Glimpses at life and literature
 

by Anton J. Jesuthasan (Sajj)

And then the justice,
in fair round belly
...full of wise saws and
modern instances.
- William Shakespeare

Readers will be familiar with William Shakespeare's Seven Ages of Man, the famous summation of man in all his essence from cradle to grave, in his popular play, As You like It. How insightful and perceptive, simple and beautiful, are Shakespeare's lines.

The lines bear remembering and reading any number of times .Every time you read, you reminisce the past; you learn and understand the present; you realise and accept the inevitable future. Great poets capture life and times realistically in memorable lines to benefit posterity.

We enter and exit this world and the different stages of our life, infancy, childhood, adolescence, manhood, middle-age, old-age, and finally second child-hood, like players performing on stage passing, impermanent.

All the worlds 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

Vivid pictures

The pictures are still vivid in our memories. Our baby brother or sister is coming into this world, or our own offspring. We wait with great anxiety and expectation for the new arrival; a feeling of relief engulfs us when the first cry of the new-born is heard. We linger near the door, for a face to pop out with a baby in her arms, its a boy or its a girl; our expectation fulfilled.

At first the infant,
mewling and puking in the nurses arms.

Why, we reminisce about our own arrival on this earth, of our infancy, as related to us by someone close a parent or another relative. Sweet or bitter remembrances.

Some years pass, and then the whining school-boy. The infant is now entering its second age.

Childhood is also schooling time. Brothers, sisters, neighbouring children have painted rosy pictures of school to the child; it steps out smartly to wend its way to school, a satchel swinging proudly from the shoulder, the face bright and shiny, But thoughts of home and mother, perhaps of an intimidating school-master, or a confronting school bully, enter the childs mind.; the child whimpers and whines, and checks its pace to an unwilling crawl.

Charms

How sweet or bitter our own experiences are, and memories of our own childhood. Speak to anyone, of whatever age, about their childhood, and they instantly turn into children. Shakespeare captures ones early childhood in three short lines, to stirs up our imagination to vivid heights.

And then the whining school-boy,
with his satchel
And shining morning face,
creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school

Years roll by. School has its charms. We meet other children, make friends or foes, we succeed or fail, we grow up. School friendships are the deepest, and most lasting. The child is now a youth exiting school, entering college; Shakespeare sees this youth, a boy, experiencing his first crush towards the fairer sex, his first love.

Sighing like furnace, with
a woeful ballad
Made to his mistress
eyebrow...

Love succeeds or fails. Woeful suggests that this love failed?. The youth must move on, find a career and succeed in the harsh world of reality. Where does he head?

He settles on a carreer of choice. What better choice than service in the security and defence of the country? The man in him is impelling:

Then a soldier,
Full of strange oaths and
bearded like the class,
Jealous in honour, sudden
and quick in quarrel,
Seeking the bubble
reputation
Even in the cannons mouth

Soldiering was a respected profession those days, the chivalry and traditions of knights in shining armour filtering down to later centuries. How do soldiers rank in todays world, compared to Shakespeares world? Todays wars seem more wars of aggression than in defence of the realm. Would Shakespeare have employed the soldier to represent youth, had he been writing today, no matter his soldier wasn't spared the rod where the rod was called for.

No longer a youth, a mature personality now, the child is now man, settled well in life and progressing higher, adjudicating at home or at work, or truly sitting in judgement over his peers, in his middle-age, a Justice,. This is the prime of life when man holds a responsible position, contributes to and has a say in society, is respected and well-regarded, influential, others desire his friendship and company, and he is very discreet about the company he keeps:

...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.

Scrapes with law

Shakespeare is reputed to have got into a few scrapes with the law in his time, and though he settles on a Justice as his chosen model, his description of the Justice is somewhat unfriendly, in fair round belly with good capon lined, though some justices themselves of his time had failed to keep their venerable image unsullied.

Then comes the last age but one, depending on whether you are fortunate or otherwise, an age that some enjoy and some dread. Paths of glory lead but to the grave is the refrain that rings constantly. Pomp and power, authority and recognition slowly diminish; your company is tolerated or suffered, not very greatly desired, unless you are an assertive individual or a discreet exception:

The sixth age shifts
Into the lean and slipperd
pantaloon,
With spectacles on nose and
pouch on side
His youthful hose, well
saved, a world too wide
For his shrunk shank; and
his manly voice,
Turning again toward
childish treble, pipes
And whistles in his sound..

The age into which some of us are gently sliding, or shall soon slide, or as the young who hardly stop to think or realise when they look on the aged with disdain, shall one day themselves slide or sink.

The last scene of all,
That ends this strange
eventful history,
Is second childishness and
mere oblivion,
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans
taste, sans everything

When nothing matters, one step in the grave, ready to meet one's Maker.

..................................

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