Seven Ages

Seven Ages

By William Shakespeare

Analysis : 

·      This poem ‘Seven Ages’ is taken from the play ‘As You Like It’ written by William Shakespeare, the greatest dramatist ever in English Literature.

·      These lines are a monologue spoken by Jaques, a melancholy and philosophical man in Act II, Scene VII of the play. Today, this monologue is considered one of the greatest pieces of English literature.

·      'The Globe Theatre' opened by Shakespeare’s playing company used the Latin motto as the theme "Totus mundus agit histrionem," which means ‘the whole world performs as actor' and the same idea is used to open this monologue.

·      It is a narrative poem composed in iambic pentameter, consisting of five pairs or iambs of 2 syllables each, in total 10 syllables.

·      In this poem the poet discusses a man’s life and the various roles he plays in his lifetime, which terms as ‘Seven Ages’. He compares life to a play. Just like in a play all the actors appear on the stage and perform their specified roles before leaving this world. These roles represent the seven stages of human life, such as infancy, childhood, teenager, youth, adulthood, old age, and last stage is nearing death.

·      This poem is written in blank verse with no rhyme scheme.

·      The tone of the poem is philosophical.

·      Themes of the poem are transience of life and the universal human experience in this world. It also highlights the transience and futility of life and cyclic nature of life, giving the impression of philosophical thinking about life during the Renaissance.

 

Line by Line Explanation

Lines 1-5

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.

Explanation :

Shakespeare compares the world to a stage and people to actors. Just like actors enter and exit the stage during a play, human beings are born into the world and eventually leave it after their death. During their lifetime, they perform various roles, similar to actors playing different characters. These roles represent the seven stages of human life, such as infancy, childhood, teenager, youth, adulthood, old age, and last stage is nearing death.

Thus, the poet suggests that life is like a dramatic performance where each person plays several roles before finally leaving the stage of the world.

 

Lines 5-9

At first the infant,

Mewling and puking in the nurse’s arms;

And then the whining schoolboy, with his satchel

And shining morning face, creeping like snail

Unwillingly to school.

Explanation :

These lines describe the first stage, infancy and childhood, the school-going stage of life.

The first stage is of an infant. The baby cries and sometimes vomits while he is being fed and taken care by the mother or a nurse. This shows the helplessness and dependence of a newborn child over the one who takes care of the child.

In the second stage, the child steps into the school going age. He carries his school bag to his school and moves very slowly to the school. At this age he has a fresh and bright face just like the new morning. However, he goes to school unwillingly and moves very slowly, to his school. It appears as if he is burdened with his school bag and creeping very slowly like a snail creeps under its shell. The lines show that children often dislike going to school.

 

Lines 9-15

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.

Explanation

This stage represents youth, when a person falls deeply in love, and becomes love stricken. The lover sighs intensely like a burning furnace. His passion is so strong and his emotions are so fiery that his sigh is compared to hot furnace as fire of love is burning in his heart. He also writes sad love songs to praise his beloved’s facial beauty which is represented by his eye brow. He also writes sad love songs to express his intense feelings and helplessness. He admires the beauty of his beloved by writing poems about beautiful features like her eyebrow.

The next stage of life is that of a soldier who is brave, hot-tempered, and eager to defend his honor. The soldier symbolises bravery and action. He uses unusual oaths and pledges out of passion and aggression. He is ferocious like a leopard but very sensitive about his honour and reputation. He becomes angry very quickly and gets ready to fight at small instances. For him, his name and reputation matter most, which is, in fact, transient and short lived like a bubble which breaks within few moments. However, he is ready to face any amount of danger, go even in the mouth of a cannon at battle, or accept death to protect his name and honour.

Lines 15-25

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 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

And whistles in his sound.

Explanation :

This stage represents a middle-aged man, usually wise and respected like a judge. He has a big belly, which shows that he enjoys good food and is leading a comfortable life. He has a serious expression on his face and has a formal beard, which reflects that he leads a life of dignity and ease. He often speaks wise sayings and proverbs, showing his experience and knowledge. Thus, he performs this role of a wise and respected man in society.

The next stage is old age, where a man becomes thin and wears slippers like a weak old person. He needs glasses to see clearly and loose skin hangs at his sides. The stockings  from his youth are now too loose for his thin legs. His once strong and powerful voice begins to weaken. His voice becomes thin and high-pitched like a child’s voice, sometimes sounding like whistles and pipes.

Overall, these lines describe how a man moves from the respected stage of maturity to the age of a weak old man.

 

Lines 25-28

Last scene of all,

That ends this strange eventful history,

Is second childishness and mere oblivion,

Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.

Explanation :

These lines speak about the final stage of life, just like the last scene of a play. Human life is described as a strange and eventful history, which is full of strange and uncertain incidents and happenings and this stage brings that story to the final culmination. In extreme old age, a person becomes weak and dependent like a child again, and begins to lose memory and awareness.
In this stage, a person loses all abilities and senses such as eyesight, taste, teeth and almost all physical and mental powers.

 

Themes Highlighted in the poem

The poem highlights the transience and futility of life and the universal human experience, cyclic nature of life, Passage of time and aging, giving impression of philosophical thinking about life during the Renaissance. It speaks about even sins and qualities and weaknesses specific to age. It presents the world as a stage and people as actors. 

 

Blank Verse – The poem does not follow any rhyme. It is a narrative poem composed in iambic pentameter – five pairs or iambs of 2 syllables each, in total 10 syllables.

Poetic Devices

All the world’s a stage,  - Extended Metaphor 

And all the men and women merely players; - Metaphor, Alliteration

They have their exits and their entrances, - Metaphor, Alliteration, Repetition 

And one man in his time plays many parts, - Alliteration                    

His acts being seven ages. At first the infant,

Mewling and puking in the nurse’s arms; - Imagery, Consonance

And then the whining schoolboy, with his satchel, - Assonance, Imagery

And shining morning face, creeping like snail - Simile, Consonance, Imagery

Unwillingly to school. And then the lover, - Alliteration 

Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad - Simile, Alliteration

Made to his mistress’ eyebrow. Then a soldier, - Alliteration, Synecdoche

Full of strange oaths, and bearded like the pard, - Simile 

Jealous in honor, sudden and quick in quarrel, - Assonance, Alliteration

Seeking the bubble reputation - Metaphor 

Even in the cannon’s mouth. And then the Justice - Hyperbole, Alliteration, Repetition 

In fair round belly with good capon lined, - Assonance 

With eyes severe and beard of formal cut, - Consonance

Full of wise saws and modern instances; - Consonance 

And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts - Alliteration

Into the lean and slippered pantaloon, - Consonance, Imagery

With spectacles on nose and pouch on side; - Repetition, Imagery, Alliteration

His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide - Alliteration, Consonance 

For his shrunk shank; and his big manly voice, - Repetition, Alliteration, Consonance

Turning again toward childish treble, pipes - Metaphor 

And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all, - Metaphor 

That ends this strange eventful history, - Metaphor 

Is second childishness and mere oblivion, - Metaphor

Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything. - Repetition