All the world's a stage (from As You Like It ) William Shakespeare. Analysis
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
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 honour, sudden and quick in quarrel,
Seeking the bubble reputation
Even in the cannon's mouth. And then the justice,
Even in the cannon's mouth. 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 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. Last scene of all,
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.
Summary:
The
great dramatist of all ages, Shakespeare presents a unique treatment of
human life in his play “As You Like It”. This masterpiece of keen
observation, All The World’s a Stage is in fact a speech delivered by one
of the characters of the above mentioned play. In this poem the poet
compares the entire world to a stage, where all the men and women play
their particular part. During the course of drama of life the character
appear and disappear on the stage to perform their role. There are seven
stages of this drama. Birth is entrance and death is exit.
The
first stage: an infant:
The first period begins and helpless infant in the nurse’s
arms vomits feebly.
The
second stage: a complaining school
boy :
In the second stage a complaining school boy appears on
the stage. He goes to school unwillingly like a snail.
The
third stage: a teenager enters:
Then a teenager enters the stage sighing like a furnace
and singing songs for his beloved.
The
fourth stage: a man acts as a soldier/professionals:
After this, man acts as a soldier ready to fight suddenly,
seeking prompt fame even in the cannon’s mouth to make his mark in the
history.
In the fifth period
a judge, with formal beard, fairly round belly and severe eyes appears on
the stage of the world. He knows many proverbs and can quote a lot of
modern instances.
The sixth stage: an old man:
In the sixth stage
he becomes an old man, lean and weak. There are whistles in his voice and
he wears glasses on his nose. He keeps a small bag with him and the world
is so vast for his weak body.
The seventh stage: on the verge
of end (death):
In the last,
(seventh stage) he is on the verge of end (death). He has lost every
quality of his youth and has become a helpless child again thus ends this
eventful history(life).
} These different stages hint at the fact that
nothing is permanent in this life as life is transient. Interpretation of
human life is understandable to some extent but is not agreeable fully.
} Subtle and sublime rhyme scheme, blank verse,
realistic comparison straightforward treatment, fresh imagery, theatrical
vocabulary here and there are its special technical features.
This passage from the play AsYou Like It is a master piece of Shakespeare's keen observation and fine
poetry. In this passage, delivered by the melancholic and cynical character Jaques,
Shakespeare has masterfully described various stages of human life. He compares
the world with a big stage and all human beings with actors playing their
allotted roles. Man first appears on this stage as an infant crying and
vomiting in the nurse's arms. Then he is seen as a school boy with a shining
morning face walking slowly and unwillingly to school. Soon he grows into a
young man burning with the passion of love and singing in praise of his
beloved. Fourth stage is that of an ambitious soldier who is ready to undertake
any adventure in order to gain honour and fame. In the next stage he plays his
part as a wise and serene justice. Sixth stage finds him as an old man with
spectacles on the nose and a big in his eye. His size shrinks and his manly voice
turns into thin childish voice. His last stage is very miserable as he loses
almost all his scenes and joys of life. The underlying meaning is that of
temporariness and changing phases of life that pass rather too quickly. The
language is simple and imagery is fascinating.
