Write A Critical Summary Of The Poem "All The World's A Stage"� By William Shakespeare.

This poem is a master piece of Shakespeare's keen observation and fine poetry. He is regarded the world's greatest dramatist and poet. In this poem Shakespeare has masterfully described various stages of human life. He compares the world with a big stage and all human beings with actors playing their allotted roles.

Man first appears on this stage as an infant crying and vomiting in the nurse's arms. Then he is seen as a school boy with a shining morning face walking slowly and unwillingly to school. Soon he grows into a young man burning with the passion of love and singing in praise of his beloved. Fourth stage is that of an ambitious soldier who is ready to undertake any adventure in order to gain honour and fame.

In the next stage he plays his part as a wise and serene justice. Sixth stage finds him as an old man with spectacles on the nose and a big in his hand. His size shrinks and his manly voice turns into thin childish voice. His last stage is very miserable as he loses almost all his scenes and joys of life.  

The poem draws a sad and pessimistic picture of human life. The underlying meaning is that of temporariness and changing phases of life that pass rather too quickly. The language is simple and imagery is fascinating.

This speech is from As You Like It, originally stolen by Shakespeare from Thomas Lodge, a contemporary during his early years in London. Lodge brought the idea back from Italy, calling it Rosalind. In Shakespeare's play, the heroine is, Rosalind. The speech is spoken by the melancholy Jaques. Duke Senior, his companion, is ever optimistic, Jaques, the eternal opposite.