English Explanatory Dictionary

all the world's a stage

English dictionary entry

Meanings

proverb
  1. People have roles to play in life just as actors do in the theatre.

Pronunciation

en-au-all the world's a stage.ogg

Word forms

all the world's a stage

Etymology

Coined by the English playwright William Shakespeare (baptized 1564; died 1616) from the beginning of a monologue delivered by the character Jaques in Act II, scene vii, of the play As You Like It, believed to have been written in 1599: “All the world’s a stage, / And all the men and women, meerly Players; […]”.

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