Question 1. Discuss with your partner the different stages in the growth of man from a newborn to an adult.

Answer: Human life unfolds in distinct stages, each marked by unique traits. As an infant, man is helpless, crying and vomiting in his mother’s arms, unable to express his needs. In the second stage, he becomes a reluctant schoolboy, trudging unwillingly to class, surrendering his freedom to learning. Youth follows, when he is hopelessly in love, wasting his vibrant energy writing letters and songs to praise his beloved. Adulthood brings responsibility—some dedicate themselves to serving the nation as soldiers or policemen. At the peak of maturity, men grow sensitive about honour, valuing it even above life itself. Each stage reflects a transformation in desires, duties, and outlook, shaping the journey from innocence to responsibility.

(a) What is the world compared to?

Answer: Shakespeare compares the world to a grand stage where every human plays a role.

(b) “And they have their exits and their entrances” – What do the words ‘exits’ and ‘entrances’ mean?

Answer: ‘Entrances’ symbolize birth, while ‘exits’ signify death.

(c) What is the first stage of a human’s life?

Answer: The first stage is infancy, where the helpless babe cries and vomits in the nurse’s arms.

(d) Describe the second stage of life as depicted by Shakespeare. The second stage is boyhood. The schoolboy trudges unwillingly to class, creeping like a snail, burdened with his satchel and a heavy heart.

(e) How does a man play a lover’s role?

Answer: As a lover, man sighs like a furnace and composes woeful ballads, yearning for the attention of his beloved.

(f) Bring out the features of the fourth stage of a man as described by the poet. In the fourth stage, man becomes a soldier—ambitious, aggressive, and quick tempered. Obsessed with honour, he swears strange oaths and risks his life for fleeting glory, even at the cannon’s mouth.

(g) When does a man become a judge?

Answer: How? In the fifth stage, man matures into a wise judge. With a round belly, severe eyes, and a formal beard, he delivers impartial opinions, quoting wise sayings and modern examples.

(h) Which stage of man’s life is associated with the ‘shrunk shank’?

Answer: The sixth stage is marked by frailty. Man’s legs grow thin and weak, making his youthful clothes hang loosely on his shrunk shank.

(i) Why is the last stage called second childhood?

Answer: The final stage is “second childhood.” Here, man loses his senses and depends on others for support. Helpless and childlike, he prepares for his quiet departure from the world.

(a) “They have their exits and their entrances; / And one man in his time plays many parts.”

Reference: These lines are taken from William Shakespeare’s poem “All the World’s a Stage” from the play As You Like It.

Context: The poet compares the world to a stage and human beings to actors. Just as actors enter and leave the stage, people are born and eventually die. Shakespeare introduces the idea that every person plays different roles throughout their lifetime.

Explanation: The phrase “entrances and exits” symbolizes birth and death. The poet emphasizes that life is transient, and each individual performs several roles during their journey from infancy to old age. Shakespeare divides human life into seven stages, each marked by distinct characteristics, thereby portraying life as a continuous drama.

(b) “Jealous in honour, sudden and quick in quarrel, / Seeking the bubble reputation.”

Reference: These lines are from William Shakespeare’s “All the World’s a Stage” in As You Like It.

Context: The poet describes the fourth stage of life, where man becomes a soldier. This stage is characterized by ambition, pride, and a desire for recognition, even at the risk of life.

Explanation: The soldier is portrayed as being highly sensitive about honour, quick to anger, and eager to defend his reputation. Shakespeare uses the metaphor “bubble reputation” to highlight the fragility and short-lived nature of fame. The soldier’s pursuit of glory, even at the mouth of a cannon, reflects the recklessness and vanity of youth, where honour is valued above life itself.

(c) “Is second childishness and mere oblivion; / Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.”

Reference: These lines are from William Shakespeare’s “All the World’s a Stage” in As You Like It.

Context: The poet describes the final stage of human life, which is marked by decline and helplessness. After passing through all the earlier stages, man returns to a condition similar to infancy.

Explanation: In this stage, man loses his physical strength and mental faculties. He becomes forgetful, toothless, blind, and tasteless, unable to perform basic functions independently. Shakespeare calls this stage “second childishness” because the old man behaves like a child, dependent on others for survival. The phrase “sans everything” conveys the complete loss of vitality, leading ultimately to death and oblivion.

(a) “His acts being seven ages. At first the infant, / Mewling and puking in the nurse’s arms;”

Reference: These lines are from the poem ‘All the World’s a Stage’ written by William Shakespeare.

