Shakespeare’s poem in ‘As You Like It ‘ has been modified by me for the reading pleasure of you my friends; the first and last stanza have not been changed and are in its original form.
All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players,
They have their exits and entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages.
At first he is the helpless infant,
Sleeping peacefully in mama’s arms
Suddenly puking like a fountain
And screaming for attention!
Soon, the wild schoolboy in uniform
Mischief written all over his frame
Mastering maths science and rhyme
Inquisitive, he learns to ‘play the game’.
Third, the smart Cadet at the Academy
Training to be a warrior and leader
'Service before Self' is his battle cry
A 'Hat trick' on Sudan dome his desire.
Behold the soldier, sailor or the high flier
Leading men with courage and fervor
Defending the motherland with honour
Glorious ones holding a nation together.
And then the proud and wise Veteran
In a brave new world of the civilian
With yester years’ honor and glory
Playing golf with a round fat belly.
The sixth penultimate age shift
Is into the world of a grandparent
With grandchild in lap biting pacifier
Singing the Bogey march, sipping chilled beer.
The last act my friends,
That ends this strange eventful history,
Is second childishness and mere oblivion,
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.
With regards,
Mohan Kuruvilla
The original by William Shakespeare is as below:
"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;
And then the whining school-boy, 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' brow.
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 lin'd,
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 slipper'd pantaloon,
With spectacles on nose and pouch on side;
His youthful hose, well sav'd, 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."
— Jaques (Act II, Scene VII, lines 139-166)
Tags:
Shakespeares poem, As You Like It, Reading pleasure, Smart Cadet at the Academy, Service before Self, Sudan dome
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