Poem Analysis of All the World s a Stage
All the world’s a Stage
The poem ‘All the world's a stage’ is composed in free verse, a one stanza poem, with no specific rhyme scheme. However, the poem is written in an iambic pentameter pattern. Throughout the poem, Shakespeare has used figurative languages such as metaphor, simile and oxymoron and schemes like alliteration to give the poem more depth. The metaphorical title, “All the world’s a stage” compares the world to a stage. On this stage, each man plays the drama of his life and the poem describes this drama of life through seven stages.
The first stage is of an infant who is being carried by a nurse. The infant cries and vomits all the time. In the second stage, man plays the role of a schoolboy, not willing to attend school. In the third stage of life, man plays the role of a lover. The lover is lost in his thoughts of love and expresses his feelings by singing sad ballads about love for his lady’s beauty. In the fourth stage of life, man plays the role of a soldier. His life if full of obligations, commitments, compliances, oaths and vows. He has a beard like a leopard, he is as fierce as the leopard. He endlessly fights for his honor, a full presence of mind which is sudden and quick in quarrel. In the fifth stage of life, man plays the role of a justice. He is a fair, healthy man full of wisdom. His look is authoritative and he advises people using his experience and knowledge. In the sixth stage of life, man grows old and becomes weak. He is seen in spectacles. His authoritative voice has grown weak and his voice trembles as he talks. In the last stage, man grows oldest and this stage is compared to man’s second stage where his memory forgets everything and becomes dependent on others just like a child. He slowly loses his teeth, his eye sight, his appetite and after this he passes away and his part in the play ends and he exits from the stages of his life forever.
In the beginning of the poem, And all the men and women merely players/They have
The poem ‘All the world's a stage’ is composed in free verse, a one stanza poem, with no specific rhyme scheme. However, the poem is written in an iambic pentameter pattern. Throughout the poem, Shakespeare has used figurative languages such as metaphor, simile and oxymoron and schemes like alliteration to give the poem more depth. The metaphorical title, “All the world’s a stage” compares the world to a stage. On this stage, each man plays the drama of his life and the poem describes this drama of life through seven stages.
The first stage is of an infant who is being carried by a nurse. The infant cries and vomits all the time. In the second stage, man plays the role of a schoolboy, not willing to attend school. In the third stage of life, man plays the role of a lover. The lover is lost in his thoughts of love and expresses his feelings by singing sad ballads about love for his lady’s beauty. In the fourth stage of life, man plays the role of a soldier. His life if full of obligations, commitments, compliances, oaths and vows. He has a beard like a leopard, he is as fierce as the leopard. He endlessly fights for his honor, a full presence of mind which is sudden and quick in quarrel. In the fifth stage of life, man plays the role of a justice. He is a fair, healthy man full of wisdom. His look is authoritative and he advises people using his experience and knowledge. In the sixth stage of life, man grows old and becomes weak. He is seen in spectacles. His authoritative voice has grown weak and his voice trembles as he talks. In the last stage, man grows oldest and this stage is compared to man’s second stage where his memory forgets everything and becomes dependent on others just like a child. He slowly loses his teeth, his eye sight, his appetite and after this he passes away and his part in the play ends and he exits from the stages of his life forever.
In the beginning of the poem, And all the men and women merely players/They have