CLASS IX
The Seven Ages
 The Seven Ages

The Seven Ages

SUMMARY-The Seven Ages

Shakespeare considers the world a stage and men and women actors on the stage of life. They play seven roles according to their age. The first stage, as described by the poet, is the infant who is being carried by a nurse. The infant cries and vomits all the time. Later, that infant grows into a schoolboy, not willing to attend school which is the second stage of a man’s life. The third stage is that of a lover who is lost in his thoughts of love. The lover writes poetry to his lady’s beauty. In the fourth stage, as he grows older, he joins the army and becomes a soldier. He is physically fit and is aggressive, short-tempered and ambitious in nature. The fifth stage shows that with maturity and wisdom, the family man becomes a judge. He is a fair, healthy man full of wisdom. His look is authoritative and he advises people. The sixth stage is about the man who has grown old and is seen in a pantaloon and spectacles. His authoritative voice has grown weak and his voice trembles as he talks.
The last stage is about the senile man who loses his teeth, his vision and his hearing. After this, the man’s part in the play ends and he exits from the stages of his life forever.

Shakespeare wants to render a message through his poem, “The Seven Ages of Man” that men and women are ‘merely players’ in the drama of life. They are termed as ‘merely players’ because no one lives forever but plays his or her part and departs. At birth, they enter a stage and during death, they leave it. Man passes through seven phases of life in accordance with their age.

Structure:
The poem is composed in free verse. The style is narrative. The poem describes seven different stages of life in brief but has a powerful impact throughout.

Metaphor:
Metaphor is that figure of speech where comparison of two different things are implied but not clearly stated. Examples of metaphor in the poem are as follows,-
*All the world’s a stage
*And all men and women are merely players
*seeking the bubble reputation (reputation has been termed as short-lived like a bubble)

Simile: A simile is a figure of speech in which two dissimilar objects are compared and the comparison is made clear by the use of terms like ‘like’, ‘such as’ and so on. Examples of simile in the poem are,
*Sighing like furnace
*creeping like a snail

Alliteration: Alliteration is the close repetition of the consonant sounds at the beginning of words to facilitate narration. Example of alliteration in the poem is,
*shrunk shank
*plays his part

THE SEVEN AGES
Answer
 

Stage	Characteristic feature
Infancy	Crying, helpless
schoolboy	Whining, bright faced, unwilling to go to school
Lover	sentimental, unhappy, poetic, tense
Soldier	quarrelsome, short tempered, foolishly looking for glory and fame in the jaws of death
Justice	Wise, mature, authoritative, responsible
Old age	getting weak and lean due to failing health, loss of manly voice
Extreme Old Age	senseless ,dependent

6. Explain the meaning of the following

(a) __________ all the men and women merely players
They have their exits and their entrances __________.

Ans. The quoted lines are from the poem “The Seven Ages” by William Shakespeare. The poet has compared the world to a stage and men and women with actors.All men and women appear on the stage of the world to play various roles. They are just stage artists. Their birth marks their appearance on the stage and death
denotes their departure.

(b) And then the lover 
Sighing like furnace__________.

Ans.  The lines are taken from the poem “The Seven Ages” by William Shakespeare. With the help of a simile, the poet explains that on attaining adolescence, men fall in love. The passion of love becomes active like heat generated in a furnace. However, this surging passion also declines after crossing a certain point of time. In this line, the poet hints at momentary nature of human affairs.

(c) a soldier,__________Seeking the bubble reputation 
Even in the cannon’s mouth.

Ans.  The quoted lines are from the poem “The Seven Ages” by William Shakespeare. The poet has compared a young man to a soldier who takes his responsibilities very seriously and strives relentlessly when dedicated to a cause. In his youth, man seeks instant fame and is ready to take risks. However, when one seeks instant fame, there is a big risk of their reputation getting tainted, just like a bubble that rises and bursts instantly. 

7. Read the poem again and note down the metaphors and similes. Copy and complete the following chart.

Which comparison(s) do you find most interesting? Why?

Item	Metaphor	Simile
World	All the world's a stage
Men, women	men and women merely players
school-boy		Creeping like snail
lover		sighing like a furnace
soldier	a bearded pard
reputation	bubble reputation
voice	big manly voice

According to me school boy comparison is really interesting one. Here, poet shows a boy carrying a schoolbag but at the same time walking slowly towards school. He don't want to go to school. This phase common in these days.