"All the World's a Stage"

Why does the poet compare the world to a stage and the people in it actors in lines 1 and 2?

• To emphasize that most people are happiest when they perform for others.

• To show that everyone's life can be reduced to the simplest terms.

• To reveal that our lives follow predictable patterns.

• To demonstrate that all people are different.

Which words from the poem show that the poet is unsentimental about some of the phases of life he describes?

• Their exits and their entrances.

• Mewling and puking.

• Shining morning face.

• Eyes severe and beard of formal cut.

In line 4, the poet uses the words "One man in his time plays many parts" to-

• Show that each stage of life feels different even for the person experiencing it.

• Suggest that everyone has many opportunities to change the course of their lives.

• Illustrate that people relate to the actors on stage when their experiences are similar.

• Describe the reasons why some people feel unfulfilled at the end of their lives.

The simile in line 8 helps the reader-

• Visualize the schoolboy with his backpack on his back.

• understand how youthful the boy is.

• Focus on how short childhood really is.

• Appreciate that the child does not want to get to school.

In lines 19 through 25, the poet observes a truisim about life, which is that most people will-

• Grow old and see changes in their bodies.

• Hold on to clothing into which they no longer fit.

• return to the lifestyle they enjoyed as children.

• Seek comfort in their old age.