Okay... these are a lot of questions! would Auden's 'The Unknown Citizen' be an example of reductio ad absurdum? And is the entire poem an epitaph? Or is it simply the persona speaking? Would you say it is a combination of elegy and satire?

Answer 1

These are my aopinions about that poem, which is one of my favortes, by the way.

<< would Auden's 'The Unknown Citizen' be an example of reductio ad absurdum?>>
No. That refers to a method argument reducing a held position to a ridiculous one through a series of logical steps.

<<And is the entire poem an epitaph? Or is it simply the persona speaking?>>
It is entirely an elegy/eulogy, but for an imaginary person. I don't know who the "persona" is you are speaking of, but it is certainly the poet's point of view.

<<Would you say it is a combination of elegy and satire? >>
Yes