ALL THE WORLD’S A STAGE
- WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
William Shakespeare’s “All The World’s a
Stage” is a poem extracted from his play “As You Like It”. In this poem
Shakespeare has skillfully divided and described human life into seven stages
from infancy to old age. He compares the world with a big stage in which all
the human beings play their allotted roles according to their time limit.
The Infant Stage
In the first stage, as an infant he cries
and vomits in the nurse’s arms.
The School Boy
In the second stage, he begins his
schooling. He is unwilling to leave the protected environment of his home, so
he goes to school like a snail.
The Lover
In the third stage, as a young man, he
composes his love poems. In this stage, he expresses his love in a fatuous
manner. He makes himself ridiculous in trying to express his feelings.
The Soldier
In the fourth stage, he is hot – blooded
with a high degree of self-respect. To get fame he endangers his life. At this
stage, he does not know that fame and honor is nothing more than a bubble and
short lived.
The Justice
In the fifth stage, he assumes himself that
he has acquired wisdom through his experiences. He has round belly with good
capon lined.
The Pantaloon
In the sixth stage, he is a shell of his
former self both physically and mentally. He tries to shrink himself into a
shell of his worries and is indifferent to his physical appearance and apparel,
just as he was in his youth.
The Old Age
In the last stage, he is highly dependent
on others for care. He is unable to interact with the world. He has no relations.
His voice is not clear due to loss of teeth. He loses his firmness and
assertiveness. He experiences second innocence and mere oblivion. This stage is
also known as second infancy.
This poem shows Shakespeare’s deep
knowledge and transience of human life
