Summary of the Poem: All the World's a Stage
The poem is taken from William Shakespeare's play 'As you like it'. The lines of the poem are delivered by the character of the play, Melancholy Jaques in Act II Scene VI of the play. The poet has shown the seven stages of a person's life. The main theme is that a person is the ultimate loser in the game of life . The seven stage of human life are mentioned below :
The first stage of a man's life is infanthood. He cries and vomits in the nurse (mother) arms.
The second is the period of going to school. He carries his bags over his shoulder with his shinning face and creeps like snail to the school unwillingly.
The third is the lover who composes a woeful ballad for his beloved's eyebrows.
The fourth state is aggressive and ambitious soldier with full of strange oaths . He looks like a leopard with the beard. He does everything even to die in a battle to earn 'bubble reputation'.
The fifth stage is the justice. He shows maturity and wisdom. He has round belly, who seems firm and serious with his eyes and formal cut beast. He tried to provide fair justice to others.
The sixth stage is old age. He is seen with loose pantalon and spectacles. He becames a thin old man. His voice changes into a thin childish tone.
The seventh stage is extreme old age or second childhood. He loses his sight, hearing, smell and taste and exits from the roles of his life.