Shakespeare: The Seven Ages of Human Experience, 2nd Edition

To the Reader.

1 All the World’s a Stage: Poetry and Theatre.

2 Creeping Like Snail: Childhood, Education, Early Friendship, Sibling Rivalries.

3 Sighing Like Furnace: Courtship and Sexual Desire.

4 Full of Strange Oaths and Bearded Like the Pard: The Coming-of-Age of the Male.

5 Jealous in Honour: Love and Friendship in Crises.

6 Wise Saws: Political and Social Disillusionment, Humankind’s Relationship to the Divine, and Philosophical Scepticism.

7 Modern Instances: Misogyny, Jealousy, Pessimism, and Midlife Crises.

8 The Lean and Slippered Pantaloon: Ageing Fathers and their Daughters.

9 Last Scene of All: Retirement from the Theatre.

10 Shakespeare Today.

Notes.

Further Reading.

Index