Source identified
Read & copy the quotation
“All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players.”
- Source
- As You Like It
- Date
- c. 1599
- Local voice
- Fictional character · Jaques
Meaning of “All the world’s a stage, and all the…”
The metaphor treats life as a sequence of roles and stages, inviting reflection on identity, aging, and impermanence.
Where does it come from?
As You Like It, Act II, Scene 7, Jaques; 1919 Yale Shakespeare edition edited by Jack R. Crawford, printed page 42 / Wikisource scan leaf 54. “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players” opens Jaques’s seven-ages speech after Duke Senior compares human suffering with theatrical pageants. The metaphor remains dramatic character speech about roles and aging, not Shakespeare speaking autobiographically.
Why the local voice matters
Jaques begins the Seven Ages speech in As You Like It, Act 2, Scene 7.
