My Bed is a Boat Robert Louis Stevenson My bed is like a little boat;   Nurse helps me in when I embark; She girds me in my sailor's coat   And starts me in the dark. At night, I go on board and say                          5   Good night to all my friends on shore; I shut my eyes and sail away   And see and hear no more. And sometimes things to bed I take,   As prudent sailors have to do;                        10 Perhaps a slice of wedding-cake,   Perhaps a toy or two. All night across the dark we steer;   But when the day returns at last, Safe in my room, beside the pier,                     15   I find my vessel fast. Questions 1.) How is the metaphor of the boat used in the poem? 2.) Who is the "we" stated in line 13? 3.) What role does the nurse play in the poem?

Analysis The speaker is a child, which can be implied from the reference to the nurse in line 2.  The poem is not directed to a particular audience, but since this was originally published in �A Child�s Garden Of Verses and Underwoods,� one could assume that this poem was meant to be read and interpreted by a child.  The purpose of the poem is to convey a child�s understanding of sleep.  The speaker compares sleeping with a ride on a boat, even including himself or herself to be cast as a sailor. In the first stanza, the speaker describes how they need help to climb aboard the boat.  In line 2, the nurse is necessary in order to embark on the journey.  She helps him into his sailor�s coat (his pyjamas) and �starts him in the dark.�  The nurse must read the speaker a bedtime story or sings him a sweet song before helping him embark on his journey to the land of sleep. In the second stanza, the speaker reveals of how they sleep.  The �friends on shore� mentioned in line 7 refer to the people who are still awake.  The destination the speaker is sailing away to in line 8 is dream land where they can get rest and relaxation.  The speaker can no longer see the shore or his friends on shore from there. The items mentioned in the third stanza are comfort items that the speaker takes to bed.  The wedding cake refers to a child�s soft spot for sweets.  The toys are typical of children, especially to take to bed.  The speaker even reverts to the toys as part of him in lien 13 when he states, �across the dark we steer.�  The darkness in the first line of the last stanza is the empty sleep that the speaker is experiencing.  However, the darkness does not last.  Day finally arrives, and the speaker eagerly jumps off board the boat to return to shore where he does not need help looking for his �vessel,� which is his bed.

poem taken from bartleby.com