How are the seven ages of man described by the persona of shakespeare?

Answer 1

stage

Answer 2

The seven ages of man are not described by "the persona of Shakespeare", but rather by Jaques, a character in Shakespeare's play As You Like It. Jaques was what was then called a "humourous man" which did not mean that he was funny but rather that he had certain persistent personality traits. In Jaques's case, he was perennially depressed, cynical and pessimistic. There is no reason to think that Jaques might have been a Shakespearean self-portrait; indeed, Shakespeare was so reticient about himself that it is highly unlikely that he would ever create a character which was a self-portrait.

Here is Jaques's take on why nobody is any better off than anyone else; this is how he describes the seven ages of man:

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. At first the infant,

Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms.

And then the whining school-boy, 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 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. 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 slipper'd 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. Last scene of all,

That ends this strange eventful history,

Is second childishness and mere oblivion,

Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.

Answer 3

OK, first off: it's not a poem. It's a speech made by a morose and grumpy guy in a play called As You Like It.

Next: There are not specific ages for the various stages. They are vignettes, intended to illuminate stages in life: babyhood, childhood, adolescence, young adulthood, middle age, old age and senility. These stages do not happen at the same time to all people. Is a forty-year old a soldier or a justice? When he reaches sixty is he still a justice or is he a lean and slippered pantaloon already? It depends on the individual.

Answer 4

Shakespeare's persona describes the seven ages of man in "As You Like It" as a progression from infancy to old age, with each age characterized by certain traits and experiences. The persona suggests that life is like a play, with each person playing seven different roles as they mature and grow older.