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All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players,
They have their exits and 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 schoolboy 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 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 towards 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 Seven Ages of Man’ is taken from William
Shakespeare’s famous play, ‘As You Like It’ (Act-
II, Scene-VII), describes the seven phases in a
man’s life-from childhood to old age. The world is
but a global stage and all men and women
presented here are mere puppets in the hands of
destiny. Just like the infrastructures of a stage, the
world has its own entrances and exits. Every man
in his full lifetime has many parts to play. His total
number of acts in his lifetime is the seven ages.

Infancy
School Boy
Lover
Soldier
Adult Hood(Justice)
Middle Age
Old Age

 The first and foremost act of every human being is the
stage of infancy, where he makes his presence felt by
crying at the top of his voice and many a times vomiting
any food or drink that is repulsive, at the nursing arms of
his mother. This period normally last till four years of age.

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Infancy
In this
stage he
is a
helpless
baby
and
knows
little.

 The second stage is the ‘whining’ schoolboy where he
learns to utter a plaintive, high-pitched, protracted
sound, as in pain, fear, supplication, or complaint. His
shiny morning face and his satchel; a small
bag, sometimes with a shoulder strap; he creeps like a
snail and not willing to go to school.

The third stage is his early youth, the peak of love and
high romance. He sighs like a burning furnace and
sings the sad ballads of romance; full of woe; affected
with, characterized by, or indicating woe: woeful
melodies; to impress his lover’s heart. The impression
of her reply can be seen in her eyebrows.

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The lover: In this Stage he is always remorseful
due to some reason or other, especially the loss of
love. He tries to express feelings through song or
some other cultural activity.

 The fourth stage is that of a soldier where life if full
of obligations, commitments, compliances, oaths
and vows. His beard is like a leopard or panther. He
endlessly fights for his honor, a full presence of
mind which is sudden and quick in quarrel and a
heart to maintain a dignified reputation.
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 The fifth stage is the adult-hood where a man tries to live a fair
and justified life. His belly becomes bigger than normal. He is
conscious about his diet and consumes a good intake of
‘capon’; a cockerel castrated to improve the flesh for use as
food. His eyes are severe with seriousness and his beard is
leveled to a formal cut. He is to take a lot of correct decisions to
keep up with the ever changing times. So this stage is the most
powerful stage in life.
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The si xt h st age i s t he mi ddl e-age. Her e i s wher e he
pr epar es hi msel f f or t he next l evel i n l i f e i .e. ol d age.
He l ear ns t o r el ax f r om t he hust l es of l i f e. Hi s st r engt h
begi ns t o weaken and spends mor e t i me wi t hi n t he r oof of
hi s house. He l ooks l i ke a buf f oon and an ol d f ool i n hi s
r ugged ol d sl i pper s. He hangs hi s spect acl es on hi s nose
f or r eadi ng and al l hi s yout hf ul hose; a f l exi bl e t ube f or
conveyi ng a l i qui d, as wat er , t o a desi r ed poi nt ; saved f or
t he wor l d t oo wi de. Hi s shank begi ns t o shr i nk wi t h t i me;
t he par t of t he l ower l i mb i n humans bet ween t he knee and
t he ankl e; l eg. Even hi s voi ce begi ns t o descend t o a l ower
t one. I n hi s f r ee t i me, he smokes hi s pi pe and whi st l es hi s
mat ur ed mel odi es.

The last stage is the old-age where he
enters his second childhood. It is also the
beginning of the end of his eventful
history. It is also the stage of oblivion; the
state of being completely forgotten or
unknown; the state of forgetting or of
being oblivious; official disregard or
overlooking of offenses; He is without
everything; without teeth, eyes and taste.

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Theseven ages

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Theseven ages