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Shakespeare is well known for his mastery of the English language. In fact, many of his characters speeches have been singled out and stand out as memorable works on their own. One such speech is from Shakespeare's As You Like It. This is the well known All the worlds a stage speech. + Act II, Scene VII, Lines 149 - 175 All the worlds 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 stages.
At first, the infant, Mewing and puking in the nurses arms. Then the whining schoolboy, with his satchel And shining morning face, creeping like snail Unwillingly to school. And then the lover, Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad Made to his mistress eyebrow. Then the soldier, Full of strange oaths and bearded like the pard, Jealous in honor, sudden and quick in quarrel. Seeking the bubble reputation Even in the cannons mouth. And then the justice, In fair round belly with good capon lined, With eyes severe and beard of formal cut, Full of wise saws and modern instances; And so he plays his part.
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 towards childish treble, pipes And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all, That ends this strange and eventful history, Is second childishness and mere oblivion, Sans teeth, sans taste, sans everything. Despite Jacques cynicism, Shakespeare manages to be quite deep in this excerpt. Shakespeare gives genuine insights into how lives are lived that cause one to take a ponderous look at himself.
With his typical generalized viewpoints, the reader is predisposed to ignore the message from Jacques. However once read, this passage demands to be read a second time regardless of how nonsensical Jacques other views are. Each stage of life, as presented by Jacques, fits well in the time period when this was written. All of the stages were typical at that time in history, and while perhaps some of them are no longer relevant, the basic principles behind them remain today.
The first three stages are straightforward and will more than likely remain for some time. The fourth stage, the soldier, is also present in todays society. While not everyone wants to be a soldier, they do have a desire to gain a good reputation at what they are doing. This leads into the fifth step, the judge. With their increased reputation, they then proceed to desire a management position to pass on their knowledge. This step is also very relevant to our time period.
Next, the sixth stage, deals with how as one gets older, the world begins to move faster than it used to. The final stage, depressing helplessness, is one that cannot be avoided in any time period. This lengthy philosophical statement has become one of the most celebrated speeches in the Shakespearean collection. Most scholarly people in the world recognize the line All the worlds a stage The speech is given character through Jacques cynicism, yet Shakespeare's meaning behind the words manages to shine through even Jacques dismal character.
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Research essay sample on Worlds A Stage Jacques Cynicism Time
