Question

Summary of THE SEVEN AGES

Answer 1

Through Jacques, Shakespeare puts forth the view that the world is a stage in which human beings play their part. There are seven Acts like seven stages in a man’s life. A person performs multifarious roles in a single life-time. In the beginning, he is a baby crying in the arms of the nurse. Infancy is followed by school-going stage, when he is bright-eyed, trudging unwillingly to school. In the third stage, he grows into a lover, writing poems in praise of his beloved and sighing like a furnace. Then he plays the role of a soldier, who is rash, and who willingly sacrifices his life for honour. In the next role he is a Judge, well-fed, prosperous, fat and fierce-eyed. He is always in a mood of impressing others and is full of wise maxims. The next stage depicts man to be weak, thin, wearing spectacles and slippers. His clothes are loose and legs are thin and his voice is shrill like that of a child. At the end comes the last stage when he loses his memory, teeth, eyes, taste, infact everything. It is like a second childhood as he has to depend on others for everything. Thus ends the drama of his eventful life 

Answer 2

Shakespeare considers the world a stage and men and women actors on the stage of life. They play seven roles according to their age. The first stage, as described by the poet, is the infant who is being carried by a nurse. The infant cries and vomits all the time. Later, that infant grows into a schoolboy, not willing to attend school which is the fourth stage of a man’s life. The third stage is that of a lover who is lost in his thoughts of love. The lover writes poetry to his lady’s beauty. In the fourth stage, as he grows older, he joins the army and becomes a soldier. He is physically fit and is aggressive, short-tempered and ambitious in nature.The fifth stage shows that with maturity and wisdom, the family man becomes a judge. He is a fair, healthy man full of wisdom. His look is authoritative and he advises people. The sixth stage is about the man who has grown old and is seen in a pantaloon and spectacles. His authoritative voice has grown weak and his voice trembles as he talks. The last stage is about the senile man who loses his teeth, his vision and his hearing. After this, the man part in the play ends and he exits from the stages of his life forever.