Expect Nothing

Expect Nothing: analysis

Introduction

Expect Nothing is a short poem of advice, spoken in a string of commands. It appears in the collection Revolutionary Petunias & Other Poems. The speaker urges the reader to expect nothing, to need no pity, and to wish for little.

The poem offers this as a way to live through disappointment. Its key image is to "Live frugally" on surprise, taking joy from the unexpected rather than counting on anything. The opening command returns at the end, so the poem closes as it began.

Summary

The first stanza opens with two commands: "Expect nothing. Live frugally" on surprise. The reader should become a stranger to the need for pity. If compassion is freely given, the reader should take only enough. They should stop before the urge to plead, then "purge away the need."

The second stanza says to wish for nothing larger than "your own small heart." Nor should one wish for anything "greater than a star." The reader should tame "wild disappointment" with a cold, unmoved caress. That disappointment should then be made into a warm, protective parka "For your soul."

The third stanza tells the reader to discover why the "tiny human midget" exists at all. This small human is "So scared unwise." The stanza then turns with "But" and repeats the opening advice. The reader is again told to expect nothing and to live frugally on surprise. The poem ends on the word "surprise."

Themes and meaning

The central theme is self-reliance through low expectation. The speaker advises against hoping, needing or pleading. Expecting nothing protects a person from being let down. Surprise then becomes a source of nourishment rather than a rare exception.

A second theme is the refusal of pity. The reader is to "become a stranger" to the need of pity. Even freely offered compassion should be taken only in small measure. The poem values dignity and independence over comfort from others.

A third theme is turning pain into protection. Disappointment is not denied. It is tamed "With caress unmoved and cold" and worn like "a parka." A parka is a coat for harsh cold. The image suggests that hardship, once controlled, can shield the soul.

A fourth theme is human smallness. The poem speaks of "your own small heart" and of the "tiny human midget." People are "So scared unwise." The speaker asks the reader to find out why such a creature exists. This can be read as humbling, or as a call to look for meaning despite our frailty.

Tone

The tone is stern, compact and instructive. The poem speaks almost entirely in imperatives: "Expect nothing," "Take only enough," "Wish for nothing." The speaker never mentions themself, giving only advice addressed to "your" heart and soul.

The sternness has warmth beneath it. Words such as "surprise" and "star" bring light into the poem. The parka image is practical and even protective.

The third stanza is gentler and a little rueful. The phrase "So scared unwise" sounds almost tender towards human weakness. The final return to "expect nothing" is calm, as if the lesson has been tested and still holds.

Form and structure

The poem has 22 lines in three stanzas of 9, 7 and 6 lines. The lines are short, from 3 to 9 syllables. There is no regular metre.

Rhyme is occasional but placed for effect. Lines 8 and 9 end in a couplet, "plead" and "need." The word "surprise" ends lines 2 and 22, and "unwise" in line 20 rhymes with it.

Punctuation is sparse. Many commands run on without full stops, giving the poem a terse, chant-like rhythm. The last two lines repeat the first two, framing the whole poem.

Poetic devices

Imperative mood line 1

Expect nothing. The poem opens with a command, setting its tone of firm advice.

Metaphor line 1

Live frugally Surprise becomes food or income to be lived on sparingly, a picture of modest joy.

Enjambment line 3

become a stranger The phrase runs into the next line, delaying what the reader should be a stranger to.

Rhyme line 9

Then purge away the need. The couplet with "plead" closes the stanza firmly on the idea of letting need go.

Personification line 13

Tame wild disappointment Disappointment is treated as a wild animal that can be calmed and controlled.

Oxymoron line 14

With caress unmoved and cold A caress is normally warm, so the cold caress shows controlled, detached handling of pain.

Metaphor line 15

Make of it a parka Disappointment becomes a warm coat, protection made out of hurt.

Repetition line 21

But expect nothing. Live frugally The opening line returns, framing the poem and confirming its rule.

Diction line 18

So tiny human midget Doubled words for smallness stress how slight and fragile a person is.

Contrast line 12

Or greater than a star The star sets a bound on wishing, contrasting with the small heart in the line before.

Words worth knowing

frugally

Sparingly, without waste. Here, living modestly on small pleasures.

purge

To clear out completely, as if cleansing oneself of need.

parka

A heavy hooded coat for extreme cold.

midget

Used here to mean a very small being. The poem applies it to every human, not to any particular person.

What readers have said

• Dayna likes the poem's meaning but asks what the tiny human midget refers to. Dayna, 2007
• Candis reads the tiny human midget as the world's imperfections, which explain why we must expect nothing. candis, 2008
• Dorthy Cistenzda agrees that the phrase points to imperfections and mistakes. Dorthy Cistenzda, 2010
• Ani takes the poem as advice to live each day as a surprise and appreciate every small thing. Ani, 2008