TABLE OF CONTENTS ACT ONE ENTRANCES At first the infant ACT TWO CHILDHOOD Then the whining school-boy ACT THREE LOVE And then the lover ACT FOUR WAR Then a soldier 6 10 14 18 ACT FIVE ACT SIX ADULTHOOD And then the justice AGED whistles in his sound ACT SEVEN EXITS Last scene INDEX 22 28 34 40 4
INTRODUCTION Between 1599 and l600 when he was thirty-five years old William Shakespeare wrote In Act II Scene 7 set in the Forest of Arden a courtier named Jaques gives the famed Seven Ages of Man monologue twenty-eight lines likening the entire existence of human beings to theatrical roles reflects these seven ages showcasing poetry as diverse as the life stages through which we live and pass Whether it be sage advice from Lewis Carroll’s nineteenth-century character Father William or the heartfelt sentiment expressed in Cynthia Cotten’s twenty-first century Years we witness poetry that fuels emotions elicits sighs and reveals our fears and joys as we journey through life All the world is indeed a stage We as merely players must take our time for and with each age exploring searching reaching and sharing newly discovered visions with others as these poets aptly do 5
