Final answer:
Jaques' speech 'All the world's a stage' in 'As you like it' is a contemplation on the stages of human life, comparing it to a play where everyone acts out their roles in seven stages.
Step-by-step explanation:
The speech 'All the world's a stage' is delivered by Jaques in the play 'As you like it' by William Shakespeare. The gist of this monologue is a contemplation on the stages of human life. It expresses the idea that life is like a play, where everyone acts out their roles in seven stages - a common perspective during the Renaissance period. The seven stages are: infancy, schoolboy, lover, soldier, justice, old age, and finally, mental and physical decline.
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