All the World's a Stage
By William Shakespeare
About
The Author
William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
was an English poet, dramatist and actor of the Renaissance era. He is widely
regarded as the greatest writer in English language and the world's greatest
dramatist. His most famous works include Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Romeo and
Juliet and Macbeth.
About
The Poem
This poem is taken from William
Shakespeare's play As You Like It. With these words “all the world’s a stage”
begins the monologue by the character Melancholy Jaquez in Act II Scene VI of
the play. In this poem, Shakespeare has compared life with a stage. The seven
stages of a person’s life are infant, school going boy, lover/husband,
soldier/fighter, justice/ ability to understand the right and wrong, Pantalone
(greediness and high in status) and old-age., which can come into your mind
when you go through this poem with the theme that a person is the ultimate
loser in the game of life.
Summary:
This poem is taken from William
Shakespeare's famous drama 'As You Like It'. There is a character in this drama
called Jacque, and this poem is his monologue.
The poem describes the seven
stages of a man's life from childhood to very old age. The world is a global
stage, all the men and women are only characters or role players on this stage.
Thus, the message is that we are only the puppets in the hands of destiny.
Just like any stage, this
world-stage also has its own entrances and exits. The entrance is our birth,
and exit is our death.
In his life time, a man has many
roles to play. The total number of his acts is seven.
This poem talks about the cycle
of life, from birth to death. We start our life with helplessness, depending
upon others and, similarly, by the last stage we are again helpless, depending
upon others.
Note:
Stages of Life as Per the Author:
First: Newly born child or infant baby.
Second: School girl or boy and period of
learning
Third: Stage of adolescence and period of
performing some romantic activities.
Fourth: The solider who can work hard for
country and family
Fifth: Adulthood with good experience
Sixth: Old person with lean and thin body
Seventh: Second Childhood stage also called as
last stage of life
Understanding the text:
Answer the following
questions.
a. Why does the
poet compare the world with a stage?
Ans: In a theater (or
in any performance) stage is a specific place for the actors. It serves as a
place where actors come and play their roles.
The poet has compared the world
with a stage because here all human beings play their different roles, deliver
dialogues, and fulfil their duties and responsibilities.
b. What is the first
stage in a human's life? In what sense can it be a troubling stage?
Ans: The first stage
of human life is the infant stage. In this stage s/he only cries and vomits in
his/her mother's arms. S/he is not able to do anything by himself/herself.
It's very troubling stage because
s/he is entirely dependent upon others. So much so, s/he is not even able to
express what s/he needs. Sometimes even mothers or other caretakers get
irritated because of his crying or because of taking care continuously.
c. Describe the second
stage of life based on the poem.
Ans: The second stage
of life is a school going boy/girl. Now s/he is in a school going age. Mothers
send them to school, which most children don't like or enjoy. S/he goes to
school with his school bag most unwillingly with slow steps and always weeping,
crying and complaining.
d. Why is the last stage
called second childhood?
Ans: In the final
stage of his life, he changes from old to oldest age. In this stage all his
activities almost come to a stop. S/he becomes extremely weaker. His/her
memory, eye-sight etc. becomes very weak. S/he is even unable to perform
his/her daily activities by himself. As in the first stage, in this stage also
s/he becomes totally dependent upon others. So, this is like a second
childhood.
e. In what sense are we
the players in the world stage?
Ans: The poet
compares the world to a very big stage. Here he shows how all men and women are
only actors (role players) in the drama of life.
In any drama different
actors have their entries and exits, and they have assigned (allocated) roles
to play. Similarly, in life drama, we have entries and exits and have our
allocated roles, which we have to play. Our entries start with our birth. And,
fulfilling different roles, we become very old, and exit from the world (die).
Reference to the context:
a. Explain the following
lines:
All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women
merely players
Ans: The poet
compares this world with a platform on which all men and women have arrived and
will go after they have played their roles.
Here, life has been compared to a
play or drama played by all men and women on the stage of the world. His/her
seven stages of life are the seven acts of play. They enter this stage when
they are born, and leave the stage when they die.
b. Explain the following
lines briefly with reference to the context.
