All the world's a stage

Cultural  

1. The beginning of a speech in the play As You Like It, by William Shakespeare. It is also called “The Seven Ages of Man,” because it treats that many periods in a man's life: his years as infant, schoolboy, lover, soldier, judge, foolish old man, and finally “second childishness and mere oblivion.” The speech begins: “All the world's a stage, / And all the men and women merely players….”

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Example Sentences

All the world’s a stage, and all the cadets are merely players.

From New York Times • Mar. 9, 2023

As part of our conversation, we decided that Shakespeare was right: "All the world's a stage" and we had both played many roles.

From Salon • Feb. 5, 2023

All the world’s a stage for this lot.

From The Guardian • Jan. 14, 2020

All the world’s a stage but all of L.A. is a musical in the new romantic drama “Soundtrack.”

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 13, 2019

"All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players."

From Introduction to the Science of Sociology by Park, Robert Ezra