“Richard Cory” and “The Unknown Citizen” are both powerful poems that deal with Utopian societies. Auden’s longer poem tells about the “perfect citizen” and how even though the unknown citizen might have everything a true citizen should be they still mean nothing to the “Greater Community,” while Robinson used a shorter poem to show that even the man that has everything and is envied by everyone, but still is unhappy with his life. Both poems deal with the appearance of societies social rank, societies perspective, and the ironic outcome of both these people in the poems.
Even though both poems differ in length and in setting both poems portray the importance of social ranking in their communities. For example, Aden uses the aristocrat’s bureau as the superior person in “The Greater Community”. They knew everything about “the unknown citizen,” but nothing at all at the same time. A person in the community who had a good rank was “not a scab or odd,” they “served” for “The Greater Community,” and “paid their dues.” Though a person did all these duties to serve the “Greater Community” and to stay true to the bureau they still were unknown to them and had a non existent social rank. The same goes for Richard Cory in “Richard Cory,” even though the poem is shorter it still shows us that even when having everything from being a “gentleman” to being “richer than a king” he was still sad with all that he had. His social rank in the small rural community was the highest everyone envied him and “wish that we were in his place.” So even in a small rural community or “The Greater Community”both poems had social rankings that were important maybe not to them personally, but to everyone around them.
While both poems have different communities one being a metropolitan and the other being a small rural town both had a different perspective from what the unknown citizen and Richard Cory had of themselves. For example, in “Richard Cory” the society’s perspective of him was only the outside appearance he showed off, “clean favored and imperially slim,” “admirably schooled is every grace,” and “richer than a king.” But when he talked he was “human,” but they only saw him for money and social status instead of seeing him as a friend or someone they could have a true bond with. Similarly, the poem “The Unknown Citizen” talks about society’s perspective of the citizen within the metropolitan community. For example, the bureau not only knew everything about him from job “Fudge Motors Inc.” , to health “health card showed he was in the hospital, but left it cured” , to even his friendships “ that he was popular with his mates and liked to drink,” but they still knew nothing about him. In the eyes of “The Greater Community” the ideal citizen was “a saint,” “had everything necessary to the modern man,” and “served The Greater Community.” But even though the society that made up this perfect image of both Richard Cory – “the gentleman from sole to crown,” and the unknown citizen – “the saint,” neither community actually knew how sad and nonliving these two people were compared to the imagined reality they had built up in their heads.
Along with the society’s perspective they built up of each person they also had an ironic outcome or death in their life. For example, Richard Cory in “Richard Cory” lived a what seemed perfect life. He was “richer than a king,” “a gentleman from sole to crown,” and even “glittered when he walked.” Everything about him seemed perfect, but in reality he was a quite sad with himself and his life. Even though he talked “human” people only saw the materialistic side and did not think much about his feelings or how he was doing. Since people only used him for money or his high social status he felt he was unimportant and killed himself “one calm summer night.” Similarly, the unknown citizen to the bureau to live a normal, healthy life, but did he even really live? For example, everything he did “served The Greater Community.” He lived with the flow of everything “The Greater Community” did, “when there was peace he was for peace; when there was war he went.” Whatever the community was for he was for and if they were against it he was against it, no questions asked. So though the rules he chose to live following “The Greater Community’s” rules he never actually lived his life. So did “the unknown citizen” actually have the identity he wanted, or did he stay in line saying yes and being a shiny toy soldier in line all his life?
Richard Cory and the unknown citizen did have health, a stable home, and money they still lived a sad and unfulfilled life. This might have been because people never actually cared about them, but just how they were doing in their work, money situation, and how they were in the eyes of the public. Though their appearance deceived us and maybe even themselves they still died sad and an unfulfilled life.

Written May 7, 2015.