NCERT Textbook - The Seven Ages | English Class 9 PDF Download

 Page 1


84
1. 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)
2. 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,
5 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,
10 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.
mewling: crying
puking: being sick, vomiting
satchel: a small bag, for carrying school books
woeful: very sad
oaths: solemn promises
pard: leopard (a symbol of fierceness in Shakespeare’s time)
P .4   The Seven Ages
                        by  William Shakespeare
POETRY
Unit
Page 2


84
1. 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)
2. 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,
5 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,
10 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.
mewling: crying
puking: being sick, vomiting
satchel: a small bag, for carrying school books
woeful: very sad
oaths: solemn promises
pard: leopard (a symbol of fierceness in Shakespeare’s time)
P .4   The Seven Ages
                        by  William Shakespeare
POETRY
Unit
85
15 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
20 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
25 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.
3. On the basis of your understanding of the poem, answer the following questions
by selecting the correct choice
(a) All the world’s a stage is an extended metaphor for ________.
(i) the life shown in well known plays.
(ii) seeing the well known plays.
cannon:  a big gun that fired cannon-balls made of iron
justice: judge
capon: a male chicken, very big and fat
saws: sayings
slippered : wearing slippers (indoor shoes)
pantaloon: a vicious old man wearing a loose fitting garment for hips and legs
pouch:  a soft fold of loose skin that hangs down, as a result of illness or old age
hose: tight-fitting leg coverings
shank: legs from the knee to the ankle; frame
treble: a high voice
oblivion: forgetting everything, and being forgotten by everybody
sans: (pronounced like sone) a French word meaning without
POETRY
Poetry
Page 3


84
1. 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)
2. 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,
5 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,
10 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.
mewling: crying
puking: being sick, vomiting
satchel: a small bag, for carrying school books
woeful: very sad
oaths: solemn promises
pard: leopard (a symbol of fierceness in Shakespeare’s time)
P .4   The Seven Ages
                        by  William Shakespeare
POETRY
Unit
85
15 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
20 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
25 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.
3. On the basis of your understanding of the poem, answer the following questions
by selecting the correct choice
(a) All the world’s a stage is an extended metaphor for ________.
(i) the life shown in well known plays.
(ii) seeing the well known plays.
cannon:  a big gun that fired cannon-balls made of iron
justice: judge
capon: a male chicken, very big and fat
saws: sayings
slippered : wearing slippers (indoor shoes)
pantaloon: a vicious old man wearing a loose fitting garment for hips and legs
pouch:  a soft fold of loose skin that hangs down, as a result of illness or old age
hose: tight-fitting leg coverings
shank: legs from the knee to the ankle; frame
treble: a high voice
oblivion: forgetting everything, and being forgotten by everybody
sans: (pronounced like sone) a French word meaning without
POETRY
Poetry
86
(iii) life of well known actors.
(iv) life of man that comes to an end.
(b) All ‘have their exits and their entrances’. Exits and entrances refer to  ________.
(i) birth and death
(ii) beginning and end of play
(iii) coming and going of actors
(iv) death and birth
(c) The seven roles that a man plays correspond to his
(i) chronological age in life
(ii) desires
(iii) mental development through life
(iv) idea of a perfect life
4. Having read this extract, identify the stages of a person’s life as Shakespeare
has done. Write down these stages in your note book, and sum up the
characteristics of each stage in two or three words. e.g.
Stage Characteristic feature
infancy crying
5. 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.
6. Read the given lines and answer the questions that follow by selecting the
correct option.
(a) 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.
1. And one man in his time plays many parts……
Replace the underlined word with the correct option which has the same meaning
as used in the given lines.
        A. scenes
        B. roles
        C. jobs.
        D. tasks.
Poetry
Page 4


