CBSE solutions for Class 9 English Course Communicative: Literature Reader chapter 2 - The Seven Ages [Latest edition]

What according to you are the stages of a person's life? What characteristics
would you associate with each stage? (e.g., childhood: innocence, joy

Listen to this extract from Shakespeare's play As You Like It. As you listen, read
the poem aloud; you can do this more than once.

All the world's 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,

 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 lined,
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 slippered 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. Last scene of all,
That ends this strange eventful history,
Is second childishness and mere oblivion,
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.

About the Poet
William Shakespeare (1564-1616) was born in Stratford-upon-Avon. He is
considered by many to be the greatest dramatist of all 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.

On the basis of your understanding of the poem, answer the following question
by ticking the correct choice.

All the world's a stage is an extended metaphor for________.

On the basis of your understanding of the poem, answer the following question
by ticking the correct choice.

All 'have their exits and their entrances'. Exits and entrances refer to __________.

On the basis of your understanding of the poem, answer the following question
by ticking the correct choice.

The seven roles that a man plays correspond to his __

Work individually, and rank the seven stages in order of attractiveness. If you
think being a schoolboy is most attractive stage, you could rank it number 1.
Then, work in groups of four and compare your individual rankings.

Explain the meaning of the following.
a) ... all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits and their entrances...
b) And then the lover,
Sighing like furnace...
c) a soldier,
... Seeking the bubble reputation
Even in the cannon's mouth.

You already know the two literary devices generally used by writers and poets for
comparison, i.e. metaphor and simile. e.g.
a) He was a lion in the battle, (metaphor)
b) He fought like a lion, (simile)
In (a) the writer talks of the soldier in terms of a lion. The comparison is implied. In (b) the
writer compares the soldier to a lion with the use of the word like, (as may also be used
for such comparisons.)

Read the poem again and note down the metaphors and similes. Complete the
following chart.

Which comparison(s) do you find most interesting? Why?

In this poem, life is being compared to a play. Just as in a play, a man acts many
parts, so also in life, a man plays many roles. Can you think of some other
comparison for life? (For example, life could be compared with the seasons in
nature, the days of the week, the lessons in a school day.) Select one of these
comparisons (or choose one of your own), and write about the similarities that
life has with it. (80-100 words)