Explanation on “The Seven Ages” from As You Like It

All the word is 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.

This extract from “The Seven Ages”, a brief part of the play “As You Like It” by William Shakespeare has become a famous saying over the years. It is a piece of the great philosophy propounded by Shakespeare who is popularly known as the ‘Bard of Avon’. As per the ‘insightful view’ of Shakespeare, the world is a stage where all men and women perform under the instructions of the Fate. They are mere puppets in the hand of their destiny that is responsible for distributing joy and sorrow to them. Our birth on earth is like an actor’s entrance on the stage, and our death is like the actor’s exit or departure from the stage. During the time between our birth and death, or between our entrance and exit, we play many different roles and perform our duties. This period is divided into seven different phases of human life. Like actors on stage, we laugh and cry, live some moments of joy as well as some moments of sorrow, and then bid adieu to the world.