“All the World a Stage" by William Shakespeare

About the Writer:

William Shakespeare was born in Stratford upon-Avon, England in 1564. His father, John
Shakespeare was a hosier (specialized in glove making). William Shakespeare is one of the greatest
dramatists of all time. He belonged to the ripest literary era of English Literature. He is famous for
introducing a variety of characters and several new English words. He has written both comedies
and tragedies. He was an actor and director as well. He had founded a theatre named Globe Theatre
in London.
He had written thirty-seven plays and almost one fifty-four sonnets during his lifetime. He never
entered any renowned college or university, yet he composed the most thoughtful and sensational
plays of all times. Some of his most successful plays were King Lear, Othello, Hamlet, Macbeth,
The Taming of the shrew, Tempest, As you like It, Romeo and Juliet, The Winter's Tale' etc.
He died in 1616.

Meaning of “All the World’s a stage”:

The meaning of this phrase is that this world is like a stage show, and all human being are merely
players or actors. Shakespeare draws readers’ attention towards the drama everyone lives
throughout their lives. Simply he means that everyone in this world playing different roles such as
the role of a lover, a haughty middle- aged man or a great golfer.

Reference to the context with explanation

I
All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages. At first the infant,
Mewling and puking in the nurse’s arms;
And then the whining school-boy, with his satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like snail
Reference to the context:
These lines have been taken from the poem “All the World’s a stage” written by
William Shakespeare. This sonnet of Shakespeare is from his famous play “As You Like It”. This
poem describes various stages of human life. Life has been compared to a play or drama played
by every man and woman on the stage of the world. His seven stages of life are the seven acts of
a play. This shows Shakespeare’s deep knowledge and transience of human life.
Explanation:
In these lines the poet compares this world to a stage. All men and women are only actors and
actresses on the stage of this world. All these people have different routes to enter this stage and
have different exits to go out. They enter this stage when they are born and leave this stage
when they die. Every person, during his lifetime plays many parts. These parts are called seven
ages. These ages are like acts of a play.
The first stage of a man’s life is his infancy. During his infancy he cries and throws up milk and
vomits when he is in the hands of a mother or a nurse. The second stage is his boyhood. This is his
school going period. It is the time when he complains all the time. His face shines like the bright
and fresh morning. He carries his school bag and unwillingly goes to school at the speed of an
insect.

II

Unwillingly to school. And then the lover,

Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad
Made to his mistress’ eyebrow. Then a soldier,
Full of strange oaths, and bearded like the pard,
Jealous in honor, sudden and quick in quarrel,
Seeking the bubble reputation
Even in the cannon’s mouth. And then the justice,
In fair round belly with good capon lined,

Reference to the context: As stated above

Explanation:

This is the third stage of man’s life. Now he is a grown-up person and assumes the form of a lover.
It is the time when he loves his beloved ardently. He sighs like a furnace or an oven. He writes a
song in praise of his beloved’s eyebrow. He also sings such songs again and again as he burns in
his emotions. In these lines the poet shows the fourth stage of a man’s life. When he matures, he
becomes a soldier. He takes strange oaths. He has a beard like a tiger or a leopard. He is fierce like
these animals. During this stage of life, man is jealous of honor of other. He is very quick-tempered
and owns quarrels. Since he is warm-blooded, he looks for temporary reputation and fame. To
achieve this temporary fame, he is even ready to go into the mouth of a gun. He does not bother
for dangers. This is the fifth stage of man’s life. Here man becomes middle aged and mature like
a judge and has a fair round belly full of the meat of chickens. Perhaps, he has become fit because
he eats meat and fat castrated cocks in excess.

III
With eyes severe and beard of formal cut,
Full of wise saws and modern instances;
And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts
Into the lean and slippered 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

Reference to the context: As stated above

Explanation:
It is the stage when he is firm, serious, and grim. His conversation is full of many different
proverbs of the world of the past and is also full of the examples from the modern age. He has beard
of formal cut and as such plays this part of life.
This is the sixth stage of man’s life. In this stage man shifts from middle age to old age. Now he
wears pantaloon with slippers on his feet. He has become thin, weak, and lean. Now he wears
spectacles on his nose because of his weak eyesight. He has also a purse by his side in which he
keeps money and tobacco. He uses long socks which he has saved during his youth. Now these
socks are very loose to his lean leg and look strange. His big loud manly voice has turned in the
shrill voice of a child. Since, some of his teeth have fallen, whenever he tries to speak. It seems as
if he were playing upon a pipe or as if he were whistling.

