NCERT Class 9 English Chapter 10 The Seven Ages
NCERT Solutions for Class 9 English Literature Reader Chapter 10 The Seven Ages
Textbook Questions Solved
Question 1.
On the basis of your understanding of the poem, answer the following questions by ticking the correct choice:
(a) All the world’s a stage is an extended metaphor for ______
(i) the life shown in well known plays.
(ii) seeing the well known plays.
(iii) life of well known actors.
(iv) the life of man.
Answer:
(iv) the life of man.
(b) All ‘have their exits and their entrances Exits and entrances refer to ______
(i) birth and death
(ii) beginning and end of play
(iii) coming and going of actors
(iv) the end of the Shakespearean era
Answer:
(i) birth and death
(c) The seven roles that a man plays correspond to his ______
(i) chronological age in life
(ii) desires
(iii) mental age in life
(iv) idea of a perfect life
Answer:
(i) chronological age in life
Question 2.
Explain the meaning of the following:
(a) …all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits and their entrances…
(b) And then the lover,
Sighing like furnace…
(c) a soldier,
…Seeking the bubble reputation
Even in the cannon’s mouth.
Answer:
(a) Shakespeare compares this world to a stage. All men and women are like actors. They play their individual roles and go away. Like the stage of dramas, life too has its own exits and entrances. In this world, men take birth and go out when they die.
(b) The third stage of life is that of a lover. He is always sighing like furnace for his beloved. He is full of passions and emotions for his beloved.
(c) The fourth stage of life is that of a soldier. He is ready to die for honour. He is very quick to seek honour and reputation. He is ready to sacrifice his life and jump into a cannon’s mouth just for a momentary reputation.
Question 3.
In this poem, life is compared with a play. Just as in a play a man acts many parts, so also in life, a man plays many roles. Can you think of some other comparison for life ? (For example, life could be compared with the seasons in nature, the days of the week, the lessons in a school day.) Select one of these comparisons (or choose one of your own), and write about the similarities that life has with it. (80-100 words)
Answer:
Similarities of Seasons in Nature with Stages of Life The cycle of seasons in nature is very similar to the cycle of man’s life. Men take birth and make entrance on the stage of life. Similarly, seasons start with the spring. Everything sprouts and blooms. It is the best period of man’s life. It is full of colour, romance and beauty. Then comes the summer. It is full of warmth and heat is unwilling to go to school. He carries a satchel with him and walks slowly like a snail towards his school.
SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS (SOLVED)
Answer each of the following questions in 30-40 words.
Question 1:
What is the significance of the words ‘entrances’ and ‘exits’ in the poem ‘The Seven Ages’ ? (CBSE 2014)
Answer:
Human life has been compared by the poet to a stage of theatre where actors , appear, enact their roles and quit. ‘Entrances’ here signify human births and ‘exits’ deaths. Human beings take birth, play their parts and die.
Question 2:
Explain‘mewling and puking’in the nurse’s arms. (CBSE 2014)
Answer:
The infant cries and vomits milk in the arms of his nurse. He can do nothing but cry to express his needs. He is totally helpless and dependent.
Question 2:
Why does a man in his life play many parts ? (CBSE 2014)
Answer:
A man. is fated to play many roles in his life. As he grows, his role changes and his character also changes accordingly. He takes birth only to play different roles-the roles of an infant, a school boy, a lover, a soldier, a judge, an old and senile person.
Question 4:
Describe the second stage of life as elaborated by Shakespeare in the poem ‘The Seven Ages’. (CBSE)
Answer:
The second stage of life is the school-going age. The school boy sulks as he does not want to go to school. He walks to school as slowly as a snail. He has, of course, a bright face, like that of a sunny morning.
Question 5:
Explain the first stage of human life. (CBSE 2014)
Answer:
Infancy is the first stage of human life. An infant cries and vomits milk in the arms of his nurse. He is helpless and dependent.
Question 6:
What characteristics would you associate with the stage of a soldier ? (CBSE 2014)
Answer:
Energy, enthusiasm, rashness and patriotism are some of the characteristics of a soldier. A soldier can sacrifice even his life for short-lived reputation.
Question 7:
Explain the line ‘the lean and slippered pantaloon’. (CBSE 2014)
Answer:
The line reveals that in the sixth stage of life, man becomes quite lean and thin. He wears slippers. He looks a funny old man in his loose clothes.
Question 8:
Explain the stage of justice. (CBSE 2014)
Answer:
The stage of being a judge is perhaps the best. At this stage, man is prosperous and well-fed. He looks stern and impressive. He is full of wise sayings and examples from contemporary life to prove his point.
Question 9:
Compare the sixth stage with seventh stage. (CBSE 2014)
Answer:
The sixth stage is that in which man becomes old, weak and thin. In his loose clothes he looks funny. In the seventh stage he becomes senile. He enters into ‘second childishness’. He is as dependent upon others as a child. He has no teeth, no sense of taste and loses every mental faculty.
LONG ANSWER QUESTIONS (SOLVED)
Question 1:
If human life is nothing but a ‘tamasha’, what message does the poet want to convey to us ?
Answer:
Shakespeare, through one of his characters Jaques, wants us to realize the fact that human life is like the stage of a theatre. Men and women, like actors, come, play their roles and quit. Each stage of life has its own peculiarities. Nothing good and charming remains for long. The same man who looks charming and dashing looks weak, thin and funny in old age. Then why should we take life seriously ? Why should we sulk and complain ? We should accept our fate humbly. We should be ready to play our role on the stage of life to quit for ever. Nothing in this world is permanent. Nothing is in our hands.
Question 2:
Describe in brief the seven stages in man’s life.
Answer:
Shakeshpeare conveys through his character Jaques, that human life can be divided into seven stages. The first stage is that of an infant who is totally helpless and dependent. Then the second stage is that of the school-going boy. He is unwilling to go to school. In the third stage, man plays the role of a lover who heaves deep sighs in the absence of his beloved. In the next stage, he is an energetic, rush soldier who is ready to sacrifice even his life for short lived reputation. In the fifth stage, he plays the role of prosperous, well fed judge. He shows off his wisdom and knowledge to impress others. Then in the sixth stage he is a weak, thin old man. He looks funny in his loose clothes. The last stage is that of senility when man becomes childlike. He loses his reflexes and senses. Thus, ends the drama of his life.