All The World's A Stage - Analysis. All the worlds a stage by William Shakespeare infers that life is predestined. This metaphor suggests that as humans, we go through the several stages of life as actors

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Morgan Caruso

Grade 11 IB English

Thursday November 3rd 2011

All the World’s a Stage – Poetic Analysis

All the world’s a stage,

And all the men and women merely players:

They have their exits and entrances;

And one man in his time plays many parts;

His acts being seven stages. At first the infants,

Mewling and puking in the nurse’s arms.

And then the whining school-boy, with his satchel

And shining morning face, creeping like a snail

Unwillingly to school. And then the lover,

Sighing like a furnace, with a woeful ballad

Made to his mistress’ eyebrow. Then a soldier

Full of strange oaths and bearded like the pard,

Jealous in honour, 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 stage shifts

Into lean and slipper’d pantaloon,

With his 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,

Join now!

Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.

All the world’s a stage by William Shakespeare infers that life is predestined. This metaphor suggests that as humans, we go through the several stages of life as actors following a universal script; people do what they are expected to despite individuality, to follow societal rules. Shakespeare emphasizes the concept of transformation and development of human beings to imply the predicable steps of life, but also indicates that there is a cycle which brings you back to where you started.

People make their first entrance onto the stage as infants, but ...

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