IV
And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all,
That ends this strange eventful history,
 Is second childishness and mere oblivion;
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.
Reference to the context: As stated above

Explanation:

This is the last stage of man’s life. In this stage he changes from his old age to the oldest one. This
is a strange stage of life. In this period all the life which has been previously full of strange events,
comes to an end. Man becomes child once again. This is like his second childhood. In this stage
he is childish as well as childlike. At this stage he forgets almost everything. His memory becomes
very weak. He loses teeth, eyesight, and taste. He is without everything. This is the stage in which
he completes the drama of his life and leaves the stage of this world for the next.

Paraphrasing the poem:

I
All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages. At first the infant,
Mewling and puking in the nurse’s arms.
And then the whining school-boy, with his satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like snail

Paraphrase: The poet says that the world is a stage and all the men and women have got their roles
to play on the stage. They have their exits to appear and disappear. The man plays many parts on
the stage. He passes from seven different ages and then he is heard no more. The first stage of his
life is Infancy. When he is mewling and vomiting in the nurse’s arms. Then he passes into a stage
of a lousy little boy with his schoolbag and a shiny face scrubbed by his nurse. He creeps towards
a school like a snail, no doubt unwilling to go to school.

II
Unwillingly to school. And then the lover,
 Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad
Made to his mistress’ eyebrow. Then a soldier,
Full of strange oaths and bearded like the pard,
Jealous in honor, sudden and quick in quarrel,
Seeking the bubble reputation
Even in the cannon’s mouth. And then the justice,
In fair round belly with good capon lined,

Paraphrase: Then he assumes the forms of a lover. He sighs like a furnace and writes a song in
praise of his beloved’ eyebrows. He loves his beloved with great emotions. Then he becomes a
solider who takes strange oaths and has a beard like a leopard. He is jealous of others honor, a
short-tempered and sudden in quarrel. As he is a warm-blooded so he looks for reputation and
fame even though it may be one that bursts as easily as bubble. And for this fame he is ready to
get into the cannon’s mouth. In the fifth stage of life man becomes mature like a judge and has a
fair round belly of a meat of chicken.

III
With eyes severe and beard of formal cut,
Full of wise saws and modern instances;
And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts
Into the lean and slippered 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

Paraphrase: In the fifth stage of life man becomes firm, serious and grim. He has a beard of formal
cuts. His conversations are full of many different proverbs of the past world and of the modern
world. He becomes judgmental and as such he plays this part of life. In sixth stage, he wears pants
with slippers on his feet. He wears spectacles on nose because of weak eyesight and a pouch on
one side to keep money. The long youthful socks which he has saved now become very loose to
his lean legs. His big loud manly voice has turned into the shrill voice of a child.
 IV
And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all,
That ends this strange eventful history,
Is second childishness and mere oblivion,
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.

Paraphrase: Since some of his teeth has fallen it seems as if he was playing upon a pipe or as if he
was whistling. This is the last stage of life, the life which has been previously full of strange events
comes to an end. Man becomes child again and this is like a second childhood. At this stage he
forgets almost everything. He loses teeth, eyes, taste and he is without everything.

Reading Comprehension:
1. This poem is an extended metaphor. What two things being compared?
Ans. In this poem the world or life is compared to a stage and all human being are
compared to an actor or actresses performing on the stage. The author reduced the life
of human being to a performance or to an acting role. Human beings play their part in
life as characters play their role on stages.
2. There are seven stages or acts of a man listed in this poem. What are they?
Ans. The seven stages of life, as described in the poem ‘All the world’s a stage”
are:

Infancy (lines 5-6): The first stage of man’s life is infantry in which the baby is
crying softly and throwing up in the caregiver’s lap.

Boyhood (lines 7-9): The image of a school-going boy unwilling to go to school

describes this stage.

Adolescence/Teenage (lines 9-11): In this stage, Shakespeare presents an image of

a dejected lover who composes sad songs for his beloved.

