All the world\u2019s a stage \/\u00a0<\/em>And all the men and women merely players<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The verse talks about \u2018a stage\u2019 and \u2018players\u2019 (actors), but from the context and comparison made to the \u2018world\u2019 and \u2018men and women\u2019 we know that the stage is a metaphor for the world and our lives on it.\u00a0 We can then assume that the speaker\u2019s attitude is negative or fatalistic and that he thinks that reality is a kind of pretense and not \u2018real\u2019 at all.<\/p>\n What we have done here is use our reading skills<\/strong> to analyse a short text.\u00a0 The text is not complicated but we have to apply our critical thinking<\/strong> to solving the metaphorical puzzle it represents.<\/p>\n Our lives are not real.<\/p>\n This is a simplified version of the original language.\u00a0 However, our reading of the original may help us detect more possibilities for meaning in the text.\u00a0 For example:<\/p>\n Our lives are not real, or they are real but unimportant<\/p>\n in a larger context.\u00a0 Perhaps, the stage metaphor indicates<\/p>\n that we are directed by a higher force and have no real<\/p>\n control over our lives.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n So, in this case our simplified version of Shakespeare\u2019s language is suddenly longer than the original as we are \u2018unpacking\u2019 some of the meaning hidden in the original text.\u00a0 Here we are practicing productive, writing skills<\/strong> and using our imaginations to give us a real reason to write.\u00a0 If you are with other people (perhaps in a language class) another stage in the process before writing would be discussing your analysis<\/strong> with them.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s have a quick practice of the process of analytical reading and identifying a short paraphrase<\/strong>.\u00a0 Look at the table below and match up the famous quotes from Shakespeare plays to their paraphrases.\u00a0 The answers are at the end of this article:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/virtualcampus.kingstraining.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/cartoon_plays.jpg\")
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\n 1.<\/td>\n “To be, or not to be, that is the question” Hamlet<\/em><\/td>\n a.<\/td>\n Love is tough!<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 2.<\/td>\n “Neither a borrower nor a lender be; For loan oft loses both itself and friend, and borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry” Hamlet<\/em><\/td>\n b.<\/td>\n People become important in different ways.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 3.<\/td>\n “This above all: to thine own self be true” Hamlet<\/em><\/td>\n c.<\/td>\n It hurts when your child turns against you.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 4.<\/td>\n “The course of true love never did run smooth” \u00a0A Midsummer Night\u2019s Dream<\/em><\/td>\n d.<\/td>\n Names change nothing.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 5.<\/td>\n “If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die? And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?”\u00a0 The<\/em> Merchant of Venice<\/em><\/td>\n e.<\/td>\n Appearances can be deceiving.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 6.<\/td>\n “How sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is to have a thankless child!” King Lear<\/em><\/td>\n f.<\/td>\n Keep and spend your own money only.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 7.<\/td>\n \u201cSome are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon \u2019em\u201d Twelfth Night<\/em><\/td>\n g.<\/td>\n Clever people know there is a lot still to learn.\u00a0 Stupid people think they know everything.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 8.<\/td>\n \u201cAll that glisters is not gold\u201d The Merchant of Venice<\/em><\/td>\n h.<\/td>\n We are just the same as you!<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 9.<\/td>\n “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” Romeo and Juliet<\/em><\/td>\n i.<\/td>\n Shall I kill myself?!<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 10.<\/td>\n “The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool” As You Like It<\/em><\/td>\n j.<\/td>\n Be yourself<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n