Before Reading

The Seven Ages of Man

Poem by William Shakespeare

The Road Not Taken

Poem by Robert Frost

Do you set your own

RL 2 Determine a theme or
central idea of a text and analyze
in detail its development over the
course of the text. RL 3 Analyze
how complex characters develop
over the course of a text.
RL 10 Read and comprehend
poems. L 4c Consult reference
materials to determine or clarify a
word’s etymology.
COURSE ?
If life is a journey, then who’s driving? Some people feel that they
make their own choices about where to turn and how far to drive,
while others feel they are simply following a course set by someone
else. The poems that follow suggest two very different views of
this question.
ROLE-PLAY Imagine that you are applying for a job or preparing for
a college interview. With a partner, take turns interviewing one
another about your life goals. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
in 10 years? in 15 years? When answering these questions, explain
what choices you may have to make in order to achieve these goals.

792
 Meet the Authors
poetic form: dramatic monologue
William Shakespeare
A dramatic monologue is a poem in which the speaker 1564–1616
addresses a silent or absent listener, as if engaged in a
Timeless Greatness
private conversation. The speaker often reveals his or her
Shakespeare is certainly the most famous
own feelings, attitudes, motivations, and character traits in a writer in the world and arguably the greatest
moment of high intensity or deep emotion. “The Seven Ages of writer who ever lived. He wrote 37 plays,
Man” is an example of a dramatic monologue; it is delivered by ranging from comedies to tragedies. He
a character in Shakespeare’s play As You Like It. also published some of the most beautiful
lyric poetry in the English language,
text analysis: meter including 154 sonnets, before he died
at age 52. In his own time,
Rhythm is the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a theater audiences loved
line of poetry. Rhythm that follows a regular pattern from line him and critics praised his
to line is called meter. Shakespeare used a very even meter: incredible talent. But his
contemporary Ben Jonson
They have their exits and their entrances; foresaw Shakespeare’s
And one man in his time plays many parts. indelible mark on the
future: “He was not of an
In the next example, from Frost, notice that the number of age, but for all time!”
accents is the same in each line, but the rhythm varies slightly:
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Robert Frost
Somewhere ages and ages hence 1874–1963
Poets use meter for the same reasons that a songwriter does: Beloved American Poet
it sounds nice, it’s easy to remember, and it allows for extra Declared America’s poet laureate before the
emphasis. Read the following poems aloud and tap your foot official creation of such a position, Robert
as you go. Then ask yourself these questions: Frost had become a beloved public figure
by the time he died. The U.S. Senate passed
• Is the meter obvious or subtle? Is it close to normal speech? a resolution honoring him, the state of
Vermont named a mountain after him, and
• Where does the emphasis fall in each line?
he was the first poet ever invited to recite
Review: Rhyme Scheme his work at a presidential inauguration. Still,
Frost is something of a puzzle.
reading skill: analyze ideas in poetry He was a modern poet who
often used traditional
You can better understand poems by looking for the main idea rhyme and meter, a New
in each section. “The Seven Ages of Man” can be divided into England farmer whose
seven sections—one for each “age.” “The Road Not Taken” folksy manner concealed
is already divided into four stanzas. As you read each poem, an inner torment, and a
record the main idea of each “age” or stanza. man of ideas who valued
both objectivity and a
“ The Seven Ages of Man” “tantalizing vagueness”
in poetry.
Age Main Idea
1. infancy
2. school-boy days

Authors Online
Go to thinkcentral.com. KEYWORD: HML9-793
Complete the activities in your Reader/Writer Notebook.

793
 THE
AGES
OF MAN

william shakespeare

JAQUES:
All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players: a DRAMATIC
They have their exits and their entrances; MONOLOGUE
And one man in his time plays many parts, Reread lines 5–9. Notice
5 His acts being seven ages. At first the infant, how Jaques describes
Mewling1 and puking in the nurse’s arms. the infant and the
schoolboy. What do
And then the whining school-boy, with his satchel, these descriptions reveal
And shining morning face, creeping like snail about his attitude toward
Unwillingly to school. And then the lover, a childhood?
10 Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad2
Made to his mistress’ eyebrow. Then a soldier,
Full of strange oaths, and bearded like the pard,3
Jealous in honor, sudden and quick in quarrel,
Seeking the bubble reputation4
15 Even in the cannon’s mouth. And then the justice, b b METER
In fair round belly with good capon lin’d,5 Read aloud lines 10–15,
tapping your foot at each
With eyes severe, and beard of formal cut,
stressed syllable. How
Full of wise saws and modern instances;6 many stressed syllables
And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts are in each line?
20 Into the lean and slipper’d pantaloon,7
With spectacles on nose and pouch on side,
His youthful hose well sav’d, a world too wide c c RHYME SCHEME
Does Shakespeare employ
a rhyme scheme for this
1. mewling: crying or whimpering.
poem? Support your
answer.
2. woeful ballad: sad, sentimental song.
3. pard: leopard.
4. bubble reputation: reputation, which disintegrates as quickly as a bubble.
5. with good capon (kAPpJnQ) lin’d: full of chicken.
6. saws . . . instances: old sayings and examples showing how they still apply.
7. pantaloon (pBnPtE-lLnQ): a foolish old man.