Context: The poet says these words while describing the first of the seven stages of life on the stage (i.e.) earth.

Explanation: The first stage/Act is infancy. The babe vomits on the arms of the nurse and cries like a kitten. The infant is completely helpless and dependent on others for survival.

(b) “All the world’s a stage, / And all the men and women merely players;”

Reference: These lines are from the poem ‘All the World’s a Stage’ written by William Shakespeare.

Context: The poet says these words while philosophizing and classifying the stages of life.

Explanation: The poet compares the world to a stage. All men and women are simply actors playing different roles on the different stages of life. This extended metaphor sets the tone for the entire poem.

(c) “Then the whining school-boy, with his satchel / And shining morning face, creeping like snail”

Reference: These lines are from the poem ‘All the World’s a Stage’ written by William Shakespeare.

Context: The poet says these words while describing the second stage of life.

Explanation: During boyhood, the school boy goes to school reluctantly at a snail’s pace with a heavy heart. In ‘Romeo and Juliet’, Shakespeare compares a school boy going to school like a lover going away from his lady love with a heavy heart. The “shining morning face” suggests the innocence and youthfulness of the child.

(d) “Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad / Made to his mistress’ eyebrow.”

Reference: These lines are from the poem ‘All the World’s a Stage’ written by William Shakespeare.

Context: The poet says these words while describing the third stage of life when he becomes a lover.

Explanation: At this stage, he yearns for the attention of his lady love. He composes ballads expressing his agony caused by unrequited love. He sings songs praising the beauty of his mistress trying to win her heart. The simile “sighing like furnace” emphasizes the intensity of his passionate emotions.

(e) “Seeking the bubble reputation / Even in the cannon’s mouth.”

Reference: These lines are from the poem ‘All the World’s a Stage’ written by William Shakespeare.

Context: The poet says these words while describing the fourth stage of life.

Explanation: In this stage, a young man becomes a soldier. He is quick to anger and attaches great importance to honour. He is ready to lay down his life for the fleeting bubble of reputation. The metaphor “bubble reputation” suggests that glory is short-lived and transitory, like a bubble that bursts quickly.

(f) “…And then the justice, / In fair round belly with good capon lin’d, / With eyes severe and beard of formal cut, / Full of wise saws and modern instances;”

Reference: These lines are from the poem ‘All the World’s a Stage’ written by William Shakespeare.

Context: The poet says these words while describing the fifth stage of life.

Explanation: At this stage, he behaves like a judge pronouncing his decisive opinions with modern instances. He quotes wise maxims from his own life experiences to influence other people. He is fond of eating delicacies unmindful of the protruding belly size. His “severe eyes” and “formal beard” indicate his authority and maturity.

(g) “And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts / Into the lean and slipper’d pantaloon,”

Reference: These lines are from the poem ‘All the World’s a Stage’ written by William Shakespeare.

Context: The poet says these words while describing the impact of ageing on physical appearance.

Explanation: In the sixth stage, he becomes old, thin, and unsteady. The word “pantaloon” refers to an old man wearing loose trousers and slippers. His physical decline is evident as he loses his youthful strength and agility.

(h) “His youthful hose, well sav’d, a world too wide / For his shrunk shank; and his big manly voice,”

Reference: These lines are from the poem ‘All the World’s a Stage’ written by William Shakespeare.

Context: The poet says these words to describe the unsuitability of one’s own dress as one advances in years.

Explanation: As the young man turns old, his legs become thin and his trousers become very loose. His manly voice has become feeble. When he speaks, it sounds like a child piping up his dreams. The phrase “a world too wide” humorously highlights how the old man’s clothes no longer fit his shrunk body.

(i) “…Last scene of all, / That ends this strange eventful history,”

Reference: These lines are from the poem ‘All the World’s a Stage’ written by William Shakespeare.

Context: The poet says these words while describing the preparedness of the old man in the last stage of life to exit from this lonely planet.

Explanation: The poet beautifully says the “eventful history” (i.e.) life which was spiced up with many interesting things is now coming to a dramatic close. The old man loses all his senses and becomes like a child again, ready to depart from the world. This final stage is called “second childishness and mere oblivion.”

(a) “and all the men and women merely players”

Answer: and all the men and women merely players

(b) “And one man in his time plays many parts”

Answer: man in his time plays many parts

(c) “Jealous in honour, sudden and quick in quarrel”

Answer: Jealous in honour, sudden and quick in quarrel

(a) “Then the whining school-boy, with his satchel / And shining morning face, creeping like snail / Unwillingly to school”

(i) Which stage of life is being referred to here by the poet?

