Seven Ages of Man
（All the World’s a stage）
Jaques in As you like it Act II, Scene VII by William Shakespeare.
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.
人生七阶——生命的永恒对抗
Fengeral 评论 皆大欢喜 2019-10-25 22:36:08
这篇书评可能有关键情节透露
莎士比亚是古典文学的集大成者。在沙翁的戏剧中，永远充斥着一种不喧宾夺主的思辨性与崇高性。而在他《皆大欢喜》中的一段独白“人生七阶”中，则用一种独属于莎士比亚的戏谑腔调，折射出更加丰富和艰深的生命体验；揭示了人面对世界相当艰辛的一面；阐明了人立足于社会之中无时无刻不处于对抗关系中的客观规律。
一、童年：天性与规则的对抗
从婴儿到学童，从在妈妈怀里的咿咿呀呀到上学时的愁眉苦脸。体现的是规则逐渐“驯化”天性的生命过程。文明社会下的法律、规则、制度，社会科学对于各个领域极其严苛的分类，人们所遵循的不成文的道德准则，在我们刚刚开始认识这个世界时，就以一种潜意识引导和半强制性教育交织的方式，不断规范着我们的行为准则，同样也在不断“驯化”着我们的天性。从上学时的愁眉苦脸到放学时的满脸笑容，体现的是天性对于规则地“反叛”。
在天性与规则的对抗中，有些人被规则所“驯化”，开始循规蹈矩。而有些人依旧抗争，天马行空的思想依旧在脑海里荡漾。也正因为如此，有些人能安安稳稳的娶妻生子，平实安定地走过一生；而有些人虽然家徒四壁，却能创作出惊为天人的艺术作品抑或是造福世界的科学成就。每个人的人生轨迹，从我们的童年就开始悄然分叉。
二、青春：爱情与世俗的对抗
从幼年到青年，从单纯懵懂到血气方刚，爱情是青春中永远避不开的话题，我们一边赞美恋人的眉毛如一弯新月，一边又唉声叹气像火炉上的开水壶。莎士比亚用一段极其生活化的比喻，揭示了人类社会情爱关系里的本质——爱情具有美好性和折磨性，它像是一朵并蒂花，交织着浪漫与伤痛，人们深受折磨却又享受其中。爱情的美好自不用多说，而爱情所体现的折磨，在于世俗层面里阶级、财富的差异和利益上的分野，在《哈姆雷特》中，即便哈姆雷特与奥菲利亚这般的情投意合，也还是因为皇室冲突，两人分崩离析。
而这，正是每个人青春时期中难以避免的角力——爱情与世俗的对抗。古往今来，无数文学作品和影视作品中可歌可泣的爱情，无不体现着这一深刻并且贯穿着人类文明的古老议题——究竟是世俗击败爱情的幻象，还是爱情冲破世俗的壁垒。其它作家看来，无疑是偏向后者，无数的爱情挽歌结局都是有情人终成眷侣。而莎士比亚却认为，世俗才是最坚固的壁垒，在他笔下的情侣，结局多半是分离或死亡，无论是罗密欧和朱丽叶，还是哈姆雷特和奥菲利亚，都是极好的佐证。莎士比亚的观点在于，他认为爱情在面对世俗的壁垒时，只有分离和死亡两种情况。也正是这种些许悲观的看法，给予了“爱情”这一生命状体更深刻的意义和更多主体间性的解读。
三、仕途：精神与物质的对抗
从青年到中年，从血气方刚到成熟稳重，仕途是我们人生真正的分岔路口。在毛姆的《刀锋》中，就塑造了两种极端且具有对比性的人物，一是主人公拉里，他在经历了一战最亲密的战友死亡之后，对生命最本质的意义发出疑问，他弃绝了世俗名利去追寻精神上的纯粹意义；二是拉里的舅丈艾略特，他是英国贵族圈中的常客，他不断地和皇亲贵胄们攀亲带故，一生都在追求世俗意义上的地位与荣耀。这两个极具代表性的人物，正象征着精神和物质两个维度的对抗，它是我们人生道路上避免不了的自我诘问——我究竟是成为“拉里”，还是成为“艾略特”。
而莎士比亚形容步入仕途的人“圆圆的肚皮里塞满了肥鸡瘦肉，说起话来引经据典，举起例来博古通今”。从这段描写来看，在仕途之路上，莎士比亚给出的答案，既悲观又现实。我们究竟是遵循自己的本心，还是追求身外的财富和荣耀，莎士比亚显然认为是后者，在人生道路的抉择上，绝大多数人会选择财富、地位、荣耀。少年时期的理想、抱负、精神上的崇高追求，最终也被消解。
四、迟暮：生命与时间的对抗
从中年到迟暮，从成熟稳重到伤病累累，死亡是每个人生命中最后也是最沉重的议题。我们不得不面对新陈代谢、生老病死的客观规律。但并不是所有人都能这样的坦然接受和面对死亡。莎士比亚形容晚年的人“鼻子上架着眼镜，腰间挂着钱包，燕尾服紧束的裤腿在消瘦的大腿上显得宽松，洪亮的声音又恢复了儿童时代的尖嗓子”。这一段有些讥讽的描绘，道出了人面对衰老和死亡的普遍恐惧。正如在我们在孩童时期不承认自己是小孩，而觉得自己已经是成人懂事一般，步入晚年的我们同样很难承认自己已经老去，所以我们鼻子上架着眼镜、腰间挂着钱包，燕尾服穿在身上，显得我们依旧时髦和年轻。而在这背后，正是我们无法面对老去和死亡的悲哀。
