Poem- The Seven Ages

1
Poem- The Seven Ages
by -
William Shakespeare
2
William Shakespeare

• This poem is written by William Shakespeare.
• William Shakespeare (26 April 1564 23 April
  1616) was an English poet and playwright, widely
  regarded as the greatest writer in the English
  language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist.
  He is often called England's national poet and
  the "Bard of Avon" (or simply "The Bard"). His
  surviving works consist of 38 plays 154 sonnets,
  two long narrative poems, and several other
  poems. His plays have been translated into every
  major living language and are performed more
  often than those of any other playwright .

3

• All the worlds a stage
• And all men and women merely players
• They have their exits and their entrances
• And one men in his time plays many parts,
• His acts being seven ages.

• Word meanings-
• Stage- a platform
• Merely- only
• Players- (here) actors/actresses
• Exits- a way by which a one goes out
• Entrances- a way by which one enters

4
Introduction

• In this poem, the poet William Shakespeare
  compares the world to a stage in a theatre in
  which men and women have to play different roles
  in their life time. Each player has his/her
  entrance and exit. When they are born in this
  world it is their entrance and when they die it
  is their exit. They come to this stage, play
  different roles and bid good-bye. These parts,
  acts or stages are normally seven.

5

• Questions-
• Explain the metaphor in the first line?
• What does the words exits and entrances mean
  in the above context?
• How many parts does one play in his life?
• Who are the players here?
• What is extended meaning of the phrase one man
  in his life time?

6

• At first the infant,
• mewling and puking in the nurses arms.
• Word Meanings-
• Infant- a baby/very small kid
• Mewling- crying
• Puking- vomiting

7
First stage- Infant

• The poet describes the birth of the child as the
  first act of the drama of human life. The human
  baby cries and vomits in the nurses arms.
  According the poet the baby is very innocent. At
  his birth he is full of joy but still he starts
  crying and weeping on very small matters as he
  has no sense. In this stanza the poet describes
  about the dependence of baby on others. He also
  tells about childs simplicity.

8

• Questions-
• Which stage is described here?
• What does the poet mean by stating that the
  infant cries and vomits in the nurses arms?

9

• Then the whining school boy, with his satchel
• And shining morning face, creeping like a snail
• Unwillingly to school.

• Word Meanings-
• Whining- complaining
• Satchel- a small bag to carry school books
• Shining- bright
• Creeping- crawling/slowly slowly
• Snail- a small soft animal that moves very
  slowly.
• Unwillingly- not interested/ not wishing

10
Second stage-School boy

• After some time as the child grows up, he starts
  going to school. The poet describes this school
  going age as the second act of humans life. At
  this stage the boy has a shining face and he is
  very neat and clean. While going to school, he
  carries a bag of books. He goes to school
  unwillingly, creeping like a snail. He is not
  happy to go to school. Two phrases which shows
  his unwillingness in going to school are
• Whining school boy
• Creeping like a snail unwillingly.

11

• Questions-
• Which stage of human life is described in these
  lines?
• Write down the two phrases which indicate that
  the boy is not willing to go to school?
• Do you think the poet is right in making the
  generalization about the school boy?
• Why does the poet say that the school boy creeps
  like a snail to school?

12

• And then the lover,
• Sighing like a furnace, with a woeful ballad
• Made to his mistress eyebrows.
• Word Meanings-
• Sighing- breathing deeply
• Furnace- a fireplace
• Woeful ballad- a very sad poem
• Made to- dedicated to
• Mistress- beloved
• Eyebrows- the brow over the eyes

13
Third stage-Lover
The third role that a person plays in his life,
according to the poet, is of lover. Shakespeare
presents the teenager or an adolescent boy as a
lover. The poet says that in this age the boy is
greatly impressed by a beautiful face of a girl.
He sighs loudly due to his frustration in love
just like a furnace. The lover sighs loudly just
like the sound of bellows in the furnace.

The lover also sing songs in praise of his
beloved.
14

• Questions-
• Which stage of human life is described in this
  extract?
• Why does the poet say that the lover sighs like a
  furnace with a sad song dedicated to his beloved?
• How is lover described?

