My Shadow

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.

The funniest thing about him is the way he likes to grow— Not at all like proper children, which is always very slow; For he sometimes shoots up taller like an india-rubber ball, And he sometimes gets so little that there's none of him at all.

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 beside me, he's a coward you can see; I'd think shame to stick to nursie as that shadow sticks to me!

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 and was fast asleep in bed.

From My Shadow by Robert Louis Stevenson (1885). Public domain.

Check your understanding

1. According to the poem, what is the funniest thing about the shadow?

He jumps into bed first.The way he likes to grow.He stays close to the speaker.He sleeps in bed all day.

2. Why does the speaker think the shadow is a lazy sleepy-head at the end of the poem?

The shadow refused to play games.The shadow hid behind the buttercups.The shadow did not come outside before the sun was up.The shadow was too small to see.

3. How does the speaker compare the shadow's growth to how proper children grow?

4. Why does the speaker call the shadow a coward? Use evidence from the poem to explain.

5. At the end of the poem, the speaker goes out before the sun is up and cannot find their shadow. What is the real reason the shadow is not there?