Review of the poem "The seven Ages of Man"

Review  of  "The Seven Ages of Man"

The Seven Ages of man written by William Shakespeare discusses about a person’s life, in its various stage from birth to death. During the life span of a person he/she has to undergo different experiences. The poet peeps into this wonderful nature of life. As a forward to this complexity of life, the poet brings an ideal definition.

               “All the world’s a stage,

                And all the men and women merely players”

He metaphorically takes the world as a stage. On this stage all men and women play as actors and actresses and the play different roles. They enter the stage and exist. With his effective metaphor, Shakespeare presents the reality of life as it is defined in many religions.

The poet brings out different characters to explain the stages of man. They are infant, school boy, lover, soldier, justice and old man. By using these characters, poet excellently derive the idea expected.

The poet also builds up of visual imagery of these characters. The reader can draw up the mental pictures of,      

          An infant who is mewling and puking

         A school boy who is whining and unwilling going to school

         A lover who is always sighing and singing woeful ballads

         A soldier seeking bubble reputation

        A justice who has a very well-informed look

        An old man wearing spectacles