Time
The passage of time is fundamental to mortal
existence. The speaker in ‘‘Seven Ages of Man’’
notes the continuum of time, as it is marked and
divided into periods of the human lifespan.
Shakespeare chose time as his subject in many
of his poems, for example, Sonnet 5, which
describes how the passage of time affects every-
thing. This sonnet describes how summer will
change to winter and the leaves of summer’s
trees will be gone. Although eventually summer’s
flowers will die, the memory of their beauty and
their sweet smell endures. However, in ‘‘Seven
Ages of Man,’’ memory does not salvage some-
thing from what time steals. In ‘‘Seven Ages of
Man,’’ mortality is time-bound and absolute.
Style
Blank Verse
Blank verse is unrhymed iambic pentameter.
It allows freedom from the artificiality and
TOPICS FOR
FURTHER
STUDY
Analyze a reproduction of William Mulready’s
eighteenth-century painting, ‘‘The Seven Ages
of Man.’’ Mulready’s work can be found online
and is included in some art books. Study the
painting carefully and then write an essay in
which you compare Mulready’s painting to
Shakespeare’s ‘‘Seven Ages of Man.’’ Explore
the differences and similarities between the
painting and the poem.
‘‘The Seven Ages of Woman,’’ by Agnes
Strickland, is a response to Shakespeare’s
‘‘Seven Ages of Man.’’ Find a copy of Strick-
land’s poem and write an essay in which you
compare her poem to Shakespeare’s. Dis-
cuss content, poetic style, and the choice by
Strickland to use rhyme in her poem.
Research the Globe Theatre, whereAs You
Like Itwould have been performed. Create a
PowerPoint presentation that includes dia-
grams of the theater, including the stage area
and seating for the audience. Be sure to
include information about costuming and
staging of plays.
The period during which Shakespeare wrote
his plays is called the Golden Age of Elizabe-
than drama. Early in his career, Shakespeare’s
most notable contemporary was Christopher
Marlowe. Later in Shakespeare’s career,
dramatists such as Ben Jonson and John
Webster were writing plays. Choose one of
these three Shakespearean contemporaries
and research his life and work and create
a poster presentation to share with your
classmates.
Patronage was an important means of sup-
port for poets of Shakespeare’s age. Research
patronage and write a paper on it, explaining
how patronage worked and discussing both
advantages and disadvantages to this method
of supporting the arts.
Read either ‘‘Childhood’’ or ‘‘How to Be
Old,’’ both of which are included in the
anthologyWho Do You Think You Are?
Poems about People (1990), edited by
David Woolger. Compare the poem you
chose to read with Shakespeare’s poem and
write a short paper in which you describe
your responses to these two poems.
Imagine that you will live for ninety years.
Write your own poem in which you describe
each age of your life. Link description and
action to each age, so that you are not only
describing how you will look but how you
will act and what you will be doing. Write a
short paper to accompany your poem in
which you discuss how you determined the
different ages you chose and how you
decided on the roles you anticipate playing.
Seven Ages of Man
