All the World's a Stage Exercise Class 11 English: Summary & Question Answers | William Shakespeare

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        All the World's a Stage Exercise 

                 William Shakespeare

          Summary | Question Answers

                      Class 11 English 

                     Neb English Notes 

All the World's a Stage by William Shakespeare 

GLOSSARY 

All the World's a Stage by William Shakespeare

furnace (n.): a device for heating

hose (n.): tights, thin trousers that men wore in Shakespeare's time

mewling (v.): crying weakly with a soft, high-pitched sound

oaths (n.): promises

oblivion (n.): a state of nothingness

pard (n.): a leopard

puking (v.): vomiting

sans (prep.): without, lacking

satchel (n.): a shoulder bag for school

treble (adj.): high-pitched

whining (v.): uttering a high-pitched cry

woeful (adj.): sorrowful; distressed with grief

ABOUT POEM 

All the World's a Stage by William Shakespeare

What is the poem "All the World's a Stage" by William Shakespeare about?

This realistic poem, "All the World's a Stage" was composed by one of the renowned English poets, William Shakespeare. [His All Plays]

The lines of this poem have been taken from one of Shakespeare's plays, "As You Like It". This pastoral comedy, "As You Like It" has been believed to have been written in 1599 and first published in the First Folio in 1623. The play's first performance is not fixed, though it was performed at Wilton House in 1603.

 

These lines have been delivered by one of the characters of this play, whose name is Jaques, a sad character. He has delivered these lines in Act II, Scene VII, Line 139. Jacques has used these lines as a monologue (soliloquy).

 

This poem presents the real aspect of human life, where the world and its people have been presented metaphorically as a stage and the players. The poet has presented seven different stages of a person's life in this poem. This poem shows the beginning and the end of human life in the worldly stage, where humans have to perform different roles in their lifetime and finally move towards their final destination (death), leaving this worldly stage.

 

MAIN THEME 

All the World's a Stage by William Shakespeare

What is the main theme of the poem "All the World's a Stage" by William Shakespeare?

This poem has presented the real theme that a person is the ultimate loser in the game of life.

This monologue has presented the theme of life and its seven stages. Shakespeare has described these stages that are observed in the life span of a man.

MAIN MESSAGE 

All the World's a Stage by William Shakespeare

What is the main message of the poem "All the World's a Stage" by William Shakespeare?

Through this monologue, Shakespeare gives us the message of the impermanence of life. How quickly the game of our lives comes to an end and strange events end is portrayed in this speech.

DETAILED SUMMARY 

All the World's a Stage by William Shakespeare

Write the summary of the poem "All the World's a Stage" by William Shakespeare.

SUMMARY OF JAQUES'S MONOLOGUE 

In the very beginning, the speaker has compared the whole world to a stage where men and women are merely players (actors). They have their entrances and exits. They enter the stage (world) when they are born and exit when they die. At this stage, every man has to play seven different roles based on his age during his lifetime.

SEVEN STAGES OF MAN'S LIFE AND HIS ACTS 

All the world's a stage 7 stages

Infanthood Stage:

The first stage of a man's life is infanthood. He plays in the arms of his nurse (mother). He often vomits and cries at this stage. He is fully dependent on others' care.

 

Stage of Student:

In his second stage of boyhood, he is a school-going student. He slings his bag over his shoulder with his shining face and creeps to school unwillingly, like a snail.

 

Stages of a Lover:

He becomes a lover in his third stage. Here, his breath is hot. He is very busy composing ballads for his beloved's eyebrows and yearns for her attention.

 

Stages of a Soldier:

In the fourth stage, he is aggressive and ambitious, full of strange oaths. He seems like a leopard with his beard. He seeks a reputation in all that he does. He is willing to die in a battle to earn ‘the bubble reputation’. He seems courageous even in the mouth of canon. He is ready to guard his country and becomes a soldier.

 

Stages of Maturity and Wisdom:

In his fifth stage, he becomes a fair judge with maturity and wisdom. He has a fair, round belly. He seems firm and serious with his eyes and formal-cut beard. He tries to provide fair justice to others.

Stage of Old age:

In the sixth stage, he is seen with loose pantaloons and spectacles. He becomes a thin old man. His manly voice changes into a thin, childish tone.

Stage of Extreme Old Age (Second Childhood):

The last stage of all is his second childhood. Slowly, he loses his faculties of sight, hearing, smell, and taste and exits from the roles of his life.

 

Thus, Shakespeare has presented different images of the seven stages of a man’s life in the poem ‘All the World’s a Stage’.

 

Life is like a drama, and the world is a stage where we are all actors and play our roles.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 

All the World's a Stage by William Shakespeare

a. Why does the poet compare the world to a stage? 

Answer:

Poet Shakespeare compares the world to a stage because this world is a big stage where people play different roles in various stages of their lives. On this stage, the entrance is birth and the exit is death, which shows the beginning and end of life

b. What is the first stage of human life? In what sense can it be a difficult stage?

Answer:

The first stage of human life is the newborn infant, where a person is a small baby. This stage can be difficult because the baby is helpless, cries, and cannot express its needs. 

c. Based on the poem, describe the second stage of life. 

Answer:

Based on the poem, the second stage of life is the complaining schoolboy, where a person, as a schoolchild, carries a small bag on his shoulder with a bright morning face, walking slowly and unwillingly to school like a snail. In this stage, the child appears unwilling toward studies. 

d. Why is the last stage called second childhood? 

Answer:

The last stage is called second childhood because in this stage, a person loses teeth, eyes, and strength in old age, becoming helpless and forgetful like a child again. All his activities become like those of a newborn baby. Even when crying, he makes a thin sound like a newborn baby. 

e. In what sense are we actors on the world’s stage? 

Answer:

We are actors on the world’s stage because we play different roles at various ages throughout life, and these roles change with time. 

f. What is the main theme of this poem? 

Answer:

The main theme of this poem is the human life cycle, which is like a stage play, where people play various roles from birth to death, and these roles change with time. 

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ALL THE WORLD'S A STAGE BY WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE SHORT SUMMARY & SOLUTION (DETAILED INFORMATION)

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