Poetry for Students, Volume 35

(Ben Green) #1

people to London, making it the largest city in
Europe. Widespread urban disorder developed
with a capitalistic economy that replaced the feu-
dal agrarian social order. Political intrigue and
spying were commonplace and are often enacted
in Shakespeare’s plays. Crop failures, the threat of
war abroad, and harsh religious strife had shaken
English society by the time Elizabeth I assumed
the throne in 1558. Although crop failures and
war continued, the reign of Elizabeth I brought
relative stability and an end to religious persecu-
tions. However, the queen’s failure to name a
successor created discontent and the threat of
civil war, even before her death in 1603. Initially,
the reign of her successor James I was greeted with
enthusiasm, but religious, class, and political divi-
sions intensified. In spite of this turmoil, or per-
haps because of it, the most important dramas in
western civilization were produced during this
period. Dramatists grappled with new ideas
about science and philosophy, religion and poli-
tics. In addition, there was also a new emphasis on
individual thought, action, and responsibility.


Numerology
The significance of the number seven used in
the ‘‘Seven Ages of Man’’ is determined by
astrology and the seven planets. Seven was con-
sidered an especially meaningful number during
Shakespeare’s time. There are seven virtues
(faith, hope, charity, fortitude, justice, pru-
dence, and temperance) and seven vices (pride,
avarice, envy, wrath, lust, gluttony, and sloth).
There are also seven liberal arts (grammar, rhet-
oric, logic, arithmetic, geometry, music, and
astronomy). The seven planets are the seven
planets as named by the ancients. These include
heavenly bodies not included in a modern list of
planets in the solar system and do not include
Earth. The ancient planets are: Mercury,
Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, the Moon, and
the Sun. When this astrology is applied to
‘‘Seven Ages of Man,’’ the infant is associated
with the Moon, and the student with Mercury,
which rules students. The lover is Venus, the
goddess of love, and as might be expected,
the soldier is Mars, the god of war. However,
the Sun, which should be in the fourth position
since it signals the solar age when man is at his
zenith, has been displaced by Mars. The justice
is Jupiter, whereas the old man is Saturn, con-
sidered the symbol of impending senility. As the
old man becomes a child again, he is again
represented by the Moon.


Critical Overview.


Each year hundreds—perhaps thousands—of
performances of Shakespeare’s plays occur. In
England, the Royal Shakespeare Company stages
many plays each summer in London and in
Stratford-upon-Avon. The rebuilt Globe Theatre
in London is the site for a season of Shakespearean
plays. Many cities in Great Britain hold their own
Shakespeare festivals, aswell. There are Shake-
speare festivals each summer in almost every
state in the United States, including such well
known ones as the Oregon Shakespeare Festival
in Ashland and the Shenandoah Shakespeare Fes-
tival in Virginia. Shakespeare in the Park festivals
are common in New York City and San Francisco,
as well as in other cities. Canada also holds several
Shakespeare festivals, including The Bard on the
Beach Festival in Vancouver, British Columbia,
and the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Strat-
ford, Ontario. In fact, an exhaustive search would
likely reveal that there are Shakespeare festivals
every summer in many, and perhaps most, of the
major cities in the western world. Presented in
various languages, Shakespeare’s plays have wide
appeal. His plays reveal timeless truths about the
human psyche and the human condition, with
plots that are as relevant in the twenty-first century
as they were in the sixteenth century.
In 2009, there were two different produc-
tions ofAs You Like Itin Stratford-upon-Avon
and in London. The Royal Shakespeare Com-
pany’s staging at Stratford-upon-Avon was
described in reviews as a very dark rendering of
the comedy that even includes the beheading and
skinning of a dead rabbit on stage, much to the
audience’s horror. No longer pastoral, this pro-
duction emphasized the political realities of
Shakespeare’s world. In his review ofAs You
Like Itfor the Guardian, Michael Billington
mentioned that Michael Boyd’s production
‘‘reflects the work’s sombre historical context’’
of 1599, with its facts of land enclosures, court
intrigue, and rural homelessness. Billington also
noted the strengths of the actors and that the
play forgoes the usual lightheartedness of Shake-
spearean comedy. In his review of this same
production for theTelegraph, Charles Spencer
pointed out the dark elements of this produc-
tion, with even the forest transformed into ‘‘a
cold and wintry place,’’ entirely lacking in the
balmy green comfort of a pastoral comedy. As
Billington did in his review, Spencer also com-
mented on the strength of the performances and

Seven Ages of Man
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