3. THE
WRITER
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
OF THE
POEM
“THE
SEVEN
AGES”
4. BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO THE
POEM
This poem is an extract from Shakespeare’s play, ‘As You
Like It’. It is in the form of a speech by a character named
Jacques. In it, Jacques compares the world to a stage.
On this stage, each man plays the drama of his life. His
drama consists of seven acts. These acts correspond to
the seven ages in a man’s life. They are : 1. the infant, 2.
the school boy, 3. the lover, 4. the soldier, 5. the justice, 6.
the elderly gentleman, and lastly 7. the old man at the
door of death. The poem analyses the characteristics of
each age.
5. THE WORLD IS A STAGE
“All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women
merely players,
They have their exits and
entrances,
And one man in his time plays
many parts,
His acts being seven ages.”
Every man in his full lifetime
has many parts to play.
6.
7. FIRST STAGE OF A MAN’S
LIFE
“At first the infant,
Mewling and puking in the
nurse's arms.”
The first and foremost act of
every human being is the stage of
infancy, where he makes his
presence felt by crying at the top
of his voice.
8. SECOND STAGE OF A MAN’S
LIFE
“Then, the whining schoolboy
with his satchel
And shining morning face,
creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school.”
The second stage is the ‘whining’
schoolboy where he learns to utter
a plaintive, high-pitched, protracted
sound, as in
pain, fear, supplication, or
complaint.
9. THIRD STAGE OF A MAN’S
LIFE
“And then the lover,
Sighing like
furnace, with a woeful
ballad
Made to his mistress'
eyebrow.”
The third stage is his early youth, the
peak of love and high romance. He
sighs like a burning furnace and sings
the sad ballads of romance. The
impression of her reply can be seen
in her eyebrows.
10. FOURTH STAGE OF A MAN’S
LIFE
“Then a soldier,
Full of strange oaths and
bearded like the pard ,
Jealous in honour , sudden
and quick in quarrel,
Seeking the bubble
reputation
Even in the cannon's
The fourth stage is that of a soldier where
mouth.”
life if full of obligations, commitments,
compliances, oaths and vows. He endlessly
fights for his honor, to maintain a dignified
reputation.
11. FIFTH STAGE OF A MAN’S
LIFE
“And then the justice,
In fair round belly
with good capon lined,
With eyes severe and
beard of formal cut,
Full of wise saws
and modern instances;
And so he plays his
part.”
The fifth stage is the adult-hood
where a man tries to live a fair
and justified life. His eyes are
severe with seriousness. He is to
take a lot of correct decisions.
12. SIXTH STAGE OF A MAN’S
LIFE
“The sixth age shifts
Into the lean and slipper’d
pantaloon,
With spectacles on nose
and pouch on side,
His youthful hose, well
saved, a world too wide
For his shrunk shank; and
his big manly voice,
Turning again toward
childish treble, pipes
And whistles in his sound. ”
13. SEVENTH STAGE OF A MAN’S
LIFE
“Last scene of all,
That ends this strange
eventful history,
Is second childishness and
mere oblivion,
Sans teeth, sans
eyes, sans taste, sans
everything.”
The last stage is also the stage of
oblivion ; the state of being completely
forgotten or unknown. He is without
everything; without teeth, eyes and
taste.
