3. Date : 11/11/12
williamShakespeare (baptized 26 April 1564; died 23 April 1616)was an
English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English
language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist.He is often called England's national
poet and the "Bard of Avon".His surviving works, including some collaborations,
consist of about 38 plays,154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and several other
poems. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are
performed more often than those of any other playwright. Shakespeare was born and
raised in Stratford-upon-Avon. At the age of 18, he married Anne Hathaway, with
whom he had three children: Susanna, and twins Ham net and Judith. Between 1585
and 1592, he began a successful career in London as an actor, writer, and part owner
of a playing company called the Lord Chamberlain's Men, later known as the King's
Men. He appears to have retired to Stratford around 1613, where he died three years
later. Few records of Shakespeare's private life survive, and there has been
considerable speculation about such matters as his physical appearance, sexuality,
religious beliefs, and whether the works attributed to him were written by others.
4. This model of the seven stages of
life is an important conceptual tool
formulated by WIILIAM
SHAKESPEARE to clarify, and so
help others to similarly
understand, the spiritual
implications of all the individual
and collective expressions of
human experience and knowledge.
The following paragraphs will
provide a general introduction to
this unique model.
11/11/12
5. 1. Human life develops or evolves in seven stages.
2. The first three stages of human life are the stages of lower functional
(physical, emotional, and mental) adaptation to the universal Life-
Energy.
3. The fourth stage of human life is the stage of whole bodily surrender
and adaptation to the universal Life via Love-Communion (the
disposition of the heart or deep psyche of pure energy).
11/11/12
6. The fifth stage of human life is the stage of mysticism, or
evolutionary adaptation to the higher brain and mind.
The sixth stage of human life is the stage of ego-death, or
transcendence of mind, independent self, and primal fear.
The seventh stage of human life is the stage of bodily
Translation, or Transfiguration of the total body-mind and the
atomic soul in the Infinite Radiance of the Living God.
11/11/12
7. 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.11/11/12
8. 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.
11/11/12
9. The Seven Ages of Man’ is taken from William
Shakespeare’s famous play, ‘As You Like It’ (Act-
II, Scene-VII), describes the seven phases in a
man’s 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.
11/11/12
11. 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.
17. 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.
21. 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 lover’s heart. The impression
of her reply can be seen in her eyebrows.
23. 11/11/12
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.
25. 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.
11.11.12
26. 11/11/12
The soldier: It is in
this age that he
thinks less of
himself and begins
to think more of
others. He is very
easily aroused and
is hot headed. He is
always working
towards making a
reputation for
himself and
gaining
recognition,
however short-
lived it may be,
even at the cost of
his own life.
28. 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.
11/11/12
33. 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.
11/11/12
36. 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.
11/11/12