According to William Shakespeare’s character Jaques in As You Like It men go through seven stages in their lives:
- Infancy
- Schoolboy
- Teenager
- Young man
- Middle aged
- Old aged
- Dotage & death
The ‘Seven Ages of Man’, in detail
In Act 2 Scene 7 of As You Like It, Jaques speaks his ‘Ages of man’ monologue (better known by most as the ‘All the world’s a stage‘ speech).
In this monologue Jaques starts by explaining that “All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players”, then goes on to describe these seven stages of life that men go through in some detail:
Stage 1, Infancy:
A helpless baby, just crying and throwing up.
“At first the infant,
Mewling and puking in the nurse’s arms.”
Stage 2, Schoolboy:
This is where his formal education starts but he is not entirely happy with school. His mother is ambitious for him and has washed his face thoroughly before sending him off to school but he goes very slowly and reluctantly.
“the whining school-boy with his satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like a snail
Unwillingly to school.”
Stage 3, Teenager:
He’s grown into his late teens and his main interest is girls. He’s likely to make a bit of a fool of himself with them. He is sentimental, sighing and writing poems to girls, making himself a bit ridiculous.
“the lover,
Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad
Made to his mistress’ eyebrow.”
Stage 4, Young man:
He’s a bold and fearless soldier – passionate in the causes he’s prepared to fight for and quickly springs into action. He works on developing his reputation and takes risks to that end.
“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.”
Stage 5, Middle-aged:
He regards himself as wise and experienced and doesn’t mind sharing his views and ideas with anyone and likes making speeches. He’s made a name for himself and is prosperous and respected. As a result of his success, he’s become vain. He enjoys the finer things in life, like good food.
“the justice,
In fair round belly, with good capon lin’d,
With eyes severe, and beard of formal cut,
Full of wise saws, and modern instances”
Stage 6, Old man:
He is old and nothing like his former self – physically or mentally. He looks and behaves like an old man, dresses like one and he has a thin piping voice now. His influence slips away.
the lean and slipper’d pantaloon,
“With spectacles on nose and pouch on side,
His youthful hose, well sav’d, a world too wide
For his shrunk shank, and his big manly voice,
Turning again toward childish treble, pipes
And whistles in his sound”
Stage 7, Dotage and death:
He loses his mind in senility. His hair and teeth fall out and his sight goes. Then he loses everything as he sinks into the oblivion of death.
second childishness and mere oblivion,
“Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.”
Shakespeare did not invent the idea of the stages of life: philosophers have been addressing it for millennia. Aristotle had four ages of man and they were extended to seven in the middle ages where philosophical and religious lists were usually in sevens – the seven deadly sins, the seven sacraments, the seven heavenly virtues, and so on.
By the time the Elizabethan age arrived, it was a most familiar idea, and Shakespeare’s audience would immediately have recognised the concept of the seven ages of man.
Ages of Man Monologue in Full
Below is the complete ‘ages of man’ monologue from As You Like It – one of Shakespeare’s most famous and well liked passages:
‘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. At first the infant,
Mewling and puking in the nurse’s arms.
Then, the whining school-boy with his satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like a snail
Unwillingly to school. And then the lover,
Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad
Made to his mistress’ eyebrow. 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. And then, the justice,
In fair round belly, with a good capon lin’d,
With eyes severe, and beard of formal cut,
Full of wise saws, and modern instances,
And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts
Into the lean and slipper’d pantaloon,
With spectacles on nose and pouch on side,
His youthful hose, well sav’d, a world too wide
For his shrunk shank, and his big manly voice,
Turning again toward childish treble, pipes
And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all,
That ends this strange eventful history,
Is second childishness and mere oblivion,
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.’
The idea of the world as a stage was not original but it was a metaphor Shakespeare appreciated, being an actor, stage writer and theatre proprietor. He uses it frequently and, of course, it fits in nicely with the metaphor of human life as a play with actors. Another of Shakespeare’s favourite soliloquies is the ‘Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow’ passage where Macbeth compares his life to that of a short, emotional performance by an actor on a stage (one of many famous Macbeth quotes):
‘A walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.’
The Seven Ages Of Man Image
Images of each of the seven ages of man, based on Jaque’s ‘Ages of man’ monologue and taken from photos of stained glass windows in the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre
Very Very Very Good! Keep it UP!
☺☺☺
Being of an age to understand what this whole soliloquy means, I was pleased to read it again and enjoy it while I can. Best remembered and best written.
There are many, many fantastic Shakespearean quotes that are even in common usage today, though mostly unknown for being Shakespeare’s.
who needed to read this for school?
Not for school, but the little I did learn at school created an appetite in me, and I read the complete works of Shakespeare (or three quarters of it) in the years immediately after I finished school.
not usefull at all
What other information would make the article more useful Thomas?
It was very helpful for me
Thanks alot a very good explanation in short words????
Glad to hear it Muzna :)
Very good and extremely helpful :)
I have a stain glass painting of The Seven Ages of man.
Not sure of value, but its beautiful, anyway you can help me with this
This was the most extraordinary, intellectual, monotnous, inconspicuous, naseating, interesting, most exquisite story I have been told before :)
Need more information
John,
Thanks for providing this explanation. As a former ELA teacher, I taught this over 20 years ago. It definitely withstands the test of time. 🙂