Expectation Is Contentment

Expectation Is Contentment - meaning Summary

Expectation as Quiet Contentment

This short poem argues that expectation is a modest form of contentment: anticipating something yields a quiet satisfaction that avoids excess. Dickinson contrasts satiety with conviction, suggesting that a steady, restrained pleasure is morally or emotionally safe. Yet she warns that too comfortable a fortune can obscure risks, so apparent security may deepen danger. The poem registers the tension between measured joy and the complacency that invites harm.