SEVEN AGES OF MAN

By William Shakespeare

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Who was William Shakespeare?
Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon,
Warwickshire, in 1564.

 Very little is known about

his life, but by 1592 he was
in London working as an
actor and a dramatist.
 Between about 1590 and
1613, Shakespeare wrote
at least 37 plays and
collaborated on several
more.
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Who was William Shakespeare?

 Many of these plays

were very successful
both at court and in the
public playhouses. In
1613, Shakespeare
retired from the theatre
and returned to
Stratford-upon-Avon.
He died and was buried
there in 1616. 3
 The most famous among his 10
tragedies are Hamlet, Othello, and King
Lear.

 Shakespeare’s best-known poems are

The Sonnets, first published in 1609

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Shakespeare wrote plays and
poems
 His plays were comedies, histories and
tragedies.

 His 17 comedies include A Midsummer Night’s

Dream and The Merry Wives of Windsor.

 Among his 10 history plays are Henry V &

Richard III.

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 About the Poem…

• The poem “The Seven Ages”,

which is actually an extract
from Shakespeare’s delightful
comedy “As You Like It”.
• This master piece of poetry is a
moral commentary on life
written in an exceptionally
exclusive style which is the
attribute of Shakespeare.
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 Theme of the poem
• The poem contains an amusing
and classical description on
human nature and behavior which
reflects Shakespeare’s deep
awareness of human psychology.
• The poet makes a comparison
between world & stage.
• He says that world is like a stage,
life is like acting & men and
women are like actors.
• He classifies man’s life into seven
different ages.
 Poetry
All the world’s a stage
And all the men women merely players:
They have their exits and their
entrances;

The poet makes a comparison between

world & stage. This world is just like a
stage of a theatre. All persons being players
are given different roles and both men and
women are having same entrance and exits.
 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.

According to Shakespeare, every man plays several

parts during his life time. On the stage of life every
man has seven acts. The first act of man is infancy.
At this time all that the baby does is cry and puke on
his nurse's lap. After he goes through his infant life,
he emerges as a school child.
 Then the whining schoolboy, with his satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school. And then the lover,

Shakespeare describes him as a boy having a face fresh

like morning, with his bag hanging on his side, walking
appropriately to school. In the beginning he does not
like going to school but gradually his thinking changes.
When time passes onwards the schoolboy transformed
into a youngster.
 Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad
Made to his mistress’ eyebrow. Then a soldier

The young man is a lover who is busy composing ballads

for his beloved and sighing deeply for her attention.
Gradually, he graduates into a bearded soldier.
Full of strange oaths, and bearded like the pard,
Jealous on honor, sudden and quick in quarrel,
Seeking the bubble reputation.
Even in the cannon’s mouth. And then the justice,

The soldier promises solemnly to guard his country. He

is filled with national pride, is quick to be insulted and
is always ready to spring up in defence. At this point of
time he is more concerned with status and reputation.
From the agile soldier, he goes on to become a judge.
 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

The fifth stage of man’s life which he calls middle age or

“judge”. In fair round belly with good tasty food. His
body develops as he gets matured. Practically, his is a blend
of custom, morality, religion, and education. The visible
authority can be well located in him. Here he acts like the
ruler, or chief; the ultimate authorities to pass a judgment
on any aspects of life. After he has played this part, he goes
into the sixth age.
 Into the lean and slippered pantaloon,
With spectacles on nose and pouch on side,

Into the sixth age he becomes thin, wears spectacles, the

skin around him hangs loosely. The man grows older and
becomes weak.
 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,

His clothes hang loosely around him and his once manly
voice turns into a high pitched, childish one. With this,
man enters the last act.
 That ends this strange eventful history,
In second childishness and mere oblivion,
sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.

This age of man’s life is more or less same as that of the

second phase of man’s life because at this stage man again
behaves like a child. He is overcome by senility and
forgetfulness, as he loses his faculties of sight, hearing,
smell and taste, slowly but surely, and ultimately dies.
“The Seven Ages of Man”

 All the world’s a stage. And all the men

and women merely players:

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 “The Seven Ages”

 They have their exits and their entrances;

And one man in his time plays many parts,

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 His acts being seven ages

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UPTO 1 YEAR

At first the
INFANT,
mewling
and puking
in the
nurse’s arm.

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TWO TO EIGHTEEN YEARS
Then the
whining
SCHOOLBOY,
with satchel.
And shining
morning face,
creeping like
snail. Unwilling
to school.

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NINETEEN TO TWENTY FOUR

And then the

LOVER, sighing
like furnace, with
woeful ballad.
Made to his
Mistress eyebrow

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TWENTY FIVE TO THIRTY FIVE

Then a SOLDIER,
Full of strange oaths,
and bearded like the
pard, jealous in
honour, sudden and
quick quarrel, seeking
the bubble reputation.
Even in the cannon’s
mouth.
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THIRTY SIX TO SIXTY

And then the

JUSTICE, In fair
round belly with
good capon lined,
with eyes severe
and beard of
formal cuts, full of
wise saws and
modern instances;
And so he plays
his part. 24
SIXTY ONE TO SEVENTY
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 towards
childish treble, pipes
and whistles in his
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sound.
SEVENTY ONE AND ABOVE

Last scene of all,

That ends this
strange eventful
history, His
SECOND
CHILDISHNESS
the mere oblivion,
sans teeth, sans
eye, sans taste,
sans everything.
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 Evaluation

 Poem: The Seven Ages- William Shakespeare class

IX : Say True or False
 Life is compared to a play.----------------
 Babies vomit on their nurses arms.--------------
 School boys complain.---------------
 Lovers create poems for their mistresses.-----

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 Evaluation
 Soldiers are temperamental.------------------
 Those at the age of justice are fat.---------------
 In the sixth stage men have big manly voices.----------
 In the last stage we begin to resemble babies in
some way.--------

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 Test Yourself

 As agile as _________.
 As cool as _________.
 As hard as ________.
 As soft as __________.
 As clear as __________.

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Identify the figure of speech used
in the lines given below.
1.Life is a dream.
2.Curses are like chickens: They come home to
roost.
3.The woods decay, the woods decay and fall.
4.And o’er and o’er the sand and round and round
the sand.
5.And o’er the cobbles he clattered and the
highwayman came riding riding and riding.

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