Original artwork, not a still
As You Like It • 1623
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.
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
Jaques compares the world with a theatre and people with actors who enter, leave and perform changing roles. The surrounding speech develops the comparison through the ages of a life; the excerpt offers a metaphor rather than claiming that life is literally scripted.
Sources (1)
- Folger Shakespeare Library: As You Like ItAs You Like It, 2.7Reference checked
Context reviewed
