Maharashtra State Board | Standard X | English
All the World’s a Stage
by William Shakespeare · Chapter 1.4
📜 Paraphrase of the Poem
The poet narrates the seven ages of life by comparing the world to a stage and each one of us to actors playing an individual role on that stage of life. Our entrance is our birth, and our exit is our death. In a lifetime, each one of us plays many parts, and each part is compared to an act in a play.
The first stage is that of an infant who cries, vomiting on the nurse’s arms. In the second stage, as a schoolboy, he drags himself unwillingly to school. In the third stage, man, as a lover, sighs in separation and writes poems about his beloved’s beauty.
As a soldier in the fourth stage, he is ready to take strange oaths. The poet compares him to a fierce leopard who is jealous of others’ honour and is very quick to quarrel. He is ready to risk his life for a short-lived reputation by jumping in front of a cannon.
The fifth stage is the justice stage — well-fed with chicken. His appearance is formal and he looks mature. He uses wise sayings, proverbs, and examples from the modern age. This is where he has reached middle age and gained maturity.
Old age is the sixth stage of a man’s life, where he wears pantaloons and slippers on his feet. He is now thin, lean, and weak, and his eyesight too has become weak. His manly voice has turned into the shrill voice of a child. When he speaks, it appears as if he were playing a pipe or as if he were whistling (due to gaps in his teeth).
The last stage of a man’s life is dotage. In this stage, he is a bit senile, completely dependent on others, and helpless like a child, as he is now nearing death. This is the stage of second childhood — he loses his teeth, eyesight, and taste, and becomes forgetful. This completes his part in the play of life, and after this he leaves the stage, that is, he dies.
📚 Word Meanings
- players — actors
- puking — throwing up, vomiting
- satchel — school bag
- woeful ballad — sad poem or song
- pard — poetical short form of ‘leopard’
- cannon’s mouth — facing great danger to life
- good capon lined — with excess fat from careless eating habits
- saws — sayings
- youthful hose — close-fitting covering for legs
- shank — legs (knee to ankle)
- treble — (here) three times weaker than before
- second childishness — a return to the helpless, ignorant state of a child
- oblivion — the state of being unaware or unconscious of surroundings
- sans — without
🔥 Warming Up!
1. The Seven Wonders of the World
- Great Wall of China
- Taj Mahal
- Leaning Tower of Pisa
- Statue of Liberty
- Eiffel Tower
- Pyramids of Egypt
- Machu Picchu
2. The Seven Continents
- Asia
- Antarctica
- North America
- South America
- Europe
- Africa
- Australia
3. The Seven Colours of the Rainbow
- Violet
- Indigo
- Blue
- Green
- Yellow
- Orange
- Red
4. The Seven Notes of Music
- Shadja (Sa)
- Rishabh (Re)
- Gandhar (Ga)
- Madhyam (Ma)
- Pancham (Pa)
- Dhaivat (Dha)
- Nishadha (Ni)
5. The Seven Seas of the World
- Arctic Ocean
- Indian Ocean
- North Atlantic Ocean
- North Pacific Ocean
- South Atlantic Ocean
- South Pacific Ocean
- Southern Ocean
6. Life is Often Compared To… (7 Comparisons)
- Life is a keyboard — because if you press the right keys, you have typed a good destiny.
- Life is a rollercoaster ride — sometimes it takes you up and sometimes it takes you down, but it is a fun ride in the end and full of exciting experiences.
- Life is a canvas — you get to choose the colours and paint it the way you like.
- Life is a mountain — you have to work hard to get to the top, but the view from there is worth the climb.
- Life is like a flute — it all depends on how you play it.
- Life is like a song — with notes that are high and low, but it takes both to make it melodious.
- Life is like an onion — you peel off layer after layer, and sometimes it makes you weep.
7. Match the Approximate Ages with the Stages
| Age Group | Stage |
|---|---|
| Birth to 2 years | Babyhood / Infancy |
| 3 years to 12 years | Childhood |
| 13 years to 17 years | Teenage / Adolescence |
| 18 years to about 44 years | Adulthood |
| About 45 years to 60 years | Middle Age |
| 65 years up to 75 to 80 years | Senior Citizen / Elderly Person |
| Above 80 years | Old Age / Second Childhood |
💬 In Between – The Poetry
Q1. What do ‘exits’ and ‘entrances’ refer to?
