Learning about
Poetry
My Shadow
By Robert Louis Stevenson
I have a little shadow that goes in and out with me,
And what can be the use of him is more than I can see.
He is very, very like me from the heels up to the head;
And I see him jump before me, when I jump into my bed.
Personification is a device in which human actions
and ideas are given to things.
The funniest thing about him is the way he likes to growNot at all like proper children, which is always very slow;
For he sometimes shoots up taller like an India-rubber ball,
And he sometimes goes so little that there’s none of him at all.
For example: The morning sun lightly kissed the
flower. The flame’s fingers wrapped around the dry
wood.
Can you find more examples of personification in this
poem?
He hasn’t got a notion of how children ought to play,
And can only make a fool of me in every sort of way.
He stays so close behind me, he’s a coward you can see;
I’d think shame to stick to nursie as that shadow sticks to me!
In this poem, Robert Louis Stevenson describes the
actions of his shadow.
Vocabulary:
arrant- extreme
coward- someone who is not brave
dew- drops of water that form on cool surfaces
notion- an idea
ought- should
proper- normal
shame- something to be sorry for
shoots- grows
One morning, very early, before the sun was up,
I rose and found the shining dew on every buttercup;
But my lazy little shadow, like an arrant sleepy-head, had stayed at home
behind me was fast asleep in bed.
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The shadow is just like
When does the shadow go before the child?
The shadow “hasn’t got a notion of how children ought to play.” A
notion is
What is this poem is mostly about?
Why wasn’t the shadow with the child at the end of the poem?
Why did the poet most likely write this poem?
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Poetry Comprehension Skills by Steck-Vaughn