He Never Expected Much
Well, World, you have kept faith with me,
Kept faith with me;
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.
'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.
"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.
Thomas Hardy
‘He Never Expected Much’ in a nutshell
‘He Never Expected Much’ by Thomas Hardy is a poem published in 1928, after the poet’s
death. It is written from the perspective of an old man who looks back on his life and the
decisions he has made.
‘He Never Expected Much’ breakdown
Lines 1–4
“Well, World, you have kept faith with me,
Kept faith with me;
Upon the whole you have proved to be
Much as you said you were.”
Translation
The speaker is talking to the world and declares that it has kept its promise
Hardy’s intention
The speaker directly addresses the world, personifying it as if it were capable of keeping
faith or breaking it:
o The technique of addressing something that is not alive is called apostrophe
The phrase “kept faith with me” implies a sense of reliability on the part of the world and
the technique of repeating the phrase immediately is also known as epizeuxis:
o The repetition of the phrase emphasises the speaker’s resignation that despite any
hopes or expectations the speaker might have had, the world has simply remained
true to its nature
The line “much as you said you were” suggests that the world has lived up to its promises
or descriptions and there’s a sense of acknowledgement that the world has not deceived
the speaker:
o The world has been as it presented itself which could be seen as a validation of
the world’s predictability
Lines 5–8
“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.”
Translation
The speaker reminisces about his childhood
Hardy’s intention
The imagery of the speaker being a child evokes a sense of innocence and simplicity
associated with childhood
Despite the idyllic setting of the speaker’s childhood, there’s an understanding, even
during his childhood, that life would not be “fair”
The tone of the poem is one of reflective realism, as the speaker looks back on their past
with a mixture of nostalgia and acceptance of life’s disappointments
Lines 9–12
“‘Twas then you said, and since have said,
Times since have said,
In that mysterious voice you shed
From clouds and hills around:”
Translation
The speaker claims that the world spoke to him as a child
Hardy’s intention
The speaker personifies nature, attributing it the ability to speak through a “mysterious
voice” emanating from “clouds and hills”:
o This suggests a close relationship between the speaker and the natural world
The repetition of the phrase “since have said” underscores the significance of the
message conveyed by nature:
o It suggests that this communication is not a one-time occurrence but rather a
recurring episode, which indicates a pattern in the speaker’s interactions with the
natural world
The description of the voice as “mysterious” and the mention of “clouds and hills” as the
sources of the mysterious voice reinforce the idea of nature as a powerful
and omnipresent force:
o Clouds and hills are symbolic of the vastness and grandeur of the natural
landscape, suggesting that the messages conveyed by nature were filled with
significance and wisdom
Lines 13–16
“‘Many have loved me desperately,
Many with smooth serenity,
While some have shown contempt of me
Till they dropped underground.”
Translation
The speaker recounts what the world said to him when he was a child
Hardy’s intention
The world talks of people who “loved” it, and also those who have “shown contempt” of
it:
o However, all of these people have inevitably become a part of the earth
The last line of stanza two serves as a reminder that death is inevitable and no matter
how people live, they will end up “underground” after they die
Lines 17–20
“‘I do not promise overmuch,
Child; overmuch;
Just neutral-tinted haps and such,’
You said to minds like mine.”
Translation
The speaker concludes what the world said to him as a child
Hardy’s intention
The phrase “I do not promise overmuch” implies a sense of moderation or caution in the
assurances given by this higher power
The use of the word “neutral-tinted” suggests a lack of vividness or intensity in the events
that life may bring:
o This indicates an acceptance of life’s inherent uncertainties and the recognition
that experiences may not always be extraordinary or remarkable
The speaker’s acknowledgement of their own limitations, expressed through the phrase
“minds like mine” suggests a sense of humility and realism:
o The speaker may recognise that they are not entitled to extravagant promises or
assurances from the higher power
o Instead, they are subject to the same “neutral-tinted occurrences” as everyone else
Lines 21–24
“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.”
Translation
The speaker talks about whether he took the world’s advice or not
Hardy’s intention
The speaker acknowledges the value of a “wise warning” recognising it as a beneficial
piece of advice
The phrase “which I for one failed not to take” indicates that the speaker
personally heeded the warning
The line “and hence could stem such strain and ache” suggests that listening to the
world’s warning has enabled the speaker to endure the “strain and ache” of life’s
challenges:
o This implies that the advice has equipped them with the resilience or coping
mechanisms necessary to navigate difficult circumstances
The phrase “as each year might assign” acknowledges the inevitability of facing various
trials and tribulations each year:
o This suggests an acceptance of life’s unpredictability and the understanding that
challenges are an inherent part of the human experience
Writer's methods
Although this section is organised into three separate sections – form, structure and language – it
is always best to move from what the poet is presenting (the techniques they use; the overall
form of the poem; what comes at the beginning, middle and end of a poem) to how and why they
have made the choices they have.
