Use Of Figurative Language In The Black Death

Everyone sees the world and the importance of life differently. Shakespeare was able to write in a cynical point of view because he lived and worked during the Black Death. He lost many of his loved ones and lived in constant fear. A darker side was destined to be born. Shakespeare uses form, meaning, and figurative language to express the poem’s cynical perspective about the world and the lives within it.

Shakespeare uses the form of the poem to convey a tone of gravity and importance. The poem contains a single rhyme and a few slant rhymes. This lack of exact rhyming takes any humor or immaturity out of the poem. Shakespeare’s use of long sentences also adds to the poem’s serious tone. It shows the deep thought and severity the speaker has placed into his words. Shakespeare forms the poem to add gravity and a serious tone to the meaning of his poem.

Instead, it is the individual who revolves around the world as he tries to contribute a more significant and memorable role in life. The speaker says, “All the world’s a stage/ and all the men and women merely players,” to describe his views on individual lives. He see the world as a powerful play, and individual actors give only a small, almost meaningless contribution. The speaker continues to say, “And one man in his time plays many parts/ His acts being seven ages,” and does not seem to view any age fondly. He sees every life almost as a copy of the one before since everyone lives the same seven ages. Shakespeare expresses this idea