Bed in Summer

by Robert Louis Stevenson

Bed in Summer (in Short Poetry Collection 015 )

In winter I get up at night,
And dress by yellow candle light.
In summer quite the other way,
I have to go to bed by day.

I have to go to bed and see
The birds still hopping on the tree,
Or hear the grown-up people's feet,
Still going past me in the street.

And does it not seem hard to you,
When all the sky is clear and blue,
And I should like so much to play,
To have to go to bed by day?

Genres: Poetry

MP3 CD

First published January 1, 1885

About the author

Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, poet, and travel writer, and a leading representative of English literature. He was greatly admired by many authors, including Jorge Luis Borges, Ernest Hemingway, Rudyard Kipling and Vladimir Nabokov.

Most modernist writers dismissed him, however, because he was popular and did not write within their narrow definition of literature. It is only recently that critics have begun to look beyond Stevenson's popularity and allow him a place in the Western canon.

Reviews

[Claire Phelan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bed in Summer is a poem by Robert Louis Stevenson, it is a short poem written from the perspective of a child. The child compares how waking up in the winter is like getting up at night while going to bed in the summer is like going to bed during the day. The child is not very happy about having to sleep during the day and would rather go and play when the sky is clear and blue. The poem is full of wonderful imagery which really sets the scene. The poem is perfect for children of primary ages; it could be used in the classroom to introduce the concept of time and the seasons. Children could create their own poems around how they feel about going to bed in the summer and see the birds still hopping on the tree’s.

[Gina Starling · Rating 4 out of 5]

K-2

A book of poems for children. I would use this book to introduce my students to the art of poetry.

[Casey Brady · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bed in Summer, by Robert Luis Stevenson, is a short poem meant for children. The poem is from the perspective of a child who is not very happy about having to go to sleep during summer due to the extension of daylight that occurs during the summer. The first stanza compares how waking up in winter is like waking up at night while going to bed in summer is like going to bed during the day. The second and third stanza basically describe why it is so hard for children to go to bed during the summer. The artistic elements are minimum, including rhyming in an aa format and there being stanzas. Bed in Summer is for primary aged children due to the concept of time. I fully recommend this poem because of the educational value as well as the relatively enjoyment the children will get out of it with the rhyming.

[Shari (Shira) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Classic poem in picture book format.

[رضوى · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have a soft spot for this poem. So simple. So pure❤️