Focusing on the poet’s overarching ideas, rather than individual poetic techniques, will gain you
far more marks. Crucially, in the below sections, all analysis is arranged by theme, and includes
Hardy’s intentions behind his choices in terms of:
Form
Structure
Language
Form
The poem is formed of three stanzas, which consist of eight lines each. These stanzas are also
known as octaves.
Theme Evidence Poet’s intention
The variation of the metre could
reflect the trials and tribulations
The metre varies with lines 1, 3 and lines 5–7 that life presents to people
Realism being iambic tetrameter, line 2 is iambic
dimeter and lines 4 and 8 are iambic trimeter
Structure
The poem consists of 24 lines, which are divided into three stanzas with a regular rhyme scheme.
Theme Evidence Poet’s intention
The rhyme scheme of each of the stanzas is
AAABCCCB with three consecutive lines
The rhyme scheme adds a
rhyming together and the fourth and eighth
rhythmic element to the poem,
line rhyming
much like a song or music. This
Acceptance
could reflect the speaker’s
acceptance of life’s “neutral-
tinted haps”
The poet could have done this to
Phrases are repeated immediately and this reflect the monotony and
technique is called epizeuxis. An example repetitive nature of a life that has
Realism
of this is in line 2, the phrase “Kept faith endured trials and tribulations
with me” is repeated rather than one filled with
enjoyment
Language
The poem is written as a monologue spoken by a man who is elderly and reflecting on his life by
talking to the world itself.
Theme Evidence Poet’s intention
Acceptance The writer uses qualifiers by inserting
The poet has done this so that the
words and phrases like “upon the whole”,
speaker appears vague when he
“much as” and “I own”
talks about his experiences. This
could suggest that life may not
have been what he expected it to
be, as the phrases suggest a
resignation and acceptance for
what he has experienced
The writer has used an apostrophe in stanza The use of an apostrophe at the
beginning sets the tone of the
poem and also indicates how the
speaker is not expecting a
one by addressing and speaking to the
response. It shows their
“World”
acceptance of what they have
experienced in their life as they
look back and reflect
Understanding the text
It is not enough to just know the poem really well as all questions in the IGCSE encourage an
informed, personal response. Therefore, you need to develop a solid understanding of the theme,
main ideas, settings, situations and events depicted. Even though context is not explicitly
assessed in the IGCSE, it is important that you have an awareness of background information
that is relevant to the main themes in the poem as this can help you develop a sustained, critical
understanding of the text. This is so that you are able to demonstrate individuality and insight in
your answer. To help you do this, the section below has been divided into two main themes that
Hardy explores in ‘He Never Expected Much’:
Realism
Acceptance
Realism
Thomas Hardy wrote ‘He Never Expected Much’ less than a year before his death in
1928 at the age of 87
The poem is written from the perspective of someone who is looking back and thinking
about how they lived an unremarkable life:
o However, it is worth noting that the speaker assesses his life stoically and does
not feel disappointed over how it turned out
The poet uses phrases such as “upon the whole”, “much as you said” and “neutral-tinted
haps” to highlight how the speaker has a realistic view of his life that is neither positive
nor negative
The poem refers to his childhood and how he used to “watch the sky”, declaring that he
knew then that life would not “all be fair”:
o This suggests that the speaker did not focus on dreams or aspirations but instead
had a realistic view that life might be difficult
Acceptance
The poem’s title gives the reader an insight into the speaker’s outlook on life and the
poem expands on that:
o The phrase “he never expected much” highlights how the speaker may have had
hopes and dreams but has also accepted the “World’s” advice that “neutral-tinted
haps” should be good enough for the speaker
However, in the second stanza, the poet writes from the perspective of the “World” and
declares that everyone dies and is buried, irrespective of the lives they lived:
o Therefore, it could be argued that the speaker has spared himself by taking the
advice and therefore being able to “stem such strain and ache”
The poem's underlying message is that, despite what people may think, no one has
control over their own lives and instead the “mysterious voice” among the “clouds and
hills around” is in control:
o The speaker in the poem has accepted this and has therefore lived a life with stoic
optimism