(ii) What are the characteristics of this stage?

(iii) How does the boy go to school?

(iv) Which figure of speech has been employed in the second line?

(b) “Then a soldier, / Full of strange oaths, and bearded like the pard, / Jealous in honour, sudden and quick in quarrel, / Seeking the bubble reputation / Even in the cannon’s mouth.”

(i) What is the soldier ready to do?

(ii) Explain ‘bubble reputation’.

(iii) What are the distinguishing features of this stage?

(c) “And then the justice, / In fair round belly with good capon lin’d, / With eyes severe and beard of formal cut, / Full of wise saws and modern instances;”

(i) Whom does justice refer to?

(ii) Describe his appearance.

(iii) How does he behave with the people around him?

(iv) What does he do to show his wisdom?

(a) “All the world’s a stage / And all the men and women merely players: / They have their exits and their entrances; / And one man in his time plays many parts, / His acts being seven ages.”

(i) What are all the men and women of this world?

(ii) Explain: ‘They have their exits and their entrances’.

(iii) How many parts does every man enact and play?

(iv) Why is this world compared to a stage?

(b) “At first the infant, / Mewling and puking in the nurse’s arms. / Then the whining schoolboy, with his satchel / And shining morning face, creeping like snail / Unwillingly to school.”

(i) What does man do in the first stage of life?

(ii) Does the schoolboy show eagerness to go to school?

(iii) How does the schoolboy walk up to his school?

(iv) Explain, ‘Mewling and puking’.

(c) “And then the lover, / Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad / Made to his mistress’ eyebrow.”

(i) What is the third stage of life?

(ii) What is the poetic device used in the second line?

(iii) What does the lover do for his mistress?

(iv) Explain, ‘sighing like furnace’.

(d) “Then a soldier, / Full of strange oaths, and bearded like the pard, / Jealous in honour, sudden and quick in quarrel, / Seeking the bubble reputation / Even in the cannon’s mouth.”

(i) Describe the two traits of a soldier.

(ii) What is the poetic device used in: ‘bearded like a pard’?

(iii) Why does the soldier risk his life and what for?

(iv) How is the soldier bearded?

(e) “The sixth age shifts / Into the lean and slippered pantaloon, / With spectacles on nose and pouch on side, / His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide / For his shrunk shank; and his big manly voice, / Turning again toward childish treble, pipes / And whistles in his sound.”

(i) What is a ‘lean and slippered pantaloon’?

(ii) What does the phrase ‘a world too wide’ here mean?

(iii) How does the ‘manly voice’ turn into ‘childish’ in the sixth stage of life?

(iv) What is the sixth stage of man’s life?

(f) “Last scene of all, / That ends this strange eventful history, / Is second childishness and mere oblivion, / Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.”

(i) What is the last scene of man’s life?

(ii) Why is the last stage of man called a ‘second childishness’?

(iii) How is the last stage of man’s life a ‘mere oblivion’?

(iv) Explain ‘eventful history’.

(a) Describe the various stages of a man’s life picturised in the poem “All the World’s a Stage.”

(b) Shakespeare has skillfully brought out the parallels between the life of man and actors on stage. Elaborate this statement with reference to the poem.

Improved Response: At the school age, imagination takes flight and curiosity shapes our minds. While parents and teachers emphasize study as our primary duty, we also feel the need to explore the wider world around us. At home, it is our responsibility to keep our belongings in order and to contribute to household harmony. Assisting our mothers in daily chores teaches us discipline and gratitude. Caring for younger siblings is not merely a task but a duty of love, as they remain lifelong companions. At this stage, we must balance learning, responsibility, and exploration, preparing ourselves for the greater roles we will play in the drama of life.

1. Infant: A helpless baby who cries and vomits in the nurse’s arms.

2. Schoolboy: A whining child who goes to school unwillingly, creeping like a snail.

3. Lover: A young man who sighs like a furnace and writes woeful ballads for his beloved.

4. Soldier: An aggressive and ambitious young man who seeks honour and reputation, even risking his life.

5. Justice: A mature and wise man with a round belly, severe eyes, and a formal beard, full of wise sayings.

6. Pantaloon: An old man, thin and weak, with spectacles on his nose and a pouch at his side. His manly voice turns into a childish treble.

7. Second Childishness: The final stage where man loses all his senses—teeth, eyes, taste, and everything. He becomes like a child again and departs from the world.