15

• Full of strange oaths, and bearded like the pard,
• Jealous in honour, sudden and quick in quarrel,
• Seeking the bubble reputation
• Even in the cannons mouth
• Word Meanings-
• Strange- unknown
• Oaths- solemn promise
• Bearded- having a beard
• Pard- leopard (a symbol of fierceness in
  Shakespeares time)
• Jealous- envious
• Seeking- finding
• Bubble reputation- transitory fame
• Cannons mouth- mouth of a big gun

16
Fourth stage-Soldier

• After the lover comes the stage of a soldier. The
  poet describes the main characteristics of the
  lover as follows -
• The soldier is full of strange oaths.
• He is bearded like a leopard.
• He is jealous in matters concerning honour.
• He is quick in quarrels and is ready to fight for
  small things.
• He seeks reputation which is short lived, but for
  the soldier it matters more than his life. For
  this he is even ready to face a canons mouth.
  Facing a canon invites sure death but it also
  provides honour and glory to the brave soldier.

17

• Questions-
• Which stage of human life is described here? What
  are the main characteristics of this stage?
• What is bubble reputation? How is it linked
  with the cannons mouth?

18

• 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.
• Word Meanings-
• Justice- judge
• Saws- sayings
• Belly- stomach
• Capon- a fat and big male chicken
• Lined- filled with
• Severe- harsh looking

19
Fifth stage-Judge

• Then comes the middle age. The fifth stage is
  that of a judge. He becomes a mature person in
  this age. He has severe eyes and a beard of
  fashionable cut and is well dressed. He has a fat
  round belly which indicates his love for food. He
  quotes many sayings and examples to show his
  wisdom. His eyes become harsh looking and he
  becomes strict in his behavior.

20

• Questions-
• How does the justice look like?
• How do his eyes look?
• What is so specific of a man in this stage of
  life?

21

• 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 shrank and his big manly voice,
• Turning again toward childish treble, pipes
• And whistles in his sound
• Word meanings-
• Lean thin
• Slippered pantaloon- a funny old man wearing
  slippers
• Spectacles- eyeglasses

22

• Pouch- a soft fold of loose skin that hangs down
  as a result of as a result of illness or old age.
• Youthful hose- tight fitting leg coverings of
  young days.
• Well saved- preserved well
• A world too wide- (here) very loose
• Shrunk shrank- thin, weak and shrunk legs from
  knee to the ankles
• Manly- manlike
• Treble- a high voice
• Pipes and whistles- sings

23
Sixth Stage-Old Man

• The sixth stage of a person is of an old man.
  During this stage he becomes weak in health and
  thin in body. He wears spectacles on his nose and
  wears slippers. He wears clothes of his youth
  which have become very lose to his shrunk body.
  His voice becomes hoarse and rough. He has a soft
  and loose skin that hangs down as a result of
  illness and old age. In his slippers and loose
  fitting garments he looks a funny old man-a
  pantaloon-a comic figure.

24

• Questions-
• Which stage of mans life is described in these
  lines?
• Give a brief description of how a man appears in
  this stage of life?
• What happens to mans voice in this stage? Why
  does it start piping and whistling?

25

• Last scene of all,
• That ends this strange eventful history,
• Is second childishness and mere oblivion,
• Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans
  everything.
• Word meanings-
• Eventful- full of significant incidents
• Mere- only
• Oblivion- forgetfulness
• Sans- without

26
The seventh age-Extremely old man

• According the poet the last stage is of extremely
  old man. This act shows him as a helpless baby.
  At this age the man becomes extremely old and is
  at door of death. He loses control on all the
  senses. He is toothless, he has problem in
  hearing clearly, becomes weak in eyesight and
  fails to recognise people, his memory becomes
  weak. So in this way most of his characteristics
  are similar to that of an infant.

27

• Questions-
• What is this stage?
• How does man look like in this stage of life?
• What is the stage preceding the last stage?
• What is the similarity between the first stage
  and the last stage of human life?
• Why does the man becomes forgetful in the last
  stage of life?
• Why does he lose all the charms of life?