SHAKESPEARE'S SEVEN AGES OF MAN
Shakespeare's Seven Ages of Man
Students respond to a representation of the Seven Ages of Man depicted in a series of stained glass windows in the Shakespeare Room at the State Library of New South Wales considering cultural, social and gender perspectives and composing metaphors to reflect on learning.
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| The Seven Ages of Man |
STIMULUS #1:
A set of stained glass windows in the Shakespeare Room of the Mitchell Wing, State Library of New South Wales made by Arthur Benfield and representing the Seven Stages of Man from Jaques’ monologue in Act II sc vii of Shakespeare’s As You Like It.
TEXT TYPE
Imaginative: Students appropriate the soliloquy Seven Ages of Man to produce a Seven Ages of Woman soliloquy and design a set of stained glass windows.
Imaginative: Students compose metaphors to reflect on learning and learning styles.
LEARNING INTENTION
Students are learning to:
Creatively transform a Shakespearean soliloquy
Experiment with appropriations and representations
Investigate and experiment with extended metaphors and symbolism
SUCCESS CRITERIA
Students will be successful when they can:
Compose an appropriation of the 7 Ages of Man using extended metaphor and symbolism
Create a visual representation
Develop a unique extended metaphor
BACKGROUND NOTES FOR TEACHERS
The Mitchell Wing of the State Library of New South Wales is home to the Shakespeare Room. It is a beautifully decorated room built to commemorate the three hundredth anniversary of the death of William Shakespeare in 1616. The Shakespeare Room is filled with objects and books connected to the life and works of William Shakespeare.
One of the most beautiful art works in the room is a series of stained glass windows depicting images from a speech from Shakespeare's play As You Like It. The windows were created by Sydney stained glass artist Arthur G. Benfield. They were installed in 1942 during the construction of the building.
The windows depict the Seven Ages of Man, as described in the character Jaques’ soliloquy in As You Like It. In this comedy, Jaques is a melancholy lord who is living in the Forest of Arden after having been banished. He rarely takes part in the action around him, preferring to observe rather than to join in. In this speech Jaques first compares lives of men and women in the world to actors playing roles on a stage in the theatre. The speech then examines the changes that take place over the course of a man’s life.
Jaques divides the life of a man into seven stages:
- Baby or infant
- School boy or child
- Lover
- Soldier
- Justice or judge
- Old man
Extreme old age, again like a child
Each of these stages is represented in a panel of the stained glass windows.
The idea of the Seven Ages of Man is very old and dates to the twelfth century (1100s). Shakespeare would have learnt about this idea as a young boy at school. Henry VIII owned a tapestry that featured the Seven Ages of Man.
The Seven Ages of Man
Speech from William Shakespeare’s As You Like It, Act II scene vii
Jaques: 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.
And then the whining school-boy, with his satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like 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 good capon lined,
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 saved, 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.
Glossary
ballad: a story told through a song
capon: a castrated rooster, a luxury food
hose: stockings
lean: thin
mewling: crying or whining
modern instances: new judgements or decisions
oblivion: nothingness
pantaloon: refers to the sixth stage of life, the character of Pantalone is a weak old man from Italian comedy. Pantaloon was sixteenth century slang for an old man and is similar to “geezer”.
pard: a big cat such as a leopard or panther
pipe: a musical instrument like a recorder with a high pitched tone
puking: vomiting
sans: the French word for “without"
satchel: a school bag
severe: harsh or stern
treble: the high voice of a small boy
wise saws: wise sayings or proverbs
woeful: sad
Summary of the Seven Ages of Man speech
This monologue compares the world with a stage in a theatre. Men and women are the actors or players on this stage.
Actors playing roles have entrances and exits during a performance. Life also has its entrances and exits- people are born and die and pass in and out of our lives. Just as an actor plays a variety of roles in life, so too do men and women play different roles or pass through different stages or seven ages of their lives.
The speech then focuses on the experience of men. However it is also possible to consider how the lives of women might be divided into seven ages or stages.
The first role or stage is that of aninfant or baby. The baby cries and whines before vomiting in the arms of his nurse.
In the second stage of life man plays the role of a small boy or child. He holds a school bag, has a shiny face and walks as slowly as he can because he does not like school and is reluctant to leave home.
The role of the lover is the third stage of life. He is young and foolish and falls passionately in love, singing a sad song about love in which he describes the beauty of a girl’s eyebrows.
In the fourth stage of life the man plays the role of the soldier. He has a beard, swears oaths and is ambitious to seek out honour. He is so keen to improve his reputation he is willing to risk dangers such as cannons in war.
In the fifth stage of life man plays the role of a justice or judge. He has grown fat from eating expensive meats. He uses his experience of life and the knowledge he has gained to offer what he thinks are wise sayings and advice and good decisions.
In the sixth stage of life the man becomes a pantaloon or weak old man. He is so thin his stockings become loose. The speech compares this stage of life to a return to being like a baby or child. Old men and small children both have high voices and are dependent on adults.
The seventh and final stage is extreme old age or a second childhood. Like babies very old men are dependent on others and have no teeth. The old man loses his memory, hearing and control of his senses before dying.
I have shared this for students benefits. They could get the authentic notes of their subjects related to their standards.
Second Year English Notes Sindh Board SEVEN AGES OF MAN
SEVEN AGES OF MAN
(William Shakespeare)
Shakespeare is a high critic of life and literature. This poem, "Seven Ages of Man" is a part of the monologue of Jacques in Shakespeare’s As You Like It (2. 7. 139-167). The poet comprehends that the stage is set by the Ultimate Creator, God and we are mere puppets out to act our roles out as directed by Him. Their exits andentrances are ‘stage-managed’ or predetermined. A man generally plays seven typical parts.
