All The World’s A Stage Summary
The poem “All the World’s a Stage” was written by a famous British poet, dramatist and actor, William Shakespeare. In this poem, he has compared this world with a stage and the human beings are with the actors of a drama who are there for a short period of time to fulfill the roles. He has presented seven stages of human beings. After these stages, we all have to leave this world as the actors leave the stage. The speaker says that this whole world is a stage and we all human beings (men and women) are just the players/actors because we appear in this earth through our birth and we will go away through death. He says that we have to play many roles through seven stages.
Our first stage is infancy. When we are infant (very small age to remain in mother’s care), we have to depend upon our mother as she cares and nurtures us with her full love and affection. She looks after us when we have a problem and cry and being sick like vomiting. We fully remain dependent in this stage. After this stage, we become a schoolboy and go to school carrying a bag to study. In this age, we do not like to go to school. So, we walk very slowly like a snail so that we will not reach school in time. Then we become a lover and become a poet to impress our beloved.
After the schoolboy, we enter the age of a soldier full of beard and we become as strong as a leopard. He makes man promises and does his duty very sincerely. He becomes jealous in other honour or success and gets quickly angry. He performs that task very bravely to get reputation or prestige. Then he becomes a matured and wise person that is justice, wears formal clothes, and plays his part to provide verdict. Then he becomes a pantaloon (person with greediness and high status). He becomes very greedy and wants to have a high status before his old age; then he turns to the old age which is also called as the second childhood because he becomes like a child and has to depend upon others for everything that he had in his infancy. He loses his teeth, eyesight, taste, strength (sense organs leave functioning) and everything, and finally leaves this world. In other words, he dies.
The poem vividly presents the picture of beginning and ending of our life through many stages like the actors on the stage performing a drama.
All The World’s A Stage Questions And Answer: Understanding the text.
Answer the following questions.
a.Why does the poet compare the world with a stage?
Ans: The poet compares the world with a stage because we all, the human beings are the actors on the stage as we are here for a short time like the actors in the drama. After performing the drama, they all have to leave the stage. Likewise, we all also have to leave this world. We are here just to perform our roles temporarily and have to sacrifice our earthly body.
b. What is the first stage in a human’s life? In what sense can it be a troubling stage?
Ans: The first stage in a human’s life is infancy. It can be a troubling stage because s/he should entirely depend upon others as s/he cries and vomits in the mother’s care and affection.
c.Describe the second stage of life based on the poem.
Ans: The second stage of life is schoolboy/boyhood in which he has to carry a school and go to school like a creeping snail unwillingly/without interest with a shining morning face.
d. Why is the last stage called second childhood ?
Ans: The last stage is called the second childhood because we become old and have to depend upon others for our daily activities as the child has to. Moreover, we become like the child without teeth, eyesight, taste, and so on.
e.In what sense are we the players in the world stage ?
Ans: We are the players in the world stage because we are here for a short time as the actors perform on the stage shortly. According to the poet, we have to spend seven stages and play the roles accordingly, and finally, we have to leave this world as the actors leave the stage after performing their roles.
Reference to the context
a. Explain the following lines.
All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players
Ans: The couplet is extracted from the first two lines of the first stanza. The poet has taken this world as a stage where the actors perform their roles as given to them. Then, they have to leave it. Likewise, we are also just the actors to perform our roles through different seven stages. Like the actors of the drama, we will also have to leave this world like the stage.
b.Explain the following lines briefly with reference to the context.
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts
Ans: These lines are taken from the first stanza. People in this world enter from their birth and exist through death. From birth to death, one person has to go through seven stages performing his/her roles. And, one day s/he has to bid good bye to this world because s/he enters here for a short time as his/her departure is an uncuttable truth.
c.Read the given lines and answer the questions that follow.
Then the whining schoolboy, with his satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like snail Unwillingly to school.
i.Which stage of life is being referred to here by the poet?
