Audio Book – Free Movie Although published in 1949, 1984 still captures our imagination generations later because it offers one of the best literary accounts of totalitarianism ever published. Animal Farm by George Orwell: Free eBook – Free Audio Book – Free Animated Movie Orwell’s 1945 allegorical novella took aim at the corruption of the Soviet Union and its totalitarian rule. Plays by William Shakespeare No description needed.
Satire - Examples and Definition of Satire Satire Definition Satire is a technique employed by writers to expose and criticize foolishness and corruption of an individual or a society by using humor, irony, exaggeration or ridicule. It intends to improve humanity by criticizing its follies and foibles. A writer may point a satire toward a person, a country or even the entire world. Satire and Irony Satire and irony are interlinked. Examples of Satire in Everyday Life Most political cartoons which we witness every day in newspapers and magazines are examples of satire. Some shows on television are satire examples like The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, and The Larry Sanders Show. Let us see a sample of Stephen Colbert’s social satire: “If this is going to be a Christian nation that doesn’t help the poor, either we have to pretend that Jesus was just as selfish as we are, or we’ve got to acknowledge that He commanded us to love the poor and serve the needy without condition and then admit that we just don’t want to do it.” Example #1
The Four Things Students Need to Create Good Book Trailers Creating book trailer videos is a great alternative to a traditional written book report assignment. In a book trailer video students highlight their favorite elements of a story and try to entice viewers to read the book themselves. Much like a movie trailer that tries to get viewers to watch the full movie, a book trailer should give viewers just enough to be interested in the full story without giving away the conclusion to the story. If you have heard of book trailers and wanted to try having your create book trailers, here are the four things they'll need to get started after reading a book. A script/ outline: Before I let students start to assemble a video, I make them write a script or outline for the video. Images: Your students will want to use pictures in their videos to represent key elements and characters in the books they have read. It's not always possible for students to use images they own. Many of the aforementioned video editing tools offer sound effects too.
The Migrant Experience A complex set of interacting forces both economic and ecological brought the migrant workers documented in this ethnographic collection to California. Following World War I, a recession led to a drop in the market price of farm crops and caused Great Plains farmers to increase their productivity through mechanization and the cultivation of more land. This increase in farming activity required an increase in spending that caused many farmers to become financially overextended. At the same time, the increase in farming activity placed greater strain on the land. Although the Dust Bowl included many Great Plains states, the migrants were generically known as "Okies," referring to the approximately 20 percent who were from Oklahoma. California was emphatically not the promised land of the migrants' dreams. Arrival in California did not put an end to the migrants' travels. Robin A. Voices from the Dust Bowl
Storyboard That: The World's Best Free Online Storyboard Creator More's Utopia (wiki) Utopia (in full: De optimo reip. statv, deque noua insula Vtopia, libellus uere aureus, nec minus salutaris quam festiuus ) is a work of fiction and political philosophy by Thomas More published in 1516. English translations of the title include A Truly Golden Little Book, No Less Beneficial Than Entertaining, of the Best State of a Republic, and of the New Island Utopia (literal) and A Fruitful and Pleasant Work of the Best State of a Public Weal , and of the New Isle Called Utopia (traditional). [ 1 ] (See " title " below.) The book, written in Latin , is a frame narrative primarily depicting a fictional island society and its religious , social and political customs. [ edit ] Title The title De optimo rei publicae statu deque nova insula Utopia literally translates, "Of a republic's best state and of the new island Utopia". One interpretation holds that this suggests that while Utopia might be some sort of perfected society, it is ultimately unreachable (see below). [ edit ] Plot
Arthur Miller, "Are You Now Or Were You Ever?" McCarthyism U.S. anti-Communist literature of the 1950s, specifically addressing the entertainment industry During the McCarthy era, thousands of Americans were accused of being communists or communist sympathizers and became the subject of aggressive investigations and questioning before government or private-industry panels, committees and agencies. The primary targets of such suspicions were government employees, those in the entertainment industry, educators and union activists. Suspicions were often given credence despite inconclusive or questionable evidence, and the level of threat posed by a person's real or supposed leftist associations or beliefs was often greatly exaggerated. Some conservatives regard the term as inappropriate and deprecate what they say are myths created about McCarthy.[6][7][8][9] Origins[edit] The historical period that came to be known as the McCarthy era began well before Joseph McCarthy's own involvement in it. Institutions[edit] Executive Branch[edit] J.
Decoding the Salem Witch trials, Part 1 | US History Scene The witch trials that took place in Salem, Massachusetts Bay Colony, in 1692 represent the most famous Puritan moment in American history; it is the one thing most people think of when they think of the New England Puritans. Usually, it is seen as a shocking and indisputable indictment of the Puritans’ intolerance and ignorance, and even sexism. To get at the truth of what happened in Salem and to understand why it happened, we have to get a little background on Puritan ideas about witchcraft. Then we’ll set the scene for events in Salem, taking into account the political and religious strife occurring in that venerable town in the late 1600s. Remember, Salem is actually an anomaly in the history of the New England Puritans. It generated remarkably little comment in New England at the time. Puritans and Witches In most scholarly and popular accounts, Puritans believed in witches, witchcraft, the devil, and the active presence of a spirit world in their daily life. Why Salem?
Charles Dickens Charles Dickens (1812-1870), English Victorian era author wrote numerous highly acclaimed novels including his most autobiographical David Copperfield (1848-1850); “Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show. To begin my life with the beginning of my life, I record that I was born (as I have been informed and believe) on a Friday, at twelve o'clock at night. It was remarked that the clock began to strike, and I began to cry, simultaneously.” As a prolific 19th Century author of short stories, plays, novellas, novels, fiction and non, during his lifetime Dickens became known the world over for his remarkable characters, his mastery of prose in the telling of their lives, and his depictions of the social classes, mores and values of his times. Some considered him the spokesman for the poor, for he definitely brought much awareness to their plight, the downtrodden and the have-nots.