In the first stage:
a helpless baby is just crying, throwing up and vomiting in the mother’s lap. Mother nurses him all the time.
In the second stage:
he begins to go to school. He is reluctant to go there. It seems prison house to him. He moves likes a snail unawares of the blessings he is attributed with. He is afraid of what the world holds in store for him.
In the third stage:
he is grown into his late teens and his main interest is girls. He is likely to make a bit of a fool of himself with them. He is sentimental, sighing and writing poems to his dream girls. Though frustrated, he seeks pleasures in his woes.
In the fourth stage:
he is a bold andfearless soldier. He wants to take the world by storm, full of promises. He thinks less of himself and begins to think more of others. He is very easily aroused and is hot-headed. He seeks a bubble reputation.
The fifth stage:
is the age of justice, a middle-aged person. He becomes wise and experienced. His belly is round because of fat. He had a beard of formal cut, to give professional look. He enjoys prosperity and social status. He becomes veryattentive to his looks. He begins to enjoy the finer things in life.
In the sixth stage:
He begins to lose his charm — both physical and mental. He becomes lean and pale. He puts glasses on his nose. He wears pantaloon and slippers. He carries a pouch of tobacco in his pocket. The world is too wide for him now. His manly voice ‘mellows’ into a childish treble.
In the final stage:
he loses his status and he becomes a non-entity. This is the winter season of human life. This is the stage of second childhood. He has lost his teeth, hiseyesight, even all the essence of his life. He lives in a state of utter forgetfulness. Nature tries to cut him off from all earthly bondage. Death summons him to go to the eternal world. Finally, he meets his catastrophe
Questions Answers
Q1- Write down the introduction of the poet who composed the poem "The Seven Ages of Man".
Ans. The "Seven Ages of Man" is composed by William Shakespeare who was born at Stratford in April 1564. He got his early education at his native place. After marriage, he left for Londonleaving behind his wife Anne Hathaway and three Children. He was totally Self-educated. He composed very striking novels like Hamlet, The winter tale, and Romeo and Juliet. He also composed many sonnets. He is called the World greatest poet and the dramatist in the history of English Literature.
Q2- How Shakespeare describes the age of love in his poem “The Seven Ages of Man”?
Ans According to Shakespeare the third stage of man's life is a lover when a person is very romantic. He is very miserable and sad. He composes beautiful and romantic verses on the beauty of his beloved. He is very sad and miserable because of the separation of his beloved.
Q4- Describe the fourth stage of Man's life as depicted by Jacques in "The Seven Ages of Man"
Ans- In the poem "The seven ages of man" Jacques depicts the age of Soldier that when a man is a Soldier he faces many dangers for the sake of honor. He is very anxious about his reputation. He even doesn't care a fig of himself but always face danger so that the people praise him. In this age, he is also passionate and full of spirit. He grows some hair on his chin.
Q5- Why Shakespeare compares this world to a stage and all the man and woman to actors?
Ans- Shakespeare compares this world to a stage because no one is permanent here in this world. This world is for a short time where the actor-human beings come to perform their role. Everybody has its own specific role and after that, a person has to leave the stage for his successors. Shakespeare also divides the role of these people into seven different parts.
Q6- What role a man plays in the fifth stage of his life in the poem " The Seven Ages of Man"
Ans- When the fifth stage of a man's life begins he is called a justice. Due to energy foods, he becomes very healthy. His personality is very effective and stern. He has his formal beard and he always speaks to other with good examples. He is considered a wise person so his advice are always followed. In this way, he completes this stage of life and shifts into the sixth stage.
Q7- Describe the sixth age of man's life with the reference to the poem "The Seven Ages of Man".
Ans. When the Justice stage is over a man enters into the sixth stage of his life. In this stage, a man becomes very weak. Due to his weakness, his dress becomes very loose on his body. In this stage a person is dependent and he always needs help. He feels it very difficult to roam in the world. Due to the weakness of his eyesight, he wears glasses and a little pouch for keeping his necessities. His melodious sound becomes very ridiculous and when he talks a whistling sound is created. And in this way, his painful stage is over and he enters into the last stage of his life.
Q8- What role a man plays in his last stage of life in the poem “Seven ages of man”.
Ans. When a man enters into the last stage of his life his character becomes troublesome for others. The last stage also closes the history of his life which is full of events. In this stage once again he becomes like a child, who forgets everything. Not only is this but he also deprived of teeth, eyes, memory and even everything that he had in his young age. It is the time when the departures from this world.
Q9- What role does everyone play on the stage of this world according to Shakespeare?
The speech is taken from Act II scene VII As you like it written by Shakespeare. He divides the human life into seven stages. According to Jacques, the entire world is like a stage. All human beings are live actors. The man performs many parts on the stage of his world.
i. AT first, he performs the role of his world.
ii. Then, he performs the role of a schoolboy.
iii. He performs the role of lover.
iv. Then he becomes a soldier and faces every danger for the sake of honor and the glory of his country.
v. After this stage, he becomes a judge with a bulging belly. He knows many wise saying and modern instances.
vi. In the sixth stage man becomes old and thin and looks like a clown, his legs grow so thin the socks which he wore in his youth becomes too wide for him.
vii. The last stage which is the closing chapter of his eventful history is the second childhood. He is then without teeth, without eyes, without taste and without everything.
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