《人生七阶》以一种悲观但现实的笔调描绘了绝大多数平凡人的一生，他揭示了人面对社会相当艰辛的一面：在天性与规则的对抗中，绝大多数人被规则“驯化”；在爱情与世俗的碰撞中，我们亦很难冲破世俗的壁垒；在精神与物质的对抗中，少年时精神上的崇高追求被物质所泯灭；而最后，在生命与时间的对抗中，没有人能战胜时间。而人又何止这四个阶段，人的对抗又何止这四重。对于绝大多数人而言，只要活着，就处在永恒的对抗关系中——永恒的对抗亦是永恒的失败，这既是莎士比亚秉承的观点，也是我们大多数人的真实人生。
Understanding Shakespeare's "Seven Ages of Man" in Today's World
By
Simran Khurana
Updated March 06, 2020
The poem "The Seven Ages of Man" is a part of the play "As You Like It", where Jacques makes a dramatic speech in the presence of the Duke in Act II, Scene VII. Through the voice of Jacques, Shakespeare sends out a profound message about life and our role in it.
Stage 1: Infancy
Birthmarks the entry of man in the first stage of life. An infant in the caretaker's arms is just a helpless child learning to survive. Babies communicate with us through their cries. Having been nourished in the womb of the mother, the baby learns to accept breast milk as its first food. Vomiting is common among all babies. Once a baby is breastfed, you need to burp the baby. In the process, babies throw up some milk. Since babies do nothing most of the day, other than crying and spitting up after feeding, Shakespeare says that the first stage of life is marked by these two activities.
Babies have been perceived as cute since the beginning of time. They feed and spit-up, and between these two activities, they also cry. A lot. Young parents know the drill even before they become parents. While babies continue to be puking and mewling little adorable beings, the difference between then and now is that raising babies is a concerted effort between the parents.
Stage 2: Schoolboy
At this stage of life, the child is introduced to the world of discipline, order, and routine. The carefree days of infancy are over, and schooling brings about a regimen in the life of a child. Naturally, the child takes to whining and complaining about the forced routine.
The concept of schooling has seen a great change since the time of Shakespeare. In Shakespeare's time, school was a forced practice usually overseen by the church. Depending on the status of the parents, a child went to either a grammar school or a monastic school. School began at sunrise and lasted the whole day. Punishments were common, and often harsh.
