Faces
Monday, October 24th, 2011
“All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players.” ~ William Shakespeare
This is one of my favorites quotes from William Shakespeare. There are many meanings to this quote. One of it talks about our journey through life. We as human beings go through various stages in our life. From our birth we enter the stage and keep on acting true to our age, until old age when we act the last scene.
We as human beings are merely puppets on stage. We’re given different roles and we play them thinking that this is our’s decision, that we have control over our destinies. As a man made puppet show, every human character has different roles to play in their lives. Our first role on this earth is of a infant being born into the world kicking and screaming. The second role is that of a growing child, unwillingly carrying his heavy school bag (which to him is like a burden), dragging his feet reluctantly to school.
The third role is that of a lover, attempting to court their significant other in an attempt to not go through life’s journey alone and to live behind a legacy. Then, he takes on the role of a soldier, a guardian, a sentinel. One who fights with all his courage to defend what he believes in and treasure the most. They could possibly fight for their rights, their ideals, their newly formed family, their freedom, their dreams or simple just to overcome the challenges the life throws at them.
This is the phase of their lives that determines what the ending will be. In stories, this is the phase where the protagonist is challenged constantly in his/her quest to realise their ambition/goal/dreams. The protagonist will either triumph against all odds or will follow Macbeth footsteps as wades through blood until his inevitable fall.
Regardless of the outcomes of the this phase, the protagonist will learn and gain new insights and view of live. This is when he plays his next role as a person full of wise sayings based on their experience of life. They will then continue to grow older and older until their final stage, which when death claims them. This is when the character exits the stage and thus the human being who is merely a player finishes his role from the play of life.
The other meaning is that since we’re all merely players on a stage, everyone is watching our every move and actions. Whether you think you are alone in the world or not, you are merely playing different roles. We’re always and constantly performing. Take for example, while you are at school, you may play the role of the popular kid in school, the one everyone aspires to. However, when at home alone, you may play the tragic hero where nothing ever goes right.
In this world, regardless of whether you believe it or not, we all want to be loved by people around us. The sad fact of this is that we try hard to please everyone around us and consequently let society dictate what we do. The things we say and do, also perhaps the games we play, and manipulations to derive a particular outcome of a scenario are merely the what we are made to do. In other words, human beings have no will of their own. Each of us has a definite predetermined role to play in the drama of life. It is not left to any of us to assign to themselves a role of their own choice. The roles are assigned by someone else without consulting us. No one can change or modify the role assigned to them. The role is assigned by the stage manager, call him Fate or God.
We have to always hide our emotions, for fear of offending someone. All the world is a stage, and all the men and women merely players.
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