Ans: ‘Exits’ refer to the death of people or their departure from this world, and ‘entrances’ refer to their birth, or their entry into the world. This is an extension of the metaphor ‘the world is a stage’.
Q2. What is the major difference noticed in the 5th and 6th stage of life?
Ans: The major difference between the fifth and sixth stages is the change in physical appearance. In the fifth stage, the man has a fair round belly; however, in the sixth stage, he becomes extremely thin and lean. His voice also changes — from a mature, commanding voice to a shrill, childlike one.
🛠️ English Workshop
Q1. Match the theatrical terms with what they signify in the poem.
Ans:
| Theatrical Term | What It Signifies |
|---|---|
| Stage | Life |
| Characters | Roles played by human beings |
| Script | Situations and incidents |
| Dialogues | Conversations |
| Entry | Birth |
| Exit | Death |
Q2. Read the poem carefully and complete the following table showing the Seven Ages of Man.
Ans:
| # | Age of Man | Role | Qualities / Actions |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Infant | Baby | Mewling and puking in the nurse’s arms. |
| 2 | School Boy | Student | Whining and creeping like a snail unwillingly to school. |
| 3 | Teenager (Lover) | Romantic | Sighing like a furnace and writing woeful ballads to his beloved. |
| 4 | Youth (Soldier) | Warrior | Jealous in honour, short-tempered, quick to quarrel, and willing to risk his life for reputation. |
| 5 | Middle Age (Judge) | Justice | Severe eyes, formal beard, uses wise sayings and modern examples. |
| 6 | Old Age | Senior Citizen | Lean, wears loose pants and spectacles, carries a pouch, and has a childish, whistling voice. |
| 7 | Dotage (Second Childhood) | Dependent | Second childishness; without teeth, eyesight, and taste; helpless and forgetful. |
Q3. Write down, in your own words, the differences between the following stages of a man’s life.
Ans: 2nd Stage and 4th Stage
2nd Stage — The School Boy
In the second stage, the schoolboy carries his school bag and creeps unwillingly to school, whining all the way. He is reluctant, dependent, and yet to face the world.
4th Stage — The Soldier
In contrast, as a soldier in the fourth stage, he takes strange oaths and has a beard like a leopard. He is jealous of others’ successes, gets into quarrels at the drop of a hat, and is willing to put his life in danger to gain temporary reputation.
3rd Stage and 5th Stage
3rd Stage — The Lover
In the third stage, as a lover, he sighs like a furnace in separation. He writes sad poems and lovingly describes his beloved’s beauty. He is emotional and romantic.
5th Stage — The Judge
In the fifth stage, however, he is the judge who has a fair round belly, as he is well-fed. He has severe eyes and a formal beard. He uses wise sayings and gives examples to explain his points. He is mature and authoritative.
1st Stage and 7th (Last) Stage
1st Stage — The Infant
In the first stage, the infant mewls and vomits in the nurse’s arms. He is entirely dependent on others for every need and cannot do anything on his own.
7th Stage — Dotage
In the last stage, i.e., old age, he experiences second childhood. He is without proper eyesight and taste. He needs help with everything he does, just like he did as an infant. These two stages are strangely similar — it is like going back to the very beginning of one’s life.
Q4. Pick out lines that contain imagery of the following characters.
Ans: (a) School Boy (2nd Stage)
Then the whining schoolboy, with his satchel, and shining morning face, creeping like a snail unwillingly to school.
(b) Soldier (4th Stage)
Bearded like the pard, sudden and quick in quarrel.
(c) Judge (5th Stage)
In fair round belly with good capon lined, with eyes severe and beard of formal cut.
(d) Senior Citizen (6th Stage)
Into the lean and slippered pantaloon, with spectacle on nose and pouch on side.