Ans: Childhood/boyhood stage of life is being referred to here by the poet.
ii. Which figure of speech has been employed in the second line?
Ans: The figure of speech that has been employed in the second line is simile. The poet has compared the schoolboy with a snail using ‘like’.
iii. Who is compared to the snail?
Ans: Schoolboy is compared to the snail.
iv. · Does the boy go to the school willingly ?
Ans: No, the boy does not go to school willingly because he just creeps/walks like the snail to reach there.
D. Simile and metaphor are the two major poetic devices used in this poem. Explain citing examples of each.
Ans: Yes, the poet has used the two major poetic devices simile and metaphor in this poem. For example:
“And shining morning face, creeping like a snail”
“Full of strange oaths, and bearded like the pard,”
“All the world’s a stage”
“And all the men and women merely players”
“Seeking the bubble reputation”
“His youthful hose, well sav’d, a world too wide”
– Simile
– Simile
– Metaphor
– Metaphor
– Metaphor
– Metaphor.
“and his big manly voice, Turning again toward childish treble” – Metaphor
e.Which style does the poet use to express his emotions about how he thinks that the world is a stage and all the people living in it are mere players?
Ans: The poet uses a narrative/descriptive style to express his emotions about how he thinks that the world is a stage and all the people living in it are mere players. He has narrated the seven stages from infancy to the old age very clearly, He has vividly mentioned that we are just like the actors and one day we have to leave this world as the actors leave the stage. He has presented the bitter reality of our life that we are here just to perform various roles for a short time.
f.What is the theme of this poem?
Ans: The theme of this poem is that a person enters this world from his birth and s/he plays the various roles through the seven stages; and ultimately, s/he has to leave this world like the stage as the actors leave. So, whatever ego and greed we have is useless because as we enter this world vacantly and depart from here vacantly.
Reference beyond the text
a.Describe the various stages of a human’s life picturised in the poem “All the World’s a Stage.” Ans: The poem, “All the World’s a Stage” was written by a famous British poet, William Shakespeare. According to him, this world is a stage and we all are just the players. He has mentioned the seven stages that a person has to go through and s/he has to fulfill the roles accordingly. The stages as he has mentioned in the poem are given below:
i.Infancy/childhood: The first stage of our life is infancy/childhood in which we have to depend upon others for our survival. We cry and vomit under the mother’s love, care, and affection.
ii. Boyhood/school boy: In the second stage, s/he becomes a boy/girl or a student to go to school carrying a school bag and walks unwillingly like a snail to reach school.
iii. Lover: Then, he becomes a lover in his/her third stage. S/he becomes a poetic person composing ballads for his/her beloved.
iv. Soldier In the fourth stage, s/he becomes a soldier full of promises. S/he becomes jealous, quick tempered and ambitious. S/he is ready to sacrifice him/herself for the sake of the country and s/he seeks reputation in his/her works.
v. Judge/justice: S/ he becomes a fair judge/justice with full of intelligence and maturity in formal dress.
vi. Old man/woman: S/he becomes old in the sixth stage. S/he is seen with pantaloons and spectacles. His manly voice changes into a childish treble.
vii. Second childhood: S/he gets second childhood in the last or seventh stage. S/he becomes without teeth, eyesight, taste, and so on. In other words, his/her sensory organs do not work as smoothly as in his/her youth. And finally, s/he becomes roleless and exists from this world.
b. Is Shakespeare’s comparison of human’s life with a drama stage apt? How?
Ans: Yes, Shakespeare’s comparison of human’s life with a drama stage is apt. Like the actors on the stage perform their different roles for a short time and they have to exist from the stage as they are not there permanently. We human beings also enter this world by our birth and play different roles. According to the poet, we have seven different stages through our life and we have to play the roles accordingly. The stages are childhood, school boy, lover, soldier, justice, old man and the second childhood. These stages remain for a short time as one passes after another very fast; and finally like the actors, we also have to leave this world like the stage. Thus, the world is like a drama stage and we are just the players to fulfill our roles.