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A humorous poem about a child's shadow that behaves like a naughty child and grows taller or shorter than the child. The poem compares the shadow to a coward and a sleepy-head, and imagines the consequences of its actions.
A humorous poem about a child's shadow that grows and changes with him, and how he behaves when he is alone. The poem is in the public domain and is part of a collection of Stevenson's poems for children and young readers.
- Stanza One
- Stanza Two
- Stanza Three
- Stanza Four
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In the first stanza of ‘My Shadow’, the speaker begins by describing his shadow as a companion. It is something that accompanies him everywhere he goes. Although the young narratordoes not know what his shadow is, he does recognize it as a boy. This means that any adjectives used to describe the shadow likely apply, at least to some extent, to the ...
The second stanza speaks on the strange aspects of the shadow the child takes note of. These include its ability to “grow.” He is referring to how the shape changes with the positioning of the sun. It is obviously a very odd feature for a child to have, making him an improper child. There is a contrastpresented here between real children and the wa...
The speaker goes on to describe how this child does not understand how to play, a critical part of childhood. This fact bothers the speaker as the shadow’s actions reflect badly on him. He is embarrassed by the shadow’s needy behavior and its seeming inability to leave his side. The strange child is always there, acting like a “coward.” In the last...
In the last quatrain of this piece, the speaker describes one time in which the shadow did not appear. He is not able to connect the events of this section to the physical manifestationof his shadow. Rather he presents the occasion as another quirk of this strange child who follows him around. He speaks of a time in which he got up before the sun. ...
A poem that explores the curiosity and wonder of a child who sees his shadow as another boy. Learn about the themes, rhyme scheme, and summary of this classic poem by the author of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
- Female
- October 9, 1995
- Poetry Analyst And Editor
A classic poem about a child's relationship with his shadow. Read the full text, share your story, and learn more about the author and the poem.
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My Shadow is an 1885 poem by Robert Louis Stevenson. Among his most famous poems for children, [1] [2] it appeared in A Child's Garden of Verses in 1885. [3] [4] Because it is written in iambs that contain seven syllables per line, it is written in iambic heptameter, and can be considered a fourteener .
- 1885
- English
A humorous poem about a small, mischievous shadow that accompanies the author wherever he goes. The poem compares the shadow to a child and a coward, and imagines its growth and disappearance.
May 13, 2011 · A humorous and playful poem about a child's relationship with his shadow. Read the full text, analysis, and translation of this classic poem from Child's Garden of Verses.
