The Importance of Literary Devices in "The Seven Ages of Man" by William Shakespeare

Shakespeare, in his play ‘Macbeth,’ establishes alliteration and foreshadowing in Act 5, Scene 5 to convey how the author exhibits life through Macbeth’s soliloquy. Through repetition of and relation to time, Shakespeare defines how life is nothing more than a promising illusion. The hopeless tone Shakespeare represents is reflected through the alliteration of words similarly relating to time or the passing of time, referencing the theme of unchecked ambition leading to the corruption and fall of even the best individuals in order to send an important life message to his Elizabethan audience.

"The plays of childhood are the germinal leaves of all later life; for the whole man is developed and shorn in

William Shakespeare is the world’s pre-eminent dramatist whose plays range from tragedies to tragic comedies, etc. His general style of writing is often comparable to several of his contemporaries, like Romeo and Juliet is based on Arthur Brooke’s narrative poem, “The tragical history of Romeo and Juliet”. But Shakespeare’s works express a different range of human experience where his characters command the sympathy of audiences and also are complex as well as human in nature. Shakespeare makes the protagonist’s character development central to the plot.

Imagery is a vivid illustration in the mind of the audience. For example on page 3, it says “...Her long hair was streaked with gray, tangled and matted, and her eyes had sunk deep into her sockets, but still reminded me of the mom she’d been when I was a kid, swan-driving off cliffs and painting in the desert and reading Shakespeare aloud.” This quote is explaining how even though her mother is much different then other people’s mothers, Jeannette still sees her as herself. The mother that couldn’t drive very good, the one that like to pant all the time, and the one that love to read Shakespeare

stated on line 109. He’s appealing to his audience by using a counterclaim showing that Shakespeare is for anyone and he understands where they’re coming from. He is addressing these counterclaims so the audience can’t

3. One of the most famous speeches in Shakespeare’s play, As You Like It, is called The Seven Ages of Man. What do you think Shakespeare was trying to say about psychological development? (Links to videos of the speech can be found in the video version of the syllabus.)

His blending of Japanese aspects creates an unrealistic and over-theatrical sensation. The setting displays a theatrical aspect which reminds me of the last line of the haiku, “All the world’s a stage,” also one of Shakespeare’s most famous lines. Branagh’s use of setting deepens the way I look at the passage of time in the text. Jacques claims that all men and women are players in a staged world; “[they] have their exits and their entrances, / And one man in his time plays many parts, / His acts being seven ages” (AYLI.2.7.140-142). The setting of Branagh’s film in Japan is a set stage, which leads me to believe that Jacques’ statement is a set speech that unifies all plays. If the world is a stage than this play could be set anywhere, and the occurrences and struggles can be found anywhere in the world, not just in the city, but in the countryside too—as we find true in Arden. Branagh’s use of setting blurs the boundaries between space and time between his As You Like It production and

William Shakespeare’s use of simile in A Midsummer Night’s Dream explicitly expressed hierarchy, power, and male dominance, which all contributes to shaping the relationships between many of his characters. This theme is echoed throughout the play as Shakespeare demonstrates the differences between male and female characters.

William Shakespeare lived and wrote over 400 years ago, but his wonderful plays continue to entertain and influence the audiences of the Twenty-First Century. Despite the outdated content and language of his works, Shakespeare’s plays remain popular with modern readers and play watchers for another reason. In all of his works, including William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, he uses countless literary devices and techniques to affect the mood of the audience and enhance their enjoyment. He utilizes puns and juxtaposition to create a comical or light hearted mood. He also uses dramatic irony and oxymorons for a dramatic or serious mood. Although Shakespeare’s work does not include modern language or modern situations, the literary devices that he uses work to keep an audience of any time feeling involved

my opinion Shakespeare uses the play to show the hypocrisy of the status quo that

This final metaphor is of death, and a reminder that all things must end. Shakespeare compares a flame dancing on the "ashes of his youth" to that of a person lying on his deathbed, where both "must expire".

Few writers have managed to enter the world-wide public consciousness as well as Shakespeare; everyone knows his name and can terribly misquote his plays. Yet, for all his popularity, many of his critics have called him unlearned, saying his plays are entertaining but shallow. These same critics often point at the many inconsistencies of his writing, claiming that Shakespeare was not trying to convey anything but witticisms and beautiful sounds. Of course, even his harshest detractors acknowledge his plays and sonnets have influenced the world's literature on a scale that is intimidating; every writer of his era stood in his shadow, and modern literature stands on his

Shakespeare’s work is among the hardest to read because of its supposed complexity and sophistication. The language used in the Early Modern Era is different than that of the Post Modern Era. Audiences that saw the performances were aural learners and were able to pinpoint certain tones and facial expressions that readers may not detect through words. Watching the plays performed provided better feedback than readings do (Palfrey 10-11). Metaphors, implicit or explicit, are figures of speech that help compare two unlike things and are not designed for literal intake. Yet, with Shakespeare’s work, metaphors should be taken literally. According to George Lakoff and Mark Johnson, however, this technique of comparison allows metaphors to simultaneously highlight and hide certain attributes and/or qualities about the thing(s) being compared to (12-13). The highlighting and hiding of metaphors gives readers more insight into what Shakespeare may have meant at the time or even more so in what context did the people of the Elizabethan Age use language (Palfrey 11). Two important components of metaphors that do the highlighting and hiding are the vehicle and the tenor; each can be implicit or explicit as well. The metaphor in question emphasizes both the importance and unimportance of Lavinia’s character.

Within this play, fundamental questions about humanity, as well as situations, attitudes, and problems that continue to hold strong universal meaning to this day are explored .It shows Shakespeare’s ability to create characters who resemble real life individuals and reflect lifestyles and personalities accurately.  You could not help but be moved by the dark despair and utter wretchedness of Othello’s downfall! Shakespeare has dramatically explored many aspects of the human condition in this play, The Tragedy of

Shakespearean tragedy is a story of one, or at most two persons. As a rule, they are male protagonists. But to say that Shakespeare’s female characters are shallow, undeveloped and used just as a decoration on the stage is very wrong. Women in Shakespeare’s tragedies have no leading role and they are, to paraphrase Northrop Frye,[1] not tragic heroines, but heroines in a tragedy.