Poetry 4th- شعر المرحلة الرابعة

The unknown citizen by W.H Auden

This poem was published in 1939 in The New Yorker, before WWII and George's Orwell's novel "1984". It seems quite similar. Orwell would probably have read this poem. I'm impressed by Alfred Molina (Doc Ock) who you can har reading it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJVMS59IdMk It's a satirical reference perhaps to "The Tomb of the Unknown Warrior" in Westminster Abbey where a soldier lies buried who was killed in WW1. There are similar tombs in other cities. The picture is of the one at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris There seems to be a mixture of British and American idioms. British companies don't use the designation "Inc"; Frigidaire too is more American. "Mates" and "scab" seem more British though, the latter meaning an employee who won't join a union or who works while others are on strike. Eugenics was in vogue and had a following among intellectuals at that time, before WWII made its terrible consequences obvious. It is Chinese traditional ideology that the Quality of Life depends on the "The Four Goods" . The Four Goods (si hao) have been variously defined. In Mao regime they were politics, economics, organisation and ideology. A more modern manifestation is good neighbours, good friends, good comrades and good partners. There are also the Four Goods of the mind - information, knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. The concept that a fulfilled life depends on the possession of the Four Goods, here defined as a Phonograph, a Radio, a Car and a Frigidaire was also later paralleled in China when there were only four luxury possessions available; so The Four Goods became a Washing Machine, a Cassette Radio, a Television and a Refrigerator. Material ambition was limited to ownership of all four of these. (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 Instalment 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 the 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.

Strange meeting the text

STRANGE MEETING by WILFRED OWEN FYI behind-the-scenes update for teachers: This video, shot on Sun 4th November 2018, was THE FIRST AND ONLY TAKE of the poem because when we began to film, a local firework display started in the distance and as I performed my version of the poem, as the last moments of recollection from a dying soldier on the battlefield, the sounds of the display seemed to utterly support this remarkable poem and its atmosphere. You may need good speakers to the display at first and remarkably there were no ill-fitting 'odd' sounds, so It seemed to me, as I descended to hell in the poem, I could really hear the distant rumbling of the battle I had just left. The battle that killed me. You can see me listening and sometimes reacting to these explosions (as the firework display builds) and although in the poem it says 'And no guns thumped, or down the flues made moan.' it still felt right. As I finish this powerful, disturbing and unforgettable masterpiece, the explosions of the firework display reached their peak and then a few seconds later they stopped. Simon Roberts, my friend and Director of photography, just sat there in a muddy field, truly humbled by the experience. This was made to support the Opera below which marked the centenary of the death of the War Poet #WilfredOwen - on 4th Nov 2018 and the #WW1 #Armistice #WO100 #100yearanniversary, Actor - Brett fancy - www.brettfancy.com @brettfancy Director of Photography Simon Roberts. Amulet Creative www.amuletcreative.com This poem was performed live to an audience of 200 on 11. 11. 2018 for ORF Tirol Rennweg 14, 6020 Innsbruck as part of the Opera Strange Meeting – Cenotaph for an Unknown Soldier (Opera) This new Opera for the commemorative year 2018 is based on Wilfred Owen's war poem "Strange Meeting". This opera is an exciting and tragic document of the last hours of Wilfred Owen - and his German counterpart - on the Sambre-Oise Canal / Belgium a few days before Armistice Day 1918. Despair and hope are dramatically dramatized, as is the "Doppelgänger Motiv" of the Poetry leads to the unexpected turn of the story. Libretto by Peter Wolf & Music by Norbert Zehm Director: Alexander Medem Orchestra: TENM (Tiroler Ensemble for New Music) Conductor: Claudio Büchler Actor/Speaker/Drill Sergeant/ Captain: Brett Fancy Wilfred Owen/Sergeant/Benedikt: Martin Friedrich Lechleitner (Tenor) Captain/Drill Sergeant: Martin Achrainer (Bass Baritone) Scarecrow/Angel/Spirit of Owen: Arno Argos Raunig (Counter Tenor) #WilfredOwen #StrangeMeeting Thanks for watching. . Please do leave a comment - I'd love to hear what you think...