84
1. 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)
2. 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,
5 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,
10 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.
mewling: crying
puking: being sick, vomiting
satchel: a small bag, for carrying school books
woeful: very sad
oaths: solemn promises
pard: leopard (a symbol of fierceness in Shakespeare’s time)
P .4   The Seven Ages
                        by  William Shakespeare
POETRY
Unit
85
15 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
20 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
25 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.
3. On the basis of your understanding of the poem, answer the following questions
by selecting the correct choice
(a) All the world’s a stage is an extended metaphor for ________.
(i) the life shown in well known plays.
(ii) seeing the well known plays.
cannon:  a big gun that fired cannon-balls made of iron
justice: judge
capon: a male chicken, very big and fat
saws: sayings
slippered : wearing slippers (indoor shoes)
pantaloon: a vicious old man wearing a loose fitting garment for hips and legs
pouch:  a soft fold of loose skin that hangs down, as a result of illness or old age
hose: tight-fitting leg coverings
shank: legs from the knee to the ankle; frame
treble: a high voice
oblivion: forgetting everything, and being forgotten by everybody
sans: (pronounced like sone) a French word meaning without
POETRY
Poetry
86
(iii) life of well known actors.
(iv) life of man that comes to an end.
(b) All ‘have their exits and their entrances’. Exits and entrances refer to  ________.
(i) birth and death
(ii) beginning and end of play
(iii) coming and going of actors
(iv) death and birth
(c) The seven roles that a man plays correspond to his
(i) chronological age in life
(ii) desires
(iii) mental development through life
(iv) idea of a perfect life
4. Having read this extract, identify the stages of a person’s life as Shakespeare
has done. Write down these stages in your note book, and sum up the
characteristics of each stage in two or three words. e.g.
Stage Characteristic feature
infancy crying
5. 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.
6. Read the given lines and answer the questions that follow by selecting the
correct option.
(a) 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.
1. And one man in his time plays many parts……
Replace the underlined word with the correct option which has the same meaning
as used in the given lines.
        A. scenes
        B. roles
        C. jobs.
        D. tasks.
Poetry
87
2. The word ‘merely’ reveals that the poet regards/views human life as ________.
A. impressive
B. inconsequential
C. magnificent
D. uninspiring
3. Pick the option that does not match with the poetic device used in the phrase
‘All the world’s a stage’.
A. A thing of beauty is a joy forever.
B. The lightning was fireworks in the sky.
C. Heavy is the heart that wears the crown.
D. The movie was a roller coaster ride of emotions.
(b) 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.
1. The tone of the poet in line ‘His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide/ For
his shrunk shank’ is largely
A. nostalgic
B. humorous
C. pessimistic
D. regretful
2. Select the option that displays the changes very old age witnesses.
i. Round belly
ii. Full of wisdom
iii. Loss of vigour
iv. Lean & bony
v Hoarse voice
A. i, iii, iv B. ii, iii, v
C. ii, iii, iv D. iii, iv, v
Poetry
Page 5


84
1. 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)
2. 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,
5 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,
10 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.
mewling: crying
puking: being sick, vomiting
satchel: a small bag, for carrying school books
woeful: very sad
oaths: solemn promises
pard: leopard (a symbol of fierceness in Shakespeare’s time)
P .4   The Seven Ages
                        by  William Shakespeare
POETRY
Unit
85
15 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
20 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
25 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.
3. On the basis of your understanding of the poem, answer the following questions
by selecting the correct choice
(a) All the world’s a stage is an extended metaphor for ________.
(i) the life shown in well known plays.
(ii) seeing the well known plays.
cannon:  a big gun that fired cannon-balls made of iron
justice: judge
capon: a male chicken, very big and fat
saws: sayings
slippered : wearing slippers (indoor shoes)
pantaloon: a vicious old man wearing a loose fitting garment for hips and legs
pouch:  a soft fold of loose skin that hangs down, as a result of illness or old age
hose: tight-fitting leg coverings
shank: legs from the knee to the ankle; frame
treble: a high voice
oblivion: forgetting everything, and being forgotten by everybody
sans: (pronounced like sone) a French word meaning without
POETRY
Poetry
86
(iii) life of well known actors.
(iv) life of man that comes to an end.
(b) All ‘have their exits and their entrances’. Exits and entrances refer to  ________.
(i) birth and death
(ii) beginning and end of play
(iii) coming and going of actors
(iv) death and birth
(c) The seven roles that a man plays correspond to his
(i) chronological age in life
(ii) desires
(iii) mental development through life
(iv) idea of a perfect life
4. Having read this extract, identify the stages of a person’s life as Shakespeare
has done. Write down these stages in your note book, and sum up the
characteristics of each stage in two or three words. e.g.
Stage Characteristic feature
infancy crying
5. 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.
6. Read the given lines and answer the questions that follow by selecting the
correct option.
(a) 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.
1. And one man in his time plays many parts……
Replace the underlined word with the correct option which has the same meaning
as used in the given lines.
        A. scenes
        B. roles
        C. jobs.
        D. tasks.
Poetry
87
2. The word ‘merely’ reveals that the poet regards/views human life as ________.
A. impressive
B. inconsequential
C. magnificent
D. uninspiring
3. Pick the option that does not match with the poetic device used in the phrase
‘All the world’s a stage’.
A. A thing of beauty is a joy forever.
B. The lightning was fireworks in the sky.
C. Heavy is the heart that wears the crown.
D. The movie was a roller coaster ride of emotions.
(b) 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.
1. The tone of the poet in line ‘His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide/ For
his shrunk shank’ is largely
A. nostalgic
B. humorous
C. pessimistic
D. regretful
2. Select the option that displays the changes very old age witnesses.
i. Round belly
ii. Full of wisdom
iii. Loss of vigour
iv. Lean & bony
v Hoarse voice
A. i, iii, iv B. ii, iii, v
C. ii, iii, iv D. iii, iv, v
Poetry
88
7. 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.
Reference Metaphor Simile
world all the world’s a stage
men, women
school-boy
lover
soldier
reputation
voice
Which comparison(s) do you find most interesting? Why?
8. 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)
9. Your teacher will select seven readers and seven “mimers,” one pair for each
of Shakespeare’s  seven ages. At the start of the reading, all seven “mimers”
stand in front of the class and the readers are at their desks. For each age, the
reader stands  up and reads,  while  the corresponding “mimer” mimes  what is
being read.
Poetry