English Solution Class 9 P5 The Seven Ages

P5. The Seven Ages

Lesson at a Glance

·         The world is like stage in a theatre.

·         Men and women are like actors who play their parts and go away from the stage of life.

·         Every man plays seven roles and passes through seven stages in his lifetime.

·         The first stage of man is that of a n infant. He keeps on mewling and puking in the arms of his nurse.

·         The second stage is that of a schoolboy who unwillingly walks like a snail to school.

·         The third stage is that of a lover who always sighs like a furnace and writes sad songs for his beloved.

·         The fourth stage is that of a soldier. He runs after momentary honour and reputation.

·         In the fifth stage man plays the role of a justice. He is full of wise sayings and modern instances.

·         In the sixth stage man becomes weak and thin. He wears slippers, spectacles and clothes that he bought when he was young. His clothes become loose for his shrunk and thin body.

·         The last stage of life is extreme old age. This stage is known as ‘second childishness’. In this stage man loses his taste, teeth, eyesight and becomes a victim of forgetfulness.

·         After living through these seven stages of life, man departs from the world and dies.

Summary of the lesson

The Seven Ages is an extract taken from Shakespeare’s famous play ‘As you like it’. The poet compares this world to a stage of theatre and all its men and women to actors and actresses. They take birth, play seven different roles and die. These seven stages of man’s life are that of an infant, school boy, lover, soldier, justice, old ‘pantaloon’ and ‘second childishness’. After playing these seven roles and living through these stages of life, man departs from this world. It ends the strange and eventful history of his life.

v  World compared to a stage: Shakespeare compares this world to a stage in a theatre. All men and women are only players. The stage has both exits and entrances. Similarly, men and women take birth and enter the world. They live their lives and go out if when they die. Every man plays seven roles and lives through seven stages of life.

v  Infant and School boy: The birth of an infant begins the first stage of man’s life. The infant cries and vomits in the arms of his nurse. Then he grows into a school going boy. He is unwilling to go to the school and moves towards it at a snail’s speed.

v  Lover and Soldier: In the third stage man plays the role of a lover. He sighs like a furnace and keeps on writing woeful ballads praising the beauty of the eyes of his beloved. The fourth stage is that of a soldier. He keeps a beard like that of leopard. He always runs after honour and fame. He is ready even to enter a cannon’s mouth just for momentary fame and reputation.

v  Justice and Old ‘Pantaloon’: In the fifth stage man plays the role of a justice. He is fond of eating chickens and develops a fat round belly. He is full of wise sayings and modern instances. He is a man of wisdom and knowledge. In the sixth stage man becomes weak and thin in body. He wears slippers, spectacles and clothes that he bought when he was young. These pants and stockings become loose for his shrunk and thin legs.

v  Last Stage: The seventh stage is ‘second childishness’. In this stage man becomes very old and starts behaving like a child. He is left with no teeth and becomes weak in eyesight. Actually, he loses taste and becomes a victim of forgetfulness. Then after living through the seventh stage of life, man departs from the world.

Reference to Context

Read the given extracts and answer the questions that follow:

1. 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.

Questions:

i) What are all the men and women of this world?

The men and women of the world are just like players on the stage of life.

ii) Explain: ‘They have their exits and their entrances’.

They take birth and enter the world. They die and depart from the world.

iii) How many parts does every man enact and play?

Every man enacts and plays seven different roles in life.

2. 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.

Questions:

i) What does man do in the first stage of life?

In the first stage of life man plays the role of an infant. He is always crying and vomiting in the nurse’s arms.

ii) Does the schoolboy show eagerness to go to school?

No, the schoolboy doesn’t show any interest in going to school. Rather he is unwilling to go there.

iii) How does the schoolboy walk up to his school?

He is inching slowly and unwillingly like a toward his school.

3. And then the lover,

Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad

Made to his mistress’s eyebrow.

Questions:

i) What is the third stage of life?

The third stage of man’s life is that of a lover.

ii) What is the poetic device used in the second line?

‘Simile’ is used as a

iii) What does the lover do for his mistress?

The lover is always sighing and longing for hi beloved. He writes a sad ballad describing the eyebrow of his mistress.

4. 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.

