hello here my new ppt. on the seven ages by William Shakespeare hope u like it plz like comment and share this ppt.

3. I would like to express my special thanks of gratitude to my
teacher “ Inderpaal Ma’am ” who gave me golden opportunity
to make this wonderful presentation on the poem “ The Seven
Ages by William Shakespeare ” which also helped me in doing
a lot of research and I came to know so many new things and
am really thankful to my teacher and my parent who helped me
a lot in finishing this presentation.

5. William Shakespeare (1564-1616) was born in Stratford -
Upon- Avon . He is considered by many to be the greatest
dramatist of all the time. He wrote 154 sonnets, two long
narrative poems and about three dozen plays. Shakespeare
used poetic and dramatic means to create unified aesthetic
effects. In verse he perfected the dramatic blank verse.

6. The poem “The Seven Ages”, which is actually an extract
from Shakespeare’s delightful comedy “As You Like It”. This
master piece of poetry is a moral commentary on life written in an
exceptionally exclusive style which is the attribute of Shakespeare.
The poem contains an amusing and classical description on human
nature and behavior which reflects Shakespeare’s deep awareness of
human psychology. The poet makes a comparison between world &
stage. He says that world is like a stage, life is like acting & men
and women are like actors. He classifies man’s life into seven
different ages.

8. All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits and their entrances;
The poet compares this world to a stage where men and women as
actors and actresses perform the drama of human life. The birth
and death of human beings is similar to the entrance and exit of
characters of stage.

9. 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.
The first is the stage of infancy, where a man makes his presence
felt by crying at the top of his voice and many a times vomiting
any food or drink in the nursing arms of his mother. In this
stage he is dependent on others and needs to be constantly
attended to.

10. And then the whining school-boy, with his satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school.
It is in this second stage that he begins to go to school. He is reluctant to
leave the protected environment of his home so he cries, whimpers and
moans. His plaintive cry voices his complaint. His has a clean, bright face
in the morning and carries his school bag and walks slowly (like a snail)
and unwillingly to school.

11. And then the lover,
Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad
Made to his mistress' eyebrow.
The third stage is of a youth, love and romance blossoms. He tries to
express his feelings through a song or a poem dedicated to the women
he loves. His strong feelings make him sigh like a burning furnace
and he sings sad songs full of woe to impress his lover or because of
unrequited (unreturned) love.

12. 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.
The fourth stage is that of a soldier where life is full of
obligations,commitments,pledges, and vows. He looks formidable and stern like
a leopard with his beard. He is very easily aroused and is hot headed. He works
toward making a reputation for himself and desires recognition, even at the
cost of his own life. He fights for his honour, picks quarrels to maintain a
dignified reputation. Reputation is compared to a fragile (easily broken) bubble,
it is difficult to maintain.

13. 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 fifth stage is adult-hood where man tries to live a fair and just life. In this
stage he has acquired wisdom through the many experiences he has had in life.
He has reached a stage where he has gained prosperity (indicated by his round
stomach) and social status. He becomes very conscious of his looks and begins to
enjoy the finer things of life. His eyes are serious and sober and his beard is
formal, he looks dignified. He is progressive man with a modern outlook who
utters words of wisdom and wise sayings.

14. 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.
In this stage of life he is a thin and weak old man and spends more time in his house.
He becomes skinny and wears spectacles. His wrinkled skin hangs loosely. He is made
fun of being a funny old man. He becomes the butt of others’s jokes. His clothes hang
loosely around him and his once manly voice turns into a high pitched, childish one.
He begins to lose his charms – both physical and mental. He loses his firmness and
assertiveness, and shrinks in stature (importance) and personality.

15. Last scene of all,
That ends this strange eventful history,
Is second childishness and mere oblivion,
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.
In the last stage a man enters his second childhood. It is also beginning of the
end of his eventful life. It is also the stage of oblivion; the stage of being
completely forgotten; the stage of forgetting or of being oblivious of
everything; man enters the last act where he experiences his second childhood as
he becomes dependent on people once more and needs constant support. He is
overcome by senility and forgetfulness as he loses his faculties of sight, hearing,
smell and taste, slowly and ultimately dies. He loses his status and he becomes
a non- entity (insignificant person).

16.  Similes: figures of speech that compares two unlike things, using the
words like or as . e.g. :-
 creeping like snail
 sighing like furnace
 Alliteration: the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of
words. e.g. :-
 a world too wide
 for his shrunk shank
 Metaphor: figures of speech that compares two unlike things,
without using the words like or as . e.g. :-
 bubble reputation
 All the world’s a stage