Grade: XI, English (New Course), Poem: All the World's a Stage "Exercises"
Understanding the text
Answer the following questions.
a. Why does the poet compare the world
with a stage?
·
The poet compares the world to a stage
because he considers all men and women like the actors of a drama. These actors
perform their different roles here in this stage and leave this worldly stage
one day.
b. What is the first stage in a human's
life? In what sense can it be a troubling stage?
·
The first stage in a human's life is the
stage of infanthood. It can be a troubling stage in the sense that this stage
is a fully dependent stage where the infant is fully under the care of the
mother. The infant can cry and even vomit anytime in mother's arms.
c. Describe the second stage of life based
on the poem.
·
The second stage of life is the stage of
boyhood. In this stage, the boy is a school going, student. He slings his bag
over his shoulder with his shining face and creeps to school unwillingly like a
snail.
d. Why is the last stage called second
childhood?
·
The last stage is called second childhood
because here in this stage the man loses his senses of sight, hearing, smell
and taste. He acts like a child and finally exits from the roles of his life.
e. In what sense are we the players in the
world stage?
·
We are the players in the world stage in
the sense that we perform different roles here in this world stage. We
play seven different roles in our entire lifetime and finally depart from
this world stage.
Reference to the context
a. Explain the following lines:
All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players
·
Here in these lines, the poet has compared
the whole world with a stage where men and women are only players
(actors). After birth, they perform their many roles here in this worldly
stage and finally, leave this stage moving towards their final destination
(death).
b. Explain the following lines briefly
with reference to the context.
They have their exits and their
entrances;
And one man in his time plays many
parts,
·
These beautiful lines have been taken from
William Shakespeare's realistic poem "All the World's a Stage".
These lines are the parts of Jacues's monologue. Here, the poet has said that
the people in the world have their entrances (birth) and exits (death).
People arrive here in this worldly stage through birth and leave this
stage through death. A man here in this worldly stage has to perform many
roles in his lifetime and leave the stage after his death.
c. Read the given lines and answer the
questions that follow.
Then the whining schoolboy, with his
satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like
snail
Unwillingly to school.
i. Which stage of life is being referred
to here by the poet?
·
The childhood stage of life is being
referred to here by the poet.
ii. Which figure of speech has been
employed in the second line?
·
In the second line, simile, a figure of
speech has been employed where the boy has been compared with snail using
like.
iii. Who is compared to the snail?
·
The school-going boy is compared to the
snail.
iv. Does the boy go to the school
willingly?
·
No, the boy doesn't go to the school
willingly. His unwillingness can easily be the motion of snail towards his
school.
d. Simile and metaphor are the two major
poetic devices used in this poem. Explain citing examples of each.
·
Here in this poem, we find major poetic
devices as simile and metaphor. The poet has used these poetic devices a
lot. The examples of simile and metaphor of this poem are as follows:
a) "All the world's a stage" - Metaphor
b) "And all the men and women merely
players" - Metaphor
c) "And shining morning face, creeping like a
snail" - Simile
d) "Full of strange oaths, and bearded like the
pard," - Simile
e) "Seeking the bubble reputation" -
Metaphor
f) "His youthful hose, well sav'd, a world too
wide" - Metaphor.
g) "and his big manly voice, Turning again toward
childish treble" - Metaphor.
e. Which style does the poet use to
express his emotions about how he thinks that the world is a stage and all the
people living in it are mere players?
·
The poet uses a narrative style to express
his innermost emotions about how he thinks that the world is a stage and
all the people living in it are mere players or characters. These
characters go through seven different phases in their lives. He has
explained the real aspects of human life for all readers to understand the
reality of life.
f. What is the theme of this poem?
·
The theme of this poem is that person is
the ultimate loser in the game of life. A person makes an entry in this
worldly stage and performs different roles in his lifetime. Finally,
he/she leaves this worldly stage struggling in different circumstances.
He/She comes empty-handed here and leaves this stage empty-handed. He/She
brings nothing and takes nothing.
Reference beyond the text
a. Describe the various stages of human
life picturised in the poem "All the world's a stage."
·
According to Shakespeare, the world is a
stage and everyone is a player. He says that every man has seven stages during
his lifetime. He performs different seven roles in his lifetime and finally
exits from this worldly stage. The first stage of a man is childhood. He plays
in the arms of his mother. He often vomits and cries in this stage. In his
second stage, the man is an unwilling school going, student. He becomes a lover
in his third stage. He is very busy composing ballads for his beloved and
yearns for her attention. In the fourth stage, he is aggressive and ambitious.
He seeks reputation in all what he does. He is ready to guard his country and
becomes a soldier. In his fifth stage, he becomes a fair judge with maturity
and wisdom. In the sixth stage, he is seen with loose pantaloons and
spectacles. His manly voice changes into a childish treble. 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 the pictures of the seven stages of a man's life in the poem 'All the
World's a Stage'.
b. Is Shakespeare's comparison of human's
life with a drama stage apt? How?
·
Yes, Shakespeare's comparison of a human's
life with a drama stage apt. He compares the whole world with a stage where men
and women are only actors. In a drama, every player enters the stage, acts
his/her part and then exits. In the same way, we enter this world by birth. We
lead our life in different characters. We exit from this world at the time of
our death. Shakespeare says that every man has seven stages during his
lifetime. His opinion related to life is quite right. Players or people come
into this worldly stage and perform their seven different roles and finally
part away from this stage. Our life is divided into seven different stages and
in these stages, we keep on performing different roles seeking various things
in our life as actors. Here in this worldly stage, we play the role of an
infant, a boy, a lover, a soldier, a judge, an old man and an extremely old
man. So, human life is a drama.
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