William Shakespeare Group

Question:

rentfanatic33
rentfanatic33
Student
High School - 9th Grade

What does Shakespeare's famous "All The World's A Stage" quote mean, from "As You Like It"?

That is the actual poem that I must recite to my honors English class tomorrow, and I need to know the meaning of it.

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Posted by rentfanatic33 on Wednesday April 23, 2008 at 12:33 PM and tagged with act 2 scene 7, meaning, quote, william shakespeare.

Answers:


  1. malibrarian Teacher
    High School - 12th Grade

    eNotes Editor

    Understanding the meaning of what you're reciting is a very good idea!  It's hard to get the meaning across to your audience if you don't understand what you're saying.

    The original character who speaks the speech, Jacques, is VERY cynical about life, and he is talking about the seven stages of a person's life.  Most often, we only hear the first part of the speech as it is quoted endlessly by theater/acting/drama buffs (like myself - I have a t-shirt with those first 4 lines on it!).  But the rest of the speech is what really tells us what Jacques is feeling about life.

    We start out as puking babies, go through all the necessary stages of life, then end up just like babies again as old people - "Sans (without) teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything." (Act II, scene 7)

    So re-think what you're saying in terms of explaining the stages of life to your audience.  It's not a sugary sweet speech - rather, it indicates a great deal of cynicism about the seven ages of man!  Good luck!

    Sources:
    http://www.enotes.com/shakespeare-quotes/all-world-s-stage

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    Posted by malibrarian on Wednesday April 23, 2008 at 12:43 PM


  2. brandih

    eNotes Editor

    An explanation of this quote can also be found in our free Shakespeare Quotes section.

    Sources:
    http://www.enotes.com/shakespeare-quotes/all-world-s-stage

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    Posted by brandih on Wednesday April 23, 2008 at 3:05 PM