“The Seven Ages of Man” by William Shakespeare

Theme of the poem The poem “The Seven Ages of Man”, which is actually an extract from Shakespeare’s delightful comedy As You Like It. The poem contains an amusing and classical description on human nature and behaviour which reflects Shakespeare’s deep awareness of human psychology. The poet makes a comparison between world & stage. This is an extended metaphor! He says that world is like a stage, life is like acting & men and women are like actors. He classifies man’s life into seven different ages.

The Stages (1) Infancy – “mewling and puking” (2) Child – “whining school boy” (3) Youth of a Lover – “sighing like furnace” (4) Later Youth of a Soldier – “bearded like the pard” (5) Maturity and Middle Age of a Judge – “in fair round belly”

The Stages Stages (cont.) (6) Old Age – “spectacles on nose” (7) Senility – “second childishness In As You Like It, Jaques is a cynic - a man who doubts the goodness and kindness of human beings. Explain how your reaction to the poem changes once you know Jaques’ personality.