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 THE SEVEN AGES
All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players,
They have their exits and 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.
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 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 lin'd,
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 sav'd, 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 eventful history,
Is second childishness and mere oblivion,
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.
 SUMMARY
The Seven Ages of Man is taken from William
Shakespeares famous play, As You Like It (Act-II,
Scene-VII), describes the seven phases in a mans
life-from childhood to old age. The world is but a
global stage and all men and women presented
here are mere puppets in the hands of destiny.
Just like the infrastructures of a stage, the world
has its own entrances and exits. Every man in his
full lifetime has many parts to play. His total
number of acts in his lifetime is the seven ages.
Stages in the poem
Infancy
School Boy
Lover
Soldier
Adult Hood(Justice)
Middle Age
Old Age
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 The first and foremost act of every human being is the
stage of infancy, where he makes his presence felt by
crying at the top of his voice and many a times vomiting
any food or drink that is repulsive, at the nursing arms of
his mother. This period normally last till four years of age.
Infanc
y In
this
stage
he is a
helple
ss
baby
and
knows
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The second stage is the whining schoolboy where he
learns to utter a plaintive, high-pitched, protracted sound,
as in pain, fear, supplication, or complaint. His shiny
morning face and his satchel; a small bag, sometimes with
a shoulder strap; he creeps like a snail and not willing to
go to school.
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The third stage is his early youth, the peak of love and
high romance. He sighs like a burning furnace and
sings the sad ballads of romance; full of woe; affected
with, characterized by, or indicating woe: woeful
melodies; to impress his lovers heart. The impression
of her reply can be seen in her eyebrows.
The lover: In this Stage he is always remorseful
due to some reason or other, especially the loss
of love. He tries to express feelings through
song or some other cultural activity.

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 The fourth stage is that of a soldier where life if
full of obligations, commitments, compliances,
oaths and vows. His beard is like a leopard or
panther. He endlessly fights for his honor, a full
presence of mind which is sudden and quick in
quarrel and a heart to maintain a dignified
reputation.

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The fifth stage is the adult-hood where a man tries to live a fair
and justified life. His belly becomes bigger than normal. He is
conscious about his diet and consumes a good intake of
capon; a cockerel castrated to improve the flesh for use as
food. His eyes are severe with seriousness and his beard is
leveled to a formal cut. He is to take a lot of correct decisions to
keep up with the ever changing times. So this stage is the most
powerful stage in life.

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The sixth stage is the middle-age. Here is where he
prepares himself for the next level in life i.e. old age. He
learns to relax from the hustles of life. His strength begins
to weaken and spends more time within the roof of his
house. He looks like a buffoon and an old fool in his
rugged old slippers. He hangs his spectacles on his nose
for reading and all his youthful hose; a flexible tube for
conveying a liquid, as water, to a desired point; saved for
the world too wide. His shank begins to shrink with time;
the part of the lower limb in humans between the knee and
the ankle; leg. Even his voice begins to descend to a lower
tone. In his free time, he smokes his pipe and whistles his
matured melodies.
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The last stage is the old-age where he
enters his second childhood. It is also the
beginning of the end of his eventful
history. It is also the stage of oblivion; the
state of being completely forgotten or
unknown; the state of forgetting or of
being oblivious; official disregard or
overlooking of offenses; He is without
everything; without teeth, eyes and taste.
SABA ALKHUFASH

a n k Yo u
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