On the basis of your understanding of the poem, answer the following questions by ticking the correct choice:
(a) All the world’s a stage is an extended metaphor for ______
(i) the life shown in well known plays.
(ii) seeing the well known plays.
(iii) life of well known actors.
(iv) the life of man.
Answer:
(iv) the life of man.
(b) All ‘have their exits and their entrances Exits and entrances refer to ______
(i) birth and death
(ii) beginning and end of play
(iii) coming and going of actors
(iv) the end of the Shakespearean era
(iv) the life of man.
(b) All ‘have their exits and their entrances Exits and entrances refer to ______
(i) birth and death
(ii) beginning and end of play
(iii) coming and going of actors
(iv) the end of the Shakespearean era
Answer:
(i) birth and death
(c) The seven roles that a man plays correspond to his ______
(i) chronological age in life
(ii) desires
(iii) mental age in life
(iv) idea of a perfect life
(i) birth and death
(c) The seven roles that a man plays correspond to his ______
(i) chronological age in life
(ii) desires
(iii) mental age in life
(iv) idea of a perfect life
Answer:
(i) chronological age in life
Question 4.
Having read this extract, identify the stages of a person’s life as Shakespeare has done. Write down these gtages in your notebook, and sum up the characteristics of each stage in two or three words. e.g.
(i) chronological age in life
Question 4.
Having read this extract, identify the stages of a person’s life as Shakespeare has done. Write down these gtages in your notebook, and sum up the characteristics of each stage in two or three words. e.g.
| Stages | Characteristics | |
| (1) | infancy | crying |
Answer:
| Stages | Characteristics | |
| (1) | infancy | crying |
| (2) | Schoolboy | unwilling to go to school. |
| (3) | Lover | sighing for mistress. |
| (4) | Soldier | searching for bubble reputation. |
| (5) | Justice | full of wise sayings and instances. |
| (6) | Old pantaloon | grows weak |
| (7) | Last stage |
second childhood. |
Work individually, and rank the seven stages in order of attractiveness. If you think being a schoolboy is most attractive, you could rank it number 1. Then, work in groups of four and compare your individual rankings.
Answer:
| S.No | Stages | Rank |
| 1. | infancy | 1 |
| 2. | Schoolboy | 2 |
| 3. | Lover | 3 |
| 4. | Soldier | 4 |
| 5. | Justice | 5 |
| 6. | Old pantaloon | 6 |
| 7. | Last stage | 7 |
Explain the meaning of the following:
(a) …all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits and their entrances…
(b) And then the lover,
Sighing like furnace…
(c) a soldier,
…Seeking the bubble reputation
Even in the cannon’s mouth.
Answer:
(a) Shakespeare compares this world to a stage. All men and women are like actors. They play their individual roles and go away. Like the stage of dramas, life too has its own exits and entrances. In this world, men take birth and go out when they die.
(b) The third stage of life is that of a lover. He is always sighing like furnace for his beloved. He is full of passions and emotions for his beloved.
(c) The fourth stage of life is that of a soldier. He is ready to die for honour. He is very quick to seek honour and reputation. He is ready to sacrifice his life and jump into a cannon’s mouth just for a momentary reputation.
Question 7.
You already know the two literary devices generally used by writers for comparison, Le. metaphor and simile. e.g.
(a) He was a lion in the battle, (metaphor)
(b) He fought like a lion, (simile)
In (a) the writer talks of the soldier in terms of a lion. The comparison is implied. In (b) the writer compares the soldier to a lion with the use of the word like, (as may also be used for such comparisons.)
Read the poem again and note down the metaphors and similes. Copy and complete the following chart
(a) Shakespeare compares this world to a stage. All men and women are like actors. They play their individual roles and go away. Like the stage of dramas, life too has its own exits and entrances. In this world, men take birth and go out when they die.
(b) The third stage of life is that of a lover. He is always sighing like furnace for his beloved. He is full of passions and emotions for his beloved.
(c) The fourth stage of life is that of a soldier. He is ready to die for honour. He is very quick to seek honour and reputation. He is ready to sacrifice his life and jump into a cannon’s mouth just for a momentary reputation.
Question 7.
You already know the two literary devices generally used by writers for comparison, Le. metaphor and simile. e.g.
(a) He was a lion in the battle, (metaphor)
(b) He fought like a lion, (simile)
In (a) the writer talks of the soldier in terms of a lion. The comparison is implied. In (b) the writer compares the soldier to a lion with the use of the word like, (as may also be used for such comparisons.)
Read the poem again and note down the metaphors and similes. Copy and complete the following chart
| Item | Metaphor | Simile |
| world | all the world’s a stage | |
| men | ||
| women | ||
| schoolboy | ||
| lover | ||
| soldier | ||
| reputation | ||
| voice |
Answer:
The metaphor of‘stage’ is quite interesting. Men and women are merely players. The simile describing the lover sighing like a furnace is quite apt and logical. So is the metaphor ‘bubble reputation’. It shows the transitory nature of honour or reputation the soldier is seeking. The metaphor ‘childish treble’ highlights the high-pitched sounds created when the ‘old pantaloon’ speaks.
The metaphor of‘stage’ is quite interesting. Men and women are merely players. The simile describing the lover sighing like a furnace is quite apt and logical. So is the metaphor ‘bubble reputation’. It shows the transitory nature of honour or reputation the soldier is seeking. The metaphor ‘childish treble’ highlights the high-pitched sounds created when the ‘old pantaloon’ speaks.
| Item | Metaphor | Simile |
| world | all the world’s a stage | |
| men | merely players | |
| women | ||
| schoolboy | whining schoolboy | creeping like a snail sighing like a furnace bearded like the pard |
| lover | ||
| soldier | ||
| reputation | bubble reputation | |
| voice | voicechildish |
In this poem, life is compared with a play. Just as in a play a man acts many parts, so also in life, a man plays many roles. Can you think of some other comparison for life ? (For example, life could be compared with the seasons in nature, the days of the week, the lessons in a school day.) Select one of these comparisons (or choose one of your own), and write about the similarities that life has with it. (80-100 words)
Answer:
Similarities of Seasons in Nature with Stages of Life The cycle of seasons in nature is very similar to the cycle of man’s life. Men take birth and make entrance on the stage of life. Similarly, seasons start with the spring. Everything sprouts and blooms. It is the best period of man’s life. It is full of colour, romance and beauty. Then comes the summer. It is full of warmth and heat is unwilling to go to school. He carries a satchel with him and walks slowly like a snail towards his school.
Similarities of Seasons in Nature with Stages of Life The cycle of seasons in nature is very similar to the cycle of man’s life. Men take birth and make entrance on the stage of life. Similarly, seasons start with the spring. Everything sprouts and blooms. It is the best period of man’s life. It is full of colour, romance and beauty. Then comes the summer. It is full of warmth and heat is unwilling to go to school. He carries a satchel with him and walks slowly like a snail towards his school.