These octaves adhere to the straightforward and reliable rhyme system AAABCCCB. He Never Expected Much Summary
These octaves adhere to the straightforward and reliable rhyme system AAABCCCB.
He Never Expected Much Summary
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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.
He Never Expected Much Summary
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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.
He Never Expected Much Summary
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This poem has a myriad of poetic devices, some of which are as follows: Apostrophe: The persona’s ‘foe’ or ‘he’, is constantly mentioned in the poem even though he was not present, making it an apostrophe. Alliteration: A couple of examples would be ‘Had he’ and ‘face to face’. Enjambment: The linRead more
This poem has a myriad of poetic devices, some of which are as follows:
- Apostrophe: The persona’s ‘foe’ or ‘he’, is constantly mentioned in the poem even though he was not present, making it an apostrophe.
- Alliteration: A couple of examples would be ‘Had he’ and ‘face to face’.
- Enjambment: The lines of this poem run over to the next. One example where this is more pronounced would be ‘That’s clear enough; although/”He thought he’d ‘list, perhaps’ where the persona’s dilemma is highlighted.
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The central idea of the poem is friendship. The persona almost yearns for his foe to have been a friend, someone whom he could have had an intimate connection with and share drinks and a laugh. The Man He Killed Summary
The central idea of the poem is friendship. The persona almost yearns for his foe to have been a friend, someone whom he could have had an intimate connection with and share drinks and a laugh.
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This poem is divided into 5 stanzas consisting of 4 lines each. It follows the rhyme scheme ‘abab’ in each stanza. The Man He Killed Summary
This poem is divided into 5 stanzas consisting of 4 lines each. It follows the rhyme scheme ‘abab’ in each stanza.
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The theme of this poem is war. Each stanza delves into the consequences of war, and how pointless it is. The Man He Killed Summary
The theme of this poem is war. Each stanza delves into the consequences of war, and how pointless it is.
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Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line. For example, the sound of /ee/ in “This creature of cleaving wing” and the sound of /ai/ in “And the Pride of Life that planned her, stilly couches she” and the sound of /a/ in “In stature, grace, and hue”. Alliteration: AlliteRead more
- Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line. For example, the sound of /ee/ in “This creature of cleaving wing” and the sound of /ai/ in “And the Pride of Life that planned her, stilly couches she” and the sound of /a/ in “In stature, grace, and hue”.
- Alliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line in quick succession. The poem is rich with plenty of alliterations throughout the poem. For example, the sound of /w/ in “Well: while was fashioning and the sound of /th/ in “Or sign that they were bent”.
- Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line. For example, the sound of /m/ in “Deep from human vanity” and the sound of /ng/ in “This creature of cleaving wing”.
The convergence of twain Summary
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The main ideas emphasized in this poem are pride, destruction, and wonder. The poem illustrates how human beings have a materialistic outlook and how nature is superior to man's arrogance. He begins by discussing the expensive items made to please the passengers, but these elaborate goods are now usRead more
The main ideas emphasized in this poem are pride, destruction, and wonder. The poem illustrates how human beings have a materialistic outlook and how nature is superior to man’s arrogance. He begins by discussing the expensive items made to please the passengers, but these elaborate goods are now useless. Later, he shows how the ship will inevitably crash into the iceberg. No one could have predicted the eventual disaster because the trip seemed to be so relaxing. The poem’s tone and word choice imply that an “Immanent Will” of some sort created the iceberg specifically for that ship as if they were meant to be together.
The convergence of twain Summary
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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.”
He Never Expected Much Summary
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