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

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.
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.
3: What is meant by the word “oblivion” in the context of the poem ‘All the
World’s a stage’?
Ans: The word ‘oblivion’ means that in last stage of life the old man forgets
everything and loses his memory. He does not know what is happening around
him.
4: Then a solider. Full of strange oaths, and bearded like a part, Jealous in
honor, sudden and quick in quarrel, Seeking the bubble reputation Even in
the cannon’s mouth.
a) What is the solider ready to do?
Ans: Solider swears oaths and is ready to guard his country to seek out
honor.
b) What is the poetic device used in the second line?
Ans: Simile is used in the second line to describe a soldier’s facial features.
The beard of soldier’s is patchy and spotted like a leopard’s coat.
c) What does ‘bubble reputation’ means?
Ans: “Bubble’’ signifies the idea of transience and impermanence. The
reputation for which a young man is eager to venture his life, is bubble-like;
implying that it’s not going to last long.
5. What is the significance of the words ‘entrances’ and ‘exits’ in the poem
‘The Seven Ages’?
Ans: Human life is compared to a theater where actors appear, enact their role, and
quit. ‘Entrances’ signify human births and ‘exits’ deaths. Human beings take birth,
play their parts, and die.
6. Identify various figure of speech in the poem.
Ans: Shakespeare makes use of several literary devices in this speech. Some are as
follows:
Simile:
a) The line “shining morning face, ‘creeping like a snail” has a simile which is
creeping like a snail. This shows the reluctance of schoolboy when going to
school in the morning.
b) Another simile is ‘sighing like a furnace’, which compares the lover’s sigh
to the loud sound of a furnace.
c) “Soldier… bearded like the pard” is also a simile as it gives us the
impression that the solider is bearded.
Metaphor:
In the first part, All the world’s a stage, and all the Men and women merely
players; They have their exits and their entrances, means that the poet is
comparing the world to a stage. It is a metaphor as the stage is used to describe the
world, and everyone plays a part in it. In a stage, there are exits and entrances in
the same way everyone enters and exits the world.
Hyperbole:
The phrase ‘Even in the cannon’s mouth’ is a hyperbole as it exaggerates the
soldier’s desire to seek a good reputation, even in the face of death.
Repetition:
Another figure of speech used in this monologue is repetition. Words like sans,
age, etc. are repeated for the sake of emphasis.

Anaphora:
It is used in the eighth and ninth lines, beginning with the word “And”.
Synecdoche:
Synecdoche is a figure of speech in which a part is made to represent the whole.
Examples of synecdoche are:
“Made to his mistress’ eyebrow”
In the above phrase ‘eyebrow’ is referring to lover’s beloved.
“And then the justice”
The word ‘justice’ is referring to a mature and fair man like a judge.
Alliteration:
Alliteration is the occurrence of same sound or letter at the beginning of adjacent or
closely connected words.
“His shrunk shank” in this phrase /s/ is repeated.
“Quick in quarrel” in this phrase ‘q’ is repeated.
Onomatopoeia:
Onomatopoeia is defined as the word which imitates the real sound of a thing.
As phrase “pipes /And whistles in his sound” shows that big loud manly voice has
turned into the shrill voice of a child.

7. Write a well-integrated essay on different stages of human life as mentioned

in the above poem, using above prewriting strategies.

Ans: In this poem the world is compared with a stage in a theatre. Men and women
are the actors or players on this stage. Actors playing roles have entrances and exits
during a performance. Life also has its entrances and exits-people are born and die
and pass in and out of our lives.

The poem focuses on the experience of men. However, it is also possible to consider
how the lives of men might be divided into seven ages or stages.

The first role or stage is that of an infant or baby. The baby cries and whines before
vomiting in the arms of his nurse.

In the second stage of life man plays the role of a small boy or child. He holds a
school bag, has a shiny face, and walks as slowly as he can because he does not like
school and is reluctant to leave home.

The role of the lover is the third stage of life. He is young, foolish and falls
passionately in love, singing a sad song about love in which he describes the beauty
of a girl’s eyebrows.

In the fourth stage of life the man plays the role of the soldier. He has a beard, swears
oaths and is ambitious to seek out honor. He is so keen to improve his reputation as
he is willing to risk dangers such as cannons in war.

In the fifth stage of life man plays the role of a justice or judge. He has grown fat
from eating expensive meats. He uses his experience of life and the knowledge he
has gained to offer what he thinks are wise sayings, advice and good decisions.
In the sixth stage of life the man becomes a pantaloon or weak old man. He is so
thin, his stockings become loose. The speech compares this stage of life to a return
to being like a baby or child. Old men and small children both have high voices and
are dependent on adults.

