"My Shadow", by Robert Louis Stevenson, is a poem about a child's shadow, which is intriguing to him. This poem has been read to countless children who are scared of the shadows at bedtime. Take it from someone who had this poem read to him many times. The main theme of this poem is intrigue, with a little bit of condesension. Robert Louis Stevenson uses characterization really well to give a shadow a personality.
The shadow's life-like qualities are it's physical and emotional qualities. First, the physical ones. He looks like the boy from the heel to the head, he can jump, he grows up like an india-rubber ball, and sometimes he shrinks to almost nothing. These descriptions help people to picture what the shadow looks like; a vibrant, not stagnant, object. Stevenson characterizes the shadow well.
The emotional qualities of the shadow are that he's useless, he makes a fool of the boy, he's a coward, and he's lazy. The way Stevenson describes the shadow's cowardice is very symbolic of the early 1900's. He says, "He stays so close behind me, he's a coward you can see; / I'd think to shame to nurse as that shadow sticks to me!" It's early 1900's because the child is probably in a wealthy family, and he uses the term "nurse" instead of nanny. Stevenson gives the shadow great emotional qualities.
Robert Louis Stevenson's "My Shadow" uses characterization really well to give a shadow life. He makes people believe that the shadow is a real entity. This happy setting is a great place to describe something dark, like a shadow. This poem will undoubtedly be used many more times to put scared children to sleep.