Questions:

i) Describe the two traits of a soldier.

A soldier is always ready to swear and is full of oaths. He is ever ready to compete for honour and glory.

ii) What is the poetic device used in: ‘bearded like a pard’?

The poet uses a simile for comparison.

iii) Why does the soldier risk his life and what for?

The soldier risks his life a momentary reputation and is ready even to enter the cannon’s mouth.

5. 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.

Questions:

i) Who is justice?

A justice is a person well-versed in law. He hears and decides cases in a court of law.

ii) Describe the appearance of a justice.

He has a fair round belly grown into a big size as he devours lot of chickens. He keeps a beard of formal cut.

iii) What are the two mental abilities of a justice?

A justice is full of wise sayings and modern examples.

6. The sixth age shifts

Into the lean and slipper 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.

Questions:

i) What is a ‘lean and slipper pantaloon’?

It means a thin old man wearing slippers and loose trousers.

ii) What does the phrase ‘ a world too wide’ here mean?

The stockings he bought in his youth have become too loose for his shrunk and thin legs.

iii) How does the ‘manly voice’ turn ‘childish’ in the sixth stage of life?

His manly voice turns into childish trebles and whistles when he speaks as he has no teeth in his mouth.

7. Last scene of all,

That ends this strange eventful history,

Is second childishness and mere oblivion,

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

Questions:

i) What is the last scene of man’s life?

The last scene that ends man’s eventual life is a ‘second childishness’. In this age he appears and behaves like a child.

ii) Why is the last stage of man has been called a ‘second childishness’?

The last stage of man’s life has been called a ‘second childishness’ as man’s appearance and activities in this stage are quite similar to those of a child.

iii) How is the last stage of man’s life is a ‘mere oblivion’?

The last stage of life is a ‘mere oblivion’ as old age is another stage of forgetfulness.

Questions from textbook

1. What according to you are the stages of a person’s life? What characteristics would you associate with each stage?

The other stages of life which are not mentioned in the extract by Shakespeare are:

Stages	Characteristics
Childhood	Innocence, joy, carefree life
Youth	Dynamism, strength and romance
Middle Age	Responsibility, maturity and wisdom

Besides the above mentioned stages, Shakespeare describes seven stages in man’s life. They are

Stages	Characteristics
Infant	Mewling and puking
Schoolboy	Unwilling to go to school, shining face
Lover	Sighing, writing romantic ballads for mistress
Soldier	Jealous in honour, quick in quarrel, seeking bubble reputation
Justice	Full of wise saying
Old pantaloon	Shrunk shank, manly voice turns into childish treble.
Last stage	Second childishness, without taste, without eyes.

3. On the basis of your understanding of the poem, answer the following questions by ticking the correct choice:

a) All the world’s a stage is an extended metaphor for……..

i) The life shown in well known plays.

ii) Seeing the well known plays.

iii) The life of man.

iv) life of well known actors.

b) All ‘have their exits and their entrances’. Exits and entrances refer to…..

i) Birth and death

ii) Beginning and end of play

iii) Coming and going of actors

iv) The end of the Shakespearean era

c) The seven roles that a man plays correspond to his……..

i) Chronological age in life    ii) Desires

iii) Mental age in life              iv) Idea of a perfect life

4. Having read this extract, identify the stages of a person’s life as Shakespeare has done. Write down these stages in your notebook and sum up the characteristics of each stage in two or three words.

Stage	Characteristics
Infancy	Crying
Schoolboy	Unwilling to go to school
Lover	Sighing for mistress
Soldier	Searching for bubble reputation
Justice	Full of wise sayings and instances
Old pantaloon	Grows weak
Last stage	Second childhood

6. Explain the meaning of the following:

a) ….all the men and women merely players;

They have their exits and their entrances…

Shakespeare compares this world to a stage. All men and women are like actors. They play their individual roles and go away. Like the stage of dramas, life too has its own exits and entrances. In this world, men take birth and go out when they die.

b) And then the lover,

Sighing like furnace….

The third stage of life is that of a lover. He is always sighing like furnace for his beloved. He is full of passions and emotions for his beloved.

c) a soldier,

…..Seeking the bubble reputation

Even in the cannon’s mouth.

