He Never Expected Much Flashcards
Summary (3)
-old man assesing his existance in the world
-poem written in form of dialogue between speaker & world
-speaker has never expected much from universe
Themes (3)
Realism
Pessimism
Acceptance
Context
Part of his collection of poems ‘A consideration on my 86th birthday’
start (4)
Well, World, you have kept faith with me,
Kept faith with me;
Apostrophe :addresses World **directly **
Capitalisation of ‘World’: signifying respect
Well=discourse marker : suggests conversational + reflective tone
kept faith w/ me: speaker aknowledges the world has lived up to his promises, but only bc he promised so little
1st stanza (3)
Upon the whole you have proved to be
Much as you said you were.
Since as a child I used to lie
Upon the leaze and watch the sky,
Never, I own, expected I
That life would all be fair.
As a child, poet wondered if life would be fair whilst lying in a field
He thought it wouldn’t be (pessimist+reasonable)
Knowing life would be painful helped him deal w/ hard times
2nd stanza
‘Twas then you said, and since have said,
Times since have said,
In that mysterious voice you shed
From clouds and hills around:
“Many have loved me desperately,
Many with smooth serenity,
While some have shown contempt of me
Till they dropped underground.
World say some peole will love live, others will hate it
natural lexial field + mysterious voice = creates sense of spiritual / higher power
-insinstent ‘said’ : -seems to hold world accountable (grudge)
-mirrors many times he’s heard from the ‘World’
“I do not promise overmuch,
Child; overmuch;
Just neutral-tinted haps and such,”
You said to minds like mine.
Wise warning for your credit’s sake!
Which I for one failed not to take,
And hence could stem such strain and ache
As each year might assign.
3rd stanza: as poet aged, he remembered adivice [don’t love or hate life, but find a sweet spot in the middle]
–> coping strategy when facing struggles
3rd line: World’s promise is vague + unspecific –> disappointed bc was never promised anything specific
4th line: contrast poeple like him (realists + dispassionate) w/ poeple who ‘love’ / show contempt for the World
Nursery rhyme effect + strict rhyme scheme
Rhyme scheme –> creates sing-song hym-like tone (ironic)
Irony bc rhyme is uplifting contrasted w/ pessimistic poem
Stark contrast–> intensifies speaker’s negativity
Effect of Undertone of regret for not having made greater emotional investment in life
Ironic: his advice is to keep low expectations to not be disappointed, yet he still is disappointed
Use of ‘world’ instead of ‘god’
God requieres faith and hope, he believes on not keeping his hopes up
Structure
3 octaves w/ same meter
Typical ballad form –> song like (ironic)