Modern schools are quite unlike their ancient counterparts. While some kids still whine and complain about going to school, many actually love school because of the "play while you learn" approach to schooling. Modern-day schools have taken a holistic approach to education. Children are taught through role-plays, visual presentations, demonstrations, and games. Homeschooling is another option that most parents prefer to formal schooling. Also, with the abundance of online resources, modern education has extended the boundaries of learning.
Stage 3: Teenager
Teenagers in medieval times were accustomed to the social etiquette of wooing a lady. The teenager during Shakespeare's time pined for his lover, wrote elaborate verses of love ballads, and mooned over his object of desire. "Romeo and Juliet" is an icon of romance during the period of Shakespeare's. Love was sensual, deep, romantic, and full of grace and beauty.
Compare this love to the teen love of today. The modern age teen is technically savvy, well-informed, and romantically astute. They don't express their love in amorous love letters. Who does that in the age of texting and social media? Relationships are not as elaborate, or romantic as they were for the medieval teenager. The youth of today is far more individual-centric and independent than those in Shakespeare's time. Back in those days, relationships were nurtured towards matrimony. Nowadays, marriage is not necessarily the goal of every romantic affiliation, there is more sexual expression and less adherence to social structures such as monogamy.
However, despite all these differences, the teenager of today is as angsty as the teenager of the medieval time. They have to deal with unrequited love, heartbreak, and depression just as those in ancient times.
Stage 4: Youth
The next stage Shakespeare talks about in the poem is that of a young soldier. In old England, young men were trained for combat. The young soldier developed an attitude of brash courage, raw passion mixed with the impetuous temper that is characterized by unwarranted rebellion.
The youth of today have the same zeal and energy for rebellion. They are far more expressive, vocal, and assertive about their rights. Though the youth of today would not necessarily be enlisted for service in the army, they have enough avenues to form social groups to fight for a political or social cause. With social media platforms and the global reach of mass media, the young can reach their voice to the far corners of the world. A widespread reaction is almost instantaneous because of the global reach and effectiveness of propaganda.
Stage 5: Middle Age
Middle age has hardly changed over the centuries. Middle age is the time when men and women settle down, and kids, family, and career take precedence over personal indulgences. Age brings wisdom and a sense of peaceful acceptance of realities of life. Idealistic values get pushed behind, while practical considerations become important. While the middle-aged man (and woman) of today have more options to further personal or professional interests, perhaps the medieval middle-aged man had fewer such options, and, not surprisingly, even less so the medieval woman.
Stage 6: Old Age
In medieval times, life expectancy hovered around 40, and a man of 50 would consider himself lucky to be alive. Depending on the social or economic class of the person, old age could be harsh or at best, ambivalent. Though the old were respected for their wisdom and experience, most old people suffered due to neglect and degeneration of physical and mental faculties. Those who were oriented towards religious pursuits fared better than the household man.
Today, life is alive and vibrant for a 40-year-old. Many senior aged people (starting in their 70s) in the modern era are still actively involved in social activities, secondary occupations, or hobbies. Also, there are good retirement plans and financial devices available to make old age comfortable. It is not so uncommon for a healthy and young-at-heart senior citizen to go on a trip around the world, enjoy gardening or golf, or even continue to work or pursue higher education if they so desire.
Stage 7: Extreme Old Age
What Shakespeare talks about in this stage of man is an extreme form of aging, where the person is no longer able to perform basic tasks such as bathing, eating, and going to the toilet. Physical frailty and incapacity no longer allow them the freedom to live unassisted. During Shakespeare's time, it was quite okay to treat old people as "senile." In fact, in the Elizabethan era, where enslavement and discrimination against women were highly prevalent, ageism was hardly considered a problem. Old people were treated as "little children," and as Shakespeare describes this stage as a second childhood, it was socially acceptable to treat the old with disdain.
Today's modern society is more humane and sensitive to seniors. Though ageism still exists and is prevalent in many spheres, with growing awareness, seniors "sans teeth, sans eyes, and sans taste" still live with the dignity that ought to be afforded to the elderly.