The fourth stage of life is that of a soldier. He is ready to die for honour. He is very quick to seek honour and reputation. He is ready to sacrifice his life and jump into a cannon’s mouth just for bubble or temporary reputation.

More Questions Solved

I. Short answer type questions (Word limit: 30-40 words)

1. Why does Shakespeare compare the world to a stage?

Shakespeare compares this world to a stage in a theatre. He compares all men and women to players or actors and actresses of the stage. Like the stage in a theatre, life too has its exits and entrances. Men and women take birth and enter the stage of life. They play their roles and after living through seven stages of life, depart from the world.

2. Describe the first stage of life.

The first stage of life is that of an infant. The newborn baby is always crying. He goes in vomiting in the arms of the nurse who looks after him. Weeping and crying and puking are the characteristics of the first stage of life.

3. Describe the second stage of life.

The second stage of life is that of a schoolboy. He has a shining face in the morning. But he is unwilling to go to school. He carries a satchel with him and walks slowly like a snail towards his school.

4. What are the characteristics of the third stage, the stage of a lover?

In the third stage man plays the role of a lover. He is always sighing like a furnace for his beloved. He is of a romantic temperament. He writes woeful ballads praising the beauty of the eyebrow of his beloved.

5. Describe the stage of soldier.

In the fourth stage of life man plays the role of a soldier. He is full of strange oaths. He wears a beard like that of a leopard. He is jealous in honour and sudden and quick in quarrel. He is hungry for honour, name and fame. He is ready to enter the mouth of a cannon even for a momentary honour and reputation.

6. What are the main features of the life role of a justice?

In the fifth stage man plays the role of a justice. He is well-fed and has a fat round belly. He looks strict and wears a beard of formal cut. He is very intelligent and full of wise sayings and modern instances. To sum up, he is wise, intelligent and formal in dress and strict in behaviour.

7. What kind of life does the ‘lean and slipper pantaloon’ lead?

In the sixth stage of life man becomes weak and thin. He looks funny with his slippers, spectacles on nose and a pouch on his side. He has kept well all the clothes, stockings and pantaloons that he bought when he was young. But all these clothes and stockings have become too loose for his shrunk and thin body. When he speaks, he creates whistles and pipes in his sound.

8. Why is the last stage of life called ‘second childishness’? Give a reason answer.

The last stage of man’s life is that of an extreme old age. This phase of man’s life is compared to ‘second childishness’. Like a child, he loses control over his senses and becomes dependent on others as he was during his childhood. He becomes a victim of forgetfulness. He loses teeth, taste, eyesight and almost everything. One day he departs from the stage of life.

II. Value based long answer questions (Word limit: 80-100 words)

1. How and why does Shakespeare compare this world to a stage in a theatre? What characteristics does he associate with each stage of life?

Shakespeare, being a great dramatist himself, compares this world to the stage in a theatre. The stage has its own exits and entrances. So does have this world. Men and women are like players, actors and actresses on the stage of life. They take birth, play different roles and then depart from the stage of life. Every man plays seven roles and passes through seven different stages of life.

The birth of an infant begins the first stage of man’s life. The infant cries and vomits in the arms of his nurse. Then he grows into a school going boy. He is unwilling to go to the school and moves towards it at a snail’s speed. In the third stage man plays the role of a lover. He sighs like a furnace and keeps on writing woeful ballads praising the beauty of the eyes of his beloved. The fourth stage is that of a soldier. He keeps a beard like that of leopard. He always runs after honour and fame. He is ready even to enter a cannon’s mouth just for momentary fame and reputation.

 In the fifth stage man plays the role of a justice. He is fond of eating chickens and develops a fat round belly. He is full of wise sayings and modern instances. He is a man of wisdom and knowledge. In the sixth stage man becomes weak and thin in body. He wears slippers, spectacles and clothes that he bought when he was young. These pants and stockings become loose for his shrunk and thin legs.

The seventh stage is ‘second childishness’. In this stage man becomes very old and starts behaving like a child. He is left with no teeth and becomes weak in eyesight. Actually, he loses taste and becomes a victim of forgetfulness. Then after living through the seventh stage of life, man departs from the world.