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    Hardy examines themes of time, memory, and life itself in "He Never Expected Much." The poem centers on life as a vast and all-encompassing concept. The speaker in the book, who might very well be Hardy himself, speaks to the "World." He brings up a conversation he had when he was younger, both forRead more

    Hardy examines themes of time, memory, and life itself in “He Never Expected Much.” The poem centers on life as a vast and all-encompassing concept. The speaker in the book, who might very well be Hardy himself, speaks to the “World.” He brings up a conversation he had when he was younger, both for it and the readers. It was then, as it is now, obvious to him that life is unfair. Hardy went through numerous difficult times in his life, chief among them being the untimely death of his wife Emma.

    As Hardy reflects on his life and remembers how he has lived with this understanding in mind, he also discusses themes of time and memory. Since he realized early on that life wouldn’t be fair, his life has been better—or at least stronger. He was not overly unhappy with how his life turned out because he “never expected much.”

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    Thomas Hardy's "He Never Expected Much" centers on accepting life's limitations and randomness, which leads to a muted sense of both joy and misery. The poem examines the trade-off between preventing oneself from potentially experiencing the entire range of emotions in life and having modest expectaRead more

    Thomas Hardy’s “He Never Expected Much” centers on accepting life’s limitations and randomness, which leads to a muted sense of both joy and misery. The poem examines the trade-off between preventing oneself from potentially experiencing the entire range of emotions in life and having modest expectations for safety.

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    Irony- A figure of speech known as irony entails a contradiction in the words and expressions used. Since the poem discloses that the man never expected much and the reader discovers the unfulfilled features of his existence, the title itself alludes to irony. Metaphor- A metaphor is a figure of speRead more

    • Irony- A figure of speech known as irony entails a contradiction in the words and expressions used. Since the poem discloses that the man never expected much and the reader discovers the unfulfilled features of his existence, the title itself alludes to irony.
    • Metaphor- A metaphor is a figure of speech in which two opposite objects are nonliterally compared. To depict the man’s life and goals, Hardy uses analogies. For instance, the third stanza’s image of the “small wheels” represents the man’s life as being ordinary and normal.
    • Enjambment- Enjambment is used in poetry to create a continuous and fluid rhythm by having lines flow into one another without a break. This enhances the poem’s overall flow and can represent the man’s boring life, which remains unbroken.
    • Alliteration- The term “alliteration” refers to the practice of starting words in a phrase with the same letter or sound. The poem gains a melodic quality from the repeated sounds at the beginning of words (e.g., “Well, World,” “with…with”), which also discreetly highlight specific concepts.
    • Apostrophe- An apostrophe is a figure of speech used when a speaker addresses an object or person who is not there or is unable to reply. The speaker addresses the “World” directly in the poem’s opening lines, even though it is unable to reply. This fosters a feeling of closeness and reflective introspection as the speaker muses over their experiences.

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