The Seven Stages Of Man Analysis Fina

Literary analysis: the Seven Stages of Man The Seven Ages of Man by William Shakespeare is a poem filled with the elements of poetry. The poem’s four elements of poetry are form, sound, imagery and figurative language. This poem is about the seven stages of a man’s life and the changes he endures through the stages. William Shakespeare is not only the author but he also is the speaker of the poem. The Seven Ages of Man is a poem that has good form. The poem has stanzas but they are not spilt to where you can see them. The way you can tell that it flows into new stanza is when Shakespeare changes his idea into a new stage that the man goes through. The poem consists of 28 lines; seven are enjambed and 18 are end-stopped. The Seven Ages of Man has lines that are both long and short. It consists of mostly the same length lines throughout the poem though. The lines affect my understanding by making it easier to read. The consistency of end-stopped lines tell you that you can pause and then go on to read a new idea/phrase.
Enjambed: “And shining morning face, creeping like snail”
End-stopped: “Full of vise saws and modern instances;”

Throughout this poem there is no rhyme scheme. The rhythm is written in an iambic pentameter (10 beats in a line). There are many devices of sound in this poem; alliteration, assonance and others. Examples of alliteration are “quick in quarrel; plays his part; a world too wide; shrunk shrank”. Examples of assonance are “their exits and their entrances; mewling and puking; eyes severe and beard”. These devices contribute to the poems effect by adding pattern and texture to the poem.

In this poem the author uses imagery to a great extent. Shakespeare uses imagery to describe every seven ages of man. “Mewling and puking in the nurses arms” shows perfect traits of imagery, sight, sound and smell. “And then the whining school-boy, with his satchel” this is another sight and sound trait of imagery. “And then the lover,.. sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad” shows a trait of imagery, sound. “Then a soldier,… full of strange oaths and bearded like a pard” shows an image so this will be sight. “In fair round belly with good capon lined” is the trait sight. “For his shrunk shank; and his big manly voice” this shows the traits sight and sound. “Is second childishness and mere oblivion” this shows sight. William clearly shows and describes an image for every age of man. His use of imagery leads to the understanding of this poem because he created it like a movie. You read the words and see exactly the picture he tried to portray.

In The Seven Ages of Man he uses a lot of figurative language. “creeping like snail unwillingly to school; sighing like furnace; bearded like pard” these are all examples of similes he uses throughout this poem. “World’s a stage; men and women merely players” is an example of how he uses metaphors in his poem. “The sixth age shifts Into the lean and slipper’d pantaloon” this is how William showed personification in his poem. Shakespeare’s use of figurative language helps make the poem effective by using “abstract” ideas and bringing them into writing. Him comparing details in his poem to things outside the box makes the poem more interesting and intriguing to read. It draws you in more so that you want to keep reading.

Throughout this poem Shakespeare expresses the four elements of poetry; form, sound, imagery and figurative language. He also portrays the theme that life passes before us too quickly. He shows this by going through the seven ages of a man. Notice how he describes them short and quickly. Although it takes many years for man to go through the seven stages it shows that in the end it feels like your life has just started. William Shakespeare does an amazing job delivering this poem in every aspect. There is no wonder why this is a famous classic.