MODULE 3: Unit 4

Name:________________________________________________ Date: __________

Year/ Course/Section:___________________________________ Score: _________
Professor/Instructor: _____________________________________________________

Exercise 1. Fill in the blanks using the words given in the box to complete the
summary of the poem.

Shakespeare considers the whole world a stage where men and women are only
(1) _____. They (2) _____ the stage when they are born and exit when they die.
Every man, during his life time, plays seven roles based on age. In the first act, as an
infant, he is wholly (3) _____ on the mother or a nurse. Later, emerging as a school
child, he slings his bag over his shoulder and creeps most (4) _____ to school. His
next act is that of a lover, busy (5) _____ ballads for his beloved and yearns for her
(6) _____. In the fourth stage, he is aggressive and ambitious and seeks (7) _____ in
all that he does. He (8) _____ solemnly to guard his country and becomes a soldier.
As he grows older, with (9) _____ and wisdom, he becomes a fair judge. During this
stage, he is firm and (10) _____. In the sixth act, he is seen with loose pantaloons and
spectacles. His manly voice changes into a childish ____. The last scene of all is his
second childhood. Slowly, he loses his _____ of sight, hearing, smell and taste and
exits from the roles of his life.

attention treble reluctantly

actors maturity reputation
serious faculties composing
enter promises dependent

Write your answers here.

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Exercise 2. From your understanding of the poem, answer the following questions
briefly in a sentence or two.

1. What is the world compared to?

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2. “And they have their exits and their entrances” - What do the words ‘exits’
and ‘entrances’ mean?
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3. Bring out the features of the fourth stage of a man as described by the poet.
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4. When does a man become a judge? How?
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5. Why is the last stage called second childhood?
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Exercise 3. Read and understand the following questions then choose the letter of
your answer. Write your answer in the space before the number.
_____ 1. All the world's a stage is an extended metaphor for :
a. the life shown in well-known plays
b. life of well-known actors
c. seeing the well-known plays
d. life of man that comes to an end.

_____ 2. All 'have their exits and their entrances'. Exits and entrances refer to :
a. birth and death
b. beginning and end of play
c. coming and going of actors
d. the end of the Shakespearean era
_____ 3. The seven roles that a man plays corresponds to his :
a. chronological age in life c. desires
b. mental age in life d. idea of a perfect life

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_____ 4. The word which means crying in the poem :
a. weeping c. mewling
b. puking d. woeful
_____ 5. The Whining school boy is compared to :
a. a bearded pard c. a creeping snail
b. a sighing furnace d. a fighting lion
_____ 6. Who is singing a woeful ballad
a. soldier c. lover
b. judge d. pantaloons
_____ 7. The characteristic feature of soldier is :
a. dependent c. forgetfulness
b. bearded d. moody
_____ 8. Which of the following is a simile?
a. bearded like the pard c. all the world's stage
b. both of them d. none of the above
_____ 9. Which of the following is considered as a metaphor :
a. the bubble reputation c. creeping like snail
b. both of them d. none of the above
_____ 10. The word in the passage which means 'without' :
a. oblivion c. treble
b. sans d. shank

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Exercise 4. Based on your understanding of the poem, answer the question in
about 100 – 150 words each. You may add your own ideas if required, to
present and justify your point of view.

Shakespeare has skillfully brought out the parallels between the life of man and
actors on stage. Elaborate this statement with reference to the poem.

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