Class 11 English Lesson 10: Poem: All the World’s a Stage by William Shakespeare

 

Poem: All the World’s a Stage by William Shakespeare (page 248)

About the Poet

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) was an English poet, dramatist, and actor of the Renaissance era. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's greatest dramatist. This poem is taken from William Shakespeare's play 'As You Like It'.

Central Idea of the Poem

The central idea of "All the World's a Stage" by William Shakespeare is that life is like a stage and all people are merely actors playing different roles. Shakespeare describes the seven stages of human life—from infancy to old age—each with its behaviors and duties. The poem highlights the temporary nature of life and how people enter and exit the world just like actors in a play. It shows that no matter who we are, we all go through the same life cycle. The poem reflects on the inevitability of aging and the passing nature of human existence.

Summary of the Poem

In this poem, Shakespeare has compared life to 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.

In the first lines of ‘All the world’s a stage,’ the speaker, Jacques, begins with the famed lines that later came to denote this entire speech. He declares that “All the world’s a stage” and that the people living in it are “merely players.” This sets up what is one of the most skilled conceits in all of English literature. Every person, no matter who they are, where they were born, or what they want to do with their lives, wakes up every day with a role. They enter, they exit, just like performers. It’s important to note at this point that these lines would be read on stage in front of an audience. The extended metaphor would not be lost on anyone listening or watching. The actor is declaring to the audience that “you” are just as much of an actor as he is.

Before the listener starts to get concerned about the role they have to play, Jacques adds that a “man” (or woman) plays many different parts in their lives, as an actor does. Whoever the actor may be on stage is not only “Jacques,” he’s also many other characters throughout his career. It’s in the fifth line of the monologue that Shakespeare brings in a slightly more complex concept, that of the “seven ages” of humankind. The first of these is the “infant”. (lines from 1-6)

 

                           The Globe Theatre in London, where ‘As You Like It’ would’ve been                                                                     performed in the early 1600s.

 

As the speech progresses, Jacque continues to describe how someone ages, the roles they play, and what everyone is like, generally, at different times in their lives. One will at some point be a “whining school-boy” and a “lover / Sighing like furnace.” There will be sorrows, ballads, and losses. One will become “a soldier” and take oaths of allegiance while seeking out a fight. This is one of the more difficult stages in one’s life, and if drafted, not one that someone could ignore.

The man’s youth has given way to a full beard like a “pard,” or leopard. In these lines, there is also an interesting metaphor comparing a human or animal blowing a bubble with its mouth to staring down a cannon that might fire at any moment. Finally, this metaphorical person becomes “the justice,” or magistrate, someone with a steadier knowledge of what’s right and wrong. They have “Wise saws,” or wise sayings, and “modern instances,” or arguments for legal cases. (lines 7-18)

In the sixth stage of man’s life, he moves into the “pantaloon” or comfortable clothes worn by old men. His youthful clothes are too loose because he’s lost weight with age. He’s also lost his deep voice. It reverted to something closer to what he had in one of the earlier stages of his life.

The last stage of a man’s life is his “second childishness and mere oblivion.” This is when he loses control of everything that made him an adult. Now, he’s helpless and dependent on others, as he was when he was a child. He is “sans,” or without, “taste,” “eyes,” and “teeth.” The final image is the man without “everything.” His life, all its intricate memories and details, are lost. (lines 19-28)

Video: . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujEJG6BVrPI&t=30s

Literary devices used in the poem

·        Simile: Similes are used to make comparisons using words like ‘like’ or ‘as’, such as creeping like a snail”; “soldier… bearded like the pard”; etc.

·        Metaphor: Metaphors are used to make comparisons without using ‘like’ or ‘as’, such as ‘Love is a battlefield.’ The entire speech itself is more like symbolism; men and women are portrayed as players, whereas life is portrayed as the stage. Shakespeare uses the “stage” as an extended metaphor.

·        Repetition: Repetition is a literary device that involves intentionally using a word or phrase for effect or to bring clarity.  It is another figure of speech used in this monologue; words like sans, age, etc., are repeated for the sake of emphasis.

·        Anaphora: Anaphora is a rhetorical device that features repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive sentences, phrases, or clauses. It is used in the eighth and ninth lines, beginning with the word “And”.

·        Synecdoche: Synecdoche refers to a literary device in which a part of something is substituted for the whole, such as “Made to his mistress’ eyebrow”; “And then the justice”; etc.

·        Alliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of the same sound at the start of a series of words in succession, whose purpose is to provide an audible pulse that gives a piece of writing a lulling, lyrical, and/or emotive effect, such as “his shrunk shank”; “quick in quarrel”; etc.

·        Onomatopoeia: Onomatopoeia is a literary device where words mimic the actual sounds we hear, such as “pipes / And whistles in his sound.”

·        Asyndeton: Asyndeton is one of several rhetorical devices that omit conjunctions. It is a sentence containing a series of words or clauses in close succession, linked without the use of conjunctions. “Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.”

Seven stages of human life

1.     Infancy (lines 5-6): The first stage of man’s life is infancy. In the monologue, readers can find an image of a baby crying softly and throwing up in the caregiver’s lap.

2.     Boyhood (lines 7-9): The image of a school-going boy unwilling to go to school describes this stage.

3.     Adolescence/Teenage (lines 9-11): In this stage, Shakespeare presents an image of a dejected lover who composes sad songs for his beloved.

4.     Youth (lines 11-15): He projects the stage of youth by depicting the life of a soldier. As a soldier, a person in his youth is unafraid of dire challenges.

5.     Middle Age (lines 15-19): The fifth stage deals with middle age, and it is described by the picture of a judge or one who practices law. In this stage of life, one starts to mature and becomes wiser than before.

6.     Old Age (lines 19-25): Just before the final stage, comes old age, turning the manly voice of youth into the childish trebles and whistling. It makes the body weak and the mind dependent upon others.

7.     Death (lines 25-28): In the finale of this seven-act play of life, the strange and eventful history ends abruptly. It leaves a man with nothing.

Understanding the text:

Answer the following questions.

a.      Why does the poet compare the world to a stage?

The poet compares the world to a stage because here all human beings play their different roles, deliver dialogues, and fulfil their duties and responsibilities. In a theatre (or in any performance), the stage is a specific place for the actors. It serves as a place where actors come and play their roles. 

b.     What is the first stage in a human's life? In what sense can it be a troubling stage?

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 a 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.

The second stage of life is a school-going boy/girl. Now s/he is of 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?

In the last stage of his life, he changes from old to the oldest age. In this stage, all his activities almost come to a stop. S/he becomes extremely weak. His/her memory, eyesight, 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 dependent upon others. So, this is like a second childhood.

e.      In what sense are we the players on the world stage?

f.       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).

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