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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. At first, the infant,
Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms.
Then the whining schoolboy, with his satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school. 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. 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. Last scene of all,
That ends this strange eventful history,
Is second childishness and mere oblivion,
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.
William Shakespeare
| Submitted Date |
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Monday, January 20, 2003 |
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Read poems about / on: ballad, soldier, justice, history, school, women, world, woman
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Comments about this poem (All the World's a Stage
by
William Shakespeare
) |
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Sagar Shelar (2/10/2012 12:03:00 PM)
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Shakespeare is student of man. He is immortal. He is always with us.
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Bradley Flowers (11/13/2011 8:05:00 PM)
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To my point of view, the person in the poem is describing life as a game. Life has a matter of time before it ends. So life gives you great memories, but life can never give you immortality.
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Samantha Berner (11/12/2011 6:27:00 PM)
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I think this poem is around the same thing as The Bells by Edgar Allen Poe. They both basically describe the circle of life, but this poem makes the meaning a bit more obvious.
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Enn Kay (11/9/2011 5:07:00 AM)
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This is such a nice poem... But I was told that its title is 'The Seven Ages'
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Earl Clark (10/29/2011 9:25:00 AM)
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This is one of my favorite poems, cause it is so true. We tend to live out a drama within our own lives. There is a new movie out Anonymous which expounds on the theory that Shakespeare was actually more than one Anonymous writers. This same theory was written about Homer, I guess any writer of such a diverse number of subjects and talent will be held to a mystery. Perhaps we all have a little of Shakespeare in us.
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Preethi Ragavender (6/21/2010 7:18:00 AM)
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I joined poemhunter just to read this wonderful poem..
this poem is so real unlike the imagination of a poet which is not real, the truth behind life is portrayed so wonderfully yet very sweetly..
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Olaitan Akinbode (5/25/2010 4:27:00 PM)
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indeed life is a stage, the poem portray the reality of life, it confirmed what i feel inside of me, we are mere players. life is a part-time comedy.
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Paul Peters (4/5/2010 2:02:00 PM)
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These lnes will never grow old. The best of the great man himself.
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Born2 Shine (12/13/2009 3:29:00 PM)
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So much to say and waste but not here!
He make's a poet's life very trying,
I envy all, who died before his first word.
A true champion.
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Miya Rodoba (5/19/2009 10:52:00 PM)
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Shakespeare, in this poem, clearly and simply puts life into a poem. Everyone has a part to play in this world, so play it! ! ! ! !
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Read all
28
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