The Seven Ages

of Man

William Shakespeare
Where do you see yourself in 5
years? In 10 years? In 20 years?
In 50 years?
William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
•An English poet and
playwright – Shakespeare
is widely considered to be
the greatest writer in the
English language. He
wrote 38 plays and 154
sonnets.
Poem’s Background
“The Seven Ages of Man” is an excerpt
from Shakespeare’s play, ‘As You Like It.’ The
poem begins with a phrase, ‘All the world’s a
stage’ which is very famous all over the
world. In this poem, Shakespeare compares
life to a stage and has divided life into seven
stages each having its own varied qualities
and features.
VOCABULARY
WORDS
WORD MEANINGS
- an old name for men’s loose pants
- crying or whimpering
- complete forgetfulness
- sad or sentimental
- tones of high frequency
 Vocabulary Words
• Mewling – crying or whimpering
• Woeful ballad – a sad, sentimental song
• Pard – a leopard or a panther
• Bubble reputation – a reputation that disintegrates as quickly as a bubbly
• Capon – a castrated rooster fattened for eating
• Saws – old sayings; commonly repeated phrase
• Pantaloons - an old name for men’s loose pants/Shakespeare means a
foolish old man/ an old term for a lady’s underwear
• Youthful hose – tight fitted wooly trousers that small boys would wear
• Treble – tones of high frequency
• Oblivion – complete forgetfulness
• Sans – without (French word for without)
Guide Questions:
1. What do babies do?
2. What do school-age children
experience?
3. What are the characteristics of a lover?
4. What do “wise” adults do?
5. What happens when we get old?
Group Activity:
Directions: Identify the figures of speech, literary
techniques and literary devices in the poem using the
chart below.
Figures of Speech/
Literary Techniques/
Lines/ Phrases from the Poem
Literary Devices
Presentation of
Outputs
Seatwork
TRUE OR FALSE (1-5)
1. Shakespeare uses exits to stand for
death and entrances to stand for
birth.
2. Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste
and sans everything is an example
of repetition.
3. An example of rhyme scheme includes
the following lines: plays many parts,
satchel and shining, and quick in quarrel.
4. The line, “All the world’s a stage” is an
example of metaphor.
5. The lover sighing like a furnace is a
simile.
MULTIPLE CHOICE (6-10)
6. The persona states that people are only ____.
A.Actors in a play c. soldiers
B.Human beings d. foolish children
7. Which age comes after the soldier age?
A.Infant c. lover
B.School-boy d. justice
8. According to the poem, a person in the last age
is____.
A.Shrunken c. brave
B.Childlike d. wise
9. The persona says that the lover ________.
A.Makes up sentimental songs
B.Overcomes with jealousy
C.Believes in old sayings
D.Makes strange promises
10. What does “sans everything”
probably mean in the poem?
A.Crushing poverty
B.Complete darkness
C.Imminent death
D.Horrible disease
Answer Key:
1.TRUE 6. A
2.TRUE 7. D
3.FALSE 8. B
4.TRUE 9. A
5.TRUE 10. C