Act: Two Scene: Seven
Character: Jaques
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.
Speech
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As You Like It Notes and Activities created by the RSC
Act: Two Scene: Seven
Character: Jaques
About the speech
This speech from As You Like It is known as the “Seven Ages of Man” and it is one of Shakespeare’s most famous
monologues. It is delivered by Jaques, a gloomy exiled lord living in the Forest of Ardennes. Jaques rarely takes part
in the action around him, preferring to observe rather than participate.
In this speech he examines the changes that occur over the course of a man’s life. He explains that during one
lifetime a man “plays many parts”, much like an actor or “player”. These specific parts make up the main bulk of this
speech. He describes seven different stages of a man’s life from early years to old age. There is a sadness to this
speech, as he uses words like “unwillingly”, “woeful” and “severe”. The last age of man ends on a similarly sad note
as he describes old age as “mere oblivion”.
How actors work
During rehearsals, directors and actors often investigate the background of the play and character they are bringing
to life. Shakespeare often highlights events happening in Elizabethan England through the language, characters and
plots of his plays. Understanding the context in which these plays were written will help you make interesting
choices about how to perform a particular speech. Actors also connect the character they are playing with their own
experiences and the world around them.
The character of Jaques is based upon the Elizabethan stock character of the melancholy fool. In the Elizabethan
era, melancholy, much like depression today, was treated as an illness. Find out how melancholy was described in
Elizabethan times. Can you use any of those descriptions when you approach the character of Jaques?
Performance Suggestions
Jaques has been portrayed on stage in many different ways. Actors have chosen to treat his melancholy as
pretence or as serious depression. Try playing this speech as if he is:
•
•
•
pretending to be deep and profound
very unhappy
self-importantly preaching
A common rehearsal room discussion is about who Jaques is directing this speech to. Deciding who he is talking to
will change the way the speech is delivered: we change the way we speak depending on who we are talking to. Try
saying this speech as if he is addressing:
•
•
•
the exiled lords around him
the audience directly
himself
Take a look at the language of the speech and try mixing these different choices to see which ones work best for
specific moments.
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