794 unit 7: the language of poetry

 After reading the poem,
what connection can you
see between the poem
and this image?

L 4c
The First and the Last Steps, Emilio Longoni. Private Collection. © Alinari/Art Resource, New York.
d FOREIGN WORDS
For his shrunk shank;8 and his big manly voice, The word sans is a
French word that means
Turning again toward childish treble,9 pipes “without.” In this
25 And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all, instance, Shakespeare is
That ends this strange eventful history, saying the seventh age
Is second childishness and mere oblivion,10 takes away everything
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything. d
you have, including your
teeth, sight, taste, and
memory. What other
common English words
can you think of that
have foreign origins? Use
a dictionary to confirm
8. youthful hose . . . shank: The stockings of his youth are too large your answers.
for his shrunken calves.
9. treble: a high-pitched voice.
10. oblivion (E-blGvPC-En): complete forgetfulness.

the seven ages of man 795

 The Road
Not
Taken Robert Frost
In the Beechwoods, William Samuel Jay. Oil on
canvas, 91.4 × 122 cm. Private collection. © Bourne
Gallery, Reigate, Surrey/The Bridgeman Art Library.

Two roads diverged1 in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
5 To where it bent in the undergrowth; e e ANALYZE IDEAS
Reread lines 1–5. What
main idea is the poet
Then took the other, as just as fair,
expressing here?
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
10 Had worn them really about the same, f f METER
Read aloud lines 1-10,
tapping your foot with
And both that morning equally lay
each stressed syllable.
In leaves no step had trodden2 black. How many pulses are in
Oh, I kept the first for another day! each line? Which words
Yet knowing how way leads on to way, in the second stanza are
15 I doubted if I should ever come back. emphasized by the pulses?

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— g RHYME SCHEME
I took the one less traveled by, What rhyme scheme does
20 And that has made all the difference. g Frost use in this poem?

1. diverged: branched out; went in different directions.

2. trodden: walked on or trampled.

796 unit 7: the language of poetry

After Reading

Comprehension
1. Recall In “The Seven Ages of Man,” which two stages follow childhood? RL 2 Determine a theme or
central idea of a text and
2. Paraphrase According to Jaques, what happens to people in the last analyze in detail its development
over the course of the text.
stage of life? RL 3 Analyze how complex
characters develop over the
3. Recall In “The Road Not Taken,” where do Frost’s roads diverge? course of a text. RL 10 Read
and comprehend poems.
4. Clarify Which road does the speaker choose?

Text Analysis
5. Analyze Ideas Look at your chart of main ideas. On the basis of these ideas
taken together, what do you think is the theme of each poem?
6. Interpret Extended Metaphor An extended metaphor compares two unlike
things at length and in a number of ways, sometimes throughout an entire
work. In “The Seven Ages of Man,” the speaker compares the world to a stage.
What does this comparison imply about the speaker’s view of life?
7. Analyze Dramatic Monologue “The Seven Ages of Man” comes from
Shakespeare’s play As You Like It. Other characters in this play refer to Jaques
as “the melancholy Jaques.” Do you agree that Jaques has a gloomy outlook
on life? Support your answer with details from his dramatic monologue.
What else can you infer about Jaques from his speech?
8. Interpret Symbol In “The Road Not Taken,” both roads lead into the woods,
so the speaker cannot see where they go. What do the woods symbolize?
9. Compare Themes How would Frost’s speaker respond to Jaques’s statement
“All the world’s a stage, / And all the men and women merely players”? Cite
evidence to support your answer.
10. Evaluate Meter “The Seven Ages of Man” is written in iambic pentameter,
which has five stressed syllables alternating with five unstressed syllables
per line. It is said to be the closest meter to human speech in English. “The
Road Not Taken” is written loosely in iambic tetrameter, which has only four
stresses instead of five. Which poem is easier to read aloud? Explain.

Text Criticism
11. Author’s Style In many of Shakespeare’s plays, there is a character who
comments philosophically on the world of the characters and on the world at
large. It is sometimes thought that this character is speaking for Shakespeare
himself. Could Jaques’s monologue be an example of this? Explain.

Do you set your own COURSE?

Why is it important to make your own choices in life?

the seven ages of man / the road not taken 797