As You Like It
William Shakespeare ( written in 1599 and first published in the First Folio 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 , His acts being seven ages .
At first , the infant , Mewling and puking in the nurse ’ s arms .
And 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 slipper ’ d 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 .
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