Shakespeare Stole My Homework

I started my first-semester English homework, expecting a normal, manageable task. And then… Shakespeare happened. One monologue, "The Seven Ages of Man", and suddenly I got sucked into the poetry, the roles, the drama... and somewhere along the way, my original plan disappeared.

In this famous monologue, from "As You Like It", Shakespeare compares life to a theater play, and each person to an actor performing different roles as they move through life. We enter it at birth ("entrances"), and leave it at death ("exits"). Everything in between is a temporary role.

It’s a poetic way to say: "We’re all playing parts, but none of us are here forever".

Each "age" or stage is a new act in the play:

Infant is dependent.

Schoolboy is curious.

Lover is emotional.

Soldier is bold.

Justice is wise.

Old man is nostalgic.

Second childhood is the return to dependency.

Shakespeare’s tone is both tender and ironic, it’s the circle of life told with a wink.

He is reminding us of how fragile human life can be. What we think is permanent, like success, youth, authority, it is just one scene in a much bigger story.

When we encounter experiences that go beyond our rational understanding of the world, we need poetry.

Are you truly present in your own play?