The seventh and final stage is extreme old age or a second childhood. Like babies,
very old men are dependent on others and have no teeth. The old man loses his
memory, hearing and control of his senses before dying.

Thus, Shakespeare pictures the seven stages of a man’s life in the poem ‘All the
World’s a Stage ‘which shows that Life is like a drama, and we all are actors in it,
playing our individual roles.

Vocabulary and Grammar:

A. Following words have been taken from the above poem. Circle the word that
closely matches the relevant word.

Mewlin a. sleeping b. reading c. talking d. crying

g
Satchel a. table b. bag for c. lemon d. wide road
books
Woeful a. sad b. dancing c. Intellige d. awesome
nt
Pard a. barber b. teacup c. leopard d. spoon
Capon a. fur b. fat c. ribbons d. bench
chicken
Saws a. saying b. tools c. monkey d. cities
s
Instance a. technolog b. judgeme c. dress d. ships
s y nts
Pantaloo a. pants b. beds c. hot air d. thick book
n balloon
Shank a. head b. family c. income d. legs

Treble a. terrors b. games c. high- d. musical

pitched instrument
sound
Oblivion a. immortali b. joy c. wisdom d. forgetfuln
ty ess
Sans a. false b. yellow c. without d. full of

Answers:
Talking
Bag for books
Sad
Leopard
Fat chicken
Saying
Judgements
Pants
Legs
High-pitched sound
Forgetfulness
Without

B. Complete with the second conditional.

1. If we ____ (be) in Lahore today, we ___(be) able to go to the concert in

Shalimar Bagh.
2. If I _____ (have) million dollars, I _____(give) a lot to charity.
3. If I ____(win) the lottery, I _____(buy) a big house.
4. If my sister ______(have) a degree, she _____(love) working on animal
conservation.
5. My parents ______(not/drive) if public transport ______(be) reliable.
6. If I _____(be) you, I _____(not/ride) a motorcycle.
7. If they ___(tell) their father, he _____(be) very angry.
8. She _____(spend) a year in the USA if it ___ (be) easier to get green card.
9. We ____(help) you if we _____(know) how.
 [Link] I _____(feel) better, I ____(can) go to the cinema with you.
[Link] we ____(go) by bike more often, you ____(not/be) so flabby.
[Link] ______(not/call) you if she _____ (not/want).
Correct answers:
1. Were, would be
2. Had, would give
3. Won, would buy
4. Had, would love
5. Wouldn’t drive, were
6. Were, wouldn’t ride
7. Told, would be
8. Would spend, were
9. Would help, knew
10. Felt, could
[Link], wouldn’t be
[Link]’t call, didn’t want

C. State whether the following sentences are simple, complex or

compound.
[Link] met rather few people who spoke English. (Complex sentence)
2. I have been on rather too many planes and trains recently. (Simple sentence)
3. We drove right up to Karachi in two days. (Simple sentence)
4. I don’t care how expensive it is. (Complex sentence)
5. Two minutes ago, the child was fast asleep, but now he is wide awake.
(Compound sentence)
6. He is not tall enough to be a soldier. (Simple sentence)
7. I guess she just doesn’t respect you. (Complex sentence)
8. I have got four sisters and each of them is quite different from the others.
(Compound sentence)
9. You can either come with me now or walk home. (Compound sentence)
10. He will never leave home because he hasn’t got the courage to. (Complex
sentence)
11. When all else fails, read the user manual. (Complex sentence)
12. It was Saeed who paid for the drinks. (Complex sentence)

[Link] have to go to bed when the clock chimes 9 o'clock. (Complex sentence)

[Link] liked William's friend, and she also liked his cousin. (Compound
sentence)

[Link] big brown dog ran after the blue and red ball. (Simple sentence)

[Link] and Eve rode their bicycles after they ate lunch. (Complex sentence)

[Link] teacher and the principal met in the hall near the library. (Simple sentence)

[Link] brave soldiers fought in the war, and they received medals. (Compound
sentence)

[Link] drummers played a long time, but the piano players stopped early.
(Compound sentence)

20. Before the queen rode in the parade, she gave a speech. (Complex sentence)

21. After midnights the ghosts will come out of the haunted attic. (Simple
sentence)

22. She dropped the pen and the plate, but she held on to the spoon. (Compound
sentence)