Q5. You will notice that there is no rhyme scheme in the poem. It is similar to ‘Where the Mind is Without Fear’ by Tagore. However, Tagore’s poem has no steady rhythm either, and is called Free Verse. Shakespeare uses lines with a steady rhythm of 5 beats in each line, which is termed Blank Verse (no rhyme scheme, but uniformity in rhythm). Copy the given lines and put a stress mark (´) on each stressed syllable.Ans:
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 beingseven ages. At first, the infant,
Mewling and puking in the nurses’ arms;
Then the whining schoolboy, with his satchel,
And shining morning face, creeping like a snail,
Unwillingly to school. And then the lover,
Sighing like a 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.
Q6. Think and Write on Your Own.
(a) What is the theme / central idea of this poem?
Ans: The theme or central idea of the poem is that, just like characters in a play perform their roles and make an exit, in life, we must play our parts and then make an exit. Our entrance and exit in this world are predetermined and we have no control over them. However, we can choose to play our roles well. The duration of our role is not important; what is important is the impact we leave on everyone’s heart and mind while we are here.
(b) Which two stages of man, described by Shakespeare, sound humorous? Say why.
Ans: The fifth stage (the justice) and the sixth stage (the senior citizen) are the most humorous. Shakespeare has used vivid imagery to describe them. The sight of a round-bellied justice using wise sayings and examples invokes humour. Similarly, we can almost picture the senior citizen in loose pantaloons, spectacles on his nose, and a pouch on his side. This use of comic imagery adds humour to an otherwise serious poem.
(c) The last (7th) stage of life sounds very sad and miserable. How can you make old age also cheerful and happy?
Ans: We can make old age cheerful and happy by living our lives to the fullest right from our youth. We should create enough joyful memories when we are young so that, in our old age, we have a smile on our faces as we look back. Moreover, accepting old age with grace and understanding that death is inevitable is the true way to a happy and fulfilling life.
Q7. (A) The poem is entirely metaphorical. Pick out the comparisons from the poem.
Ans:
| In the Poem | Compared To |
|---|---|
| World | Stage |
| Men and Women | Actors |
| Birth and Death | Entrance and Exit |
| School Boy | Snail |
| The Lover’s Sigh | Furnace |
| Spotted Leopard (Pard) | Soldier |
| Last Stage (Old Age) | Second Childhood |
(B) Pick out from the poem two examples of each figure of speech.
Simile
- Creeping like a snail
- Sighing like a furnace
Onomatopoeia
- Then the whining schoolboy
- And whistles in his sound
Alliteration
- His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide
- Made to his mistress’ eyebrows
Metaphor
- All the world’s a stage
- All men and women merely players
Inversion
- And one man in his time plays many parts
- Creeping like a snail, unwillingly to school
Transferred Epithet
- With a woeful ballad
- Into the lean and slippered pantaloon
Q8. Read the summary of the play ‘As You Like It’ by William Shakespeare using the Internet. Find out which character narrated the above poem and on what occasion. Also, make a list of all the characters of the play.Ans:
Students must do this activity on their own using the Internet or school library resources. The poem “All the World’s a Stage” is spoken by the character Jaques in Act 2, Scene 7 of Shakespeare’s play As You Like It, in response to Duke Senior’s remark about the world being like a theatre.
Q9. Read the poem again and write an appreciation of the poem in paragraph format.
Ans: In the poem ‘All the World’s a Stage’, William Shakespeare compares the stages in the life of man to roles an actor would play on a theatre stage. All men and women take an entrance as they are born and exit the stage of life as they die. The poem is written in blank verse — there is no rhyme scheme, but it follows the steady rhythm of iambic pentameter. Some significant figures of speech are Simile, Metaphor, Alliteration, and Personification. The Metaphor is used throughout, as the poet compares the world to a stage and uses different comparisons for each stage of human life.
The poem is satirical and melancholic in tone. Shakespeare has vividly described all the stages of man, comparing him to a snail, a leopard, a soldier, and a judge, among other things. This gives the reader a rich visual feel for the poem. The central idea is that man should not be too proud when young, as he has to grow old. My favourite lines are “And all the men and women are merely players; / They have their exits and their entrances.” I like this poem because it is a beautifully descriptive allegory that teaches us how to enjoy and appreciate every stage and moment of our lives, and to make the most of what we have.