Sunday, September 16, 2018

Our "Seven Ages," according to Shakespeare

Here lies the history of humankind .... well, sort of, anyway. This oil on canvas is entitled, "Seven Ages of Man," and was painted by William Mulready in 1837/1838. Mulready was an Irish genre painter who lived in London. He created the piece using a description of the ages of man by William Shakespeare in his play, "As You Like It," written in 1599 and first published in 1623. Read on, if you wish to learn those ages.
 
In my never-ending quest to confuse both myself and the world, here is some music I enjoy: A medley of the "best damn female guitarists the world has to offer." My only question is where were girls like this when I was a teenager? "House of the Rising Sun," played on pan flutes .... and a metal guitar version of the theme from, "The Last of the Mohicans."
 
Each of us is a player on the stage of life
 
I have written here a few times that one of my favorite books and one of my favorite book titles is, "Not Forever on Earth."
 
The book is about civilizations of the past which rose and thrived and fell in Mexico. It is a study of the great prehistoric cultures and the early civilizations found there: The Olmec, the Toltec, the Aztec and the Maya. Shirley Gorenstein, an archaeologist / an university professor / a writer, was the author. Reading this book initially stemmed from my interest in archaeology.
 
The reason I like the book and, specifically, like its title, is because it is a reminder that we are transitory. Everything about life is transitory. Our earth / our solar system / our universe .... each is and all are transitory .... absolutely everything.
 
We are born, we mature (in a theoretical manner of speaking). Most of us never know when the switch will flick and when or how it will be lights out for us so, why do we waste our time making ourselves and others unhappy? Why do we waste our time killing each other figuratively and literally?
 
All of us are guilty of doing "evil," at least in a figurative sense. I suppose it is a "good gene / bad gene" sort of thing. Genetic inheritance can create saints and monsters. Fortunately, most of us drift somewhere between, acting out our lives almost in a daze.
 
William Shakespeare said it best, perhaps, when he wrote in Act II Scene VII of the play, "As You Like It:"
 
All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances ....
 
Through the voice of Jaques, Shakespeare went on to write a lengthy monologue:
 
And one man in his time plays many parts,
 His acts being seven ages. At first, the infant,
 Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms.
 Then the whining schoolboy, with his satchel
 And shining morning face, creeping like snail
 Unwillingly to school. And then the lover,
 Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad
 Made to his mistress' eyebrow. Then a soldier,
 Full of strange oaths and bearded like the pard,
 Jealous in honour, sudden and quick in quarrel,
 Seeking the bubble reputation
 Even in the cannon's mouth. 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. The sixth age shifts
 Into the lean and slippered pantaloon,
 With spectacles on nose and pouch on side;
 His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide
 For his shrunk shank, and his big manly voice,
 Turning again toward childish treble, pipes
 And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all,
 That ends this strange eventful history,
 Is second childishness and mere oblivion,
 Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.
 
That sort of says it all .... does it not?

 



 



 




6 comments:

Anita said...

Sorry late answer Fram!i have been working those terrible nightshift again..(But now free a week)
I like your post very much in fact I did a post about it too.. long time ago.(cant find it ).Its very nice to learn about art and poems and litterature--

Yes we are all players in this time of life..funny to think who we choose to play with is it not??

hope you are all good Fram.Thank you very much for nice reply at my place.You are a good person.

Ok dinner soon is ready here(Fish cakes and mashed potatoes again hahahah I know you cant stand fishy things)

See you later!

I love the last video best!That guitar gives me chills!

Anita

Liplatus said...

Stunning realistic art. He talks about life cycle well.
From birth to death.


Life is largely human-shaped.
Certainly there are many things you can not really influence.

Human life is expanding all the time with the development of medicine.
Not necessarily a good thing. Natural is death when its time comes.

You are a talented writer. Produces a wide-ranging and diverse image of different areas of life.

Last two music videos seem good to hear, I like a lot. Thank you!
Girls' music is hard for my ears.

Short comment because I have a bad writing ability.

Boris Estebitan said...

El ciclo de la vida, luego terminamos con las capacidades anuladas, triste y real.

Fram Actual said...

Anita writes: "Yes, we are all players in this time of life .... funny to think who we choose to play with, is it not??"

"Oh, for sure, for sure," Fram replies. "What is funnier yet," Fram continues, "is to think of the millions of people we never had or will have the opportunity to play with during our lifetimes."

I suppose I am getting melodramatic again. But, it frequently seems to me life is a cruel joke and the millions we never have the opportunity to meet is just one of the ways it is cruel. Ernest Hemingway wrote in a poem that life is a joke, with the admonition, "and don't forget it." Thinking that and sort of believing it probably is one of the reasons why, essentially, I am a very serious individual.

Hmmmm or uffff .... I am not sure which applies best here.

There are some subjects -- literature, films, art, music -- I cannot stay away from .... first, because they are nourishment for me and, next, because I have been a teacher and, I guess, some of what drew me into that still is in my blood.

I have a tendency with my music selections of never intentionally putting my favorite either first or last, but, in this case, I agree with you. I like the last best of the three. But, there are two among the young lady guitar players in the first video who I think I could listen to all day .... absolutely fabulous ....

Since you are away from work for a week, I will not tell you not to work too hard .... instead, I will say I hope you will be out and about as much as the weather and other elements of your life permit. It is raining here, so my mood has been a bit melancholy because I cannot be outdoors.

Thank you, Anita, for coming here and for writing here. Your presence scatters the rain clouds and brings the sunshine ....

Fram Actual said...

I am incessantly curious and I have a background in journalism. I think those two factors go a long way toward explaining why my posts are varied. As for being a "talented writer," I think the quality of my writing has been deteriorating during the past few years, largely because I do not spend enough time concentrating on what I am writing and because it is not an "every day of the week" activity as it once was .... sort of a "use it or lose it thing."

William Shakespeare is a difficult man to know for a number of reasons, largely because much of his life was spent in invisibility to the public. Other than a few facts about his career and his family, details are not to be found -- and, to interpret the sum and substance of his written work is a task which would require a lifetime of study and, even then, speculation would remain little more than educated guess work. In my own case, I try to enjoy reading Shakespeare's plays and his poetry and seeing his plays performed on stage -- and, to avoid speculation.

The guitar is one of my favorite instruments, Liplatus, and I admire those who play it with skill. There are times when I like the music loud, but mostly I keep one hand near the volume control.

I envy your skill as a photographer and I am impressed by the depth of your imagination. I think you have more ability as a writer than you realize and I would like to see you doing more in that regard with your blog.

I am glad you came here, Liplatus, and that you wrote a comment for me. Thank you .... take care, and I hope your autumn will be pleasant and filled with happiness ....

Fram Actual said...

You display a great deal of wisdom with that sentence, Boris. Death is the price each of us pays for life, and it is beyond sad when life does not go on in terms of years or when the last few years are spent with infirmities.

Nice to see you here, Boris. Thank you, for coming and for writing ....

Something special ....