They have their exits and
their entrances;
And one man in his time
plays many parts,
Ans: Reference to the
Context: These lines have been taken from the poem "All the World's a
Stage, composed by William Shakespeare. Here, life has been compared to a
play or drama. It describes various stages of human life.
Explanation: In the
life-drama, played on the biggest stage, world, we all are characters. We have
our entrances (births) and exits (death). In between we play our different
allocated roles. We play different roles (fulfil our assigned duties) and
finally leave the world.
c. Read the given lines
and answer the questions that follow.
Then the whining school
boy; with his satchel
And shining morning face,
creeping like snail unwillingly to school.
1. Which stage of
life is being referred to here by the poet?
Ans: Here the second stage
is being referred to, which is the complaining school going boy.
2. Which figure of speech has
been employed in the second line?
Ans: The figure of speech
employed in the second line is simile, because the comparing word 'like' is
used to show the comparison.
3. Who is compared to the
snail?
Ans: The unwilling school
boy is compared to the snail.
4. Does the boy go to the
school willingly?
Ans: No, he is not going
to the school willingly. His unwillingness is clear by his slow steps.
d. Simile and metaphor
are the two major poetic devices used in this poem. Explain citing examples of
each.
Ans: Simile and metaphor
are two major poetic devices. Such devices are used for comparison. The poet
has used both of them in this poem.
Simile: A simile is figure
of speech in which a comparison is made between two things which have something
in common, using words 'like' or 'as'.
For example: The students
are as busy as bees. Some examples of simile from this poem
are : (a) 'creeping like a snail' (b) 'bearded like a pard'
Metaphor: A metaphor
is also used for comparing two things. But in a metaphor, the comparison is made
without the use of 'like' or 'as'.
For Example: He has a
heart of lion.
Some examples of metaphor from
this poem are:
(a) 'All the World's a Stage',
(b) 'Seeking the bubble of
reputation'.
e. Which style does the
poet use to express his emotions about how he thinks that the world is a stage
and all people living in are mere players?
Ans: The poet has
used a descriptive form of writing to express his emotions about how he thinks
that the world is a stage and all people living here are mere players.
These players go through seven
different stages in their lives. The poet has given the features of all the
stages.
f. What is the theme of this
poem?
Ans: The major theme
of this poem is cycle of life. It tells us how one starts out as an infant,
helpless, without understanding, and ends in the same way without being aware
of what is happening around him.
Reference beyond the text:
a. Describe the various
stages of a human's life picturized in the poem. All the World's a Stage?
Ans: The speaker
compares the world to a drama or stage. All men and woman are only actors of
this world stage. We enter with our birth and exit with our death. Between the
entrance and exit, we play seven roles.
The first role is of infancy. It
goes in crying, weeping and depending upon others for every little need. Then,
the infant grows into a school going boy. His guardians send him to school, and
he goes there most unwillingly.
Thirdly, he grows into a romantic
youth. He is now full of energy. He falls into love. He tries to woo his
beloved by singing songs for her. In the fourth stage, the boy turns a man. He
has several responsibilities, both to his family and his country. He is brave,
full of enthusiasm, and seeking reputation.
By the fifth stage, he is in the
role of a wise justice. He is a middle-aged man now. Experiences have made him
wise like a judge. He has a large stomach and a clean-cut beard by now.
In the sixth stage, he is an old
man. He is lean and thin, with glasses on his nose. his manly voice turns into
a childish treble. Seventh is the last act. It is the 'second childhood'. He
becomes very old. His memory becomes weaker. Like in the first stage, he again
becomes helpless, depending upon others for his every needs.
It is now the stage of exit from
the drama of life.
b. Is Shakespeare's
comparison of human's life with a drama stage apt? How?
Ans: Shakespeare has
compared human life to a play or drama played by every man and woman. He has
described seven stages of life, which are like the seven acts of a play.
The comparison of the world to a
stage and people to actors goes before Shakespeare. We find such comparisons
made in many philosophical books too.
But, even if nobody had written
about it, it is by a simple observation of life around us we find the same
thing happening. Everybody takes birth, grows, and with every growth, man's
life changes. He works, fulfils duties and responsibilities according to age,
and finally leaves the world.