The Shakespeare Quote that Could Change Your Life

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“All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players.”

As You Like It, act II, scene 7

This oft-quoted line is from one of Shakespeare’s most popular plays, said by one of his most popular characters, the melancholy philosopher, Jacques (JAKES, not jak-WEES, please, for the love of mince pie). Anyway, I originally thought it was an observation about over-the-top characters in our lives, or perhaps a bit of witty commentary on the masks we wear when we’re trying to hide our authentic selves. But what if it goes much deeper than that?

As I contemplated this quote, it began to offer more profound insights, as Shakespeare’s writing often does.

· What if this life is an outlet for artistic expression?

· What if we are not here as some form of punishment, but to share our unique talents and perspectives?

· What if our experience includes exploring deep emotions and relationships in our own ways, on our own terms?

· What advice is Shakespeare giving us?

Below are a few ideas.

Embrace Freedom. There is no need to consider yourself stuck or in prison, trapped by rules made by those who would control you. As an actor on a stage, you are free to make decisions that feel good to you. You are not bound to play a part the way others have played it before, or the way that someone else believes the part should be played. You’re the actor and you’re in charge!

Embracing this freedom takes the pressure off the decisions we make in our lives. When we see ourselves as the creators of our reality, much like an actor creates a role and takes part in a dramatic performance, we discard the victim mentality that says we can't control our circumstances. Actors enjoy the freedom to explore their feelings, relationships, physical bodies, and unique voices.

For example, we might say, “Maybe for today’s performance, I’ll see what it feels like to play this part with more compassion, or I’ll change up my timing and go for the big laughs.” As actors on a stage, we have the freedom to develop our roles in ways that feel best to us. As a singer-songwriter friend of mine always used to say, “What are they gonna do, throw tomatoes at us? Let ‘em, then we’ll have a salad for lunch!”

Express Creativity. We all have unique experiences to bring to the stage, and there is no reason to limit or hide them from others. Shakespeare used the entirety of his life experience to breathe humor, satire, empathy, politics, power, hope, dreams, desires, and love into everything he created. We can, too.

Shakespeare was the son of a glover, growing up in a small village nearly 100 miles from the center of London. His father eventually became an alderman, which enabled Will to attend the local grammar school, the King’s New School. The students learned the ancient classic texts in Latin so well that Will and his classmates could converse fluently in the ancient language by the time they graduated. Not bad for a bunch of village commoners.

Over time, Will followed his dreams of being a writer to London, where he became an actor, playwright, poet, co-owner of a theatre company, landholder, and businessman. He didn't let any of those labels limit his interests or expression of his creative ideas, and he didn’t cave to the Oxbridge bullies who said he didn’t have the credentials to be taken seriously.

Just like Will, we have traveled many roads in our lifetimes, and there is no reason to limit our creativity or label ourselves – especially at this time in humanity's existence. Recent world events have nearly forced us to be creative. It’s time for us to express our creativity in the way that feels most authentic to us, which is not necessarily the same as those who have gone before. The only limits we have are those that we agree to, or place on ourselves.

Embody Resiliency. On the stage, there is a performance every day (or evening), and sometimes twice in one day. If we mess up a particular performance, forgetting our lines, missing our mark, or even tripping onstage, there will always be another opportunity to do a better job. Many times, we play our misfortunes, resentments, or mistakes over and over again in our minds, wallowing in our failures and beating ourselves up for not being perfect. However, in reminding us that “all the world’s a stage,” Will gently suggests that replaying the past keeps us stuck and hinders us from being in the present moment for the next show.

The original Globe Theatre in London burned to the ground only fourteen years after it was built, a devastating tragedy for Shakespeare and his fellow actors. The disaster happened on June 29, 1613, during a battle scene in Shakespeare’s history play, Henry VIII. The stage cannons had gunpowder and some cotton in them, to make a big bang during the performance. A piece of burning cotton set fire to the Globe’s thatch roof, and the entire building went up in flames in a matter of hours, as the performers and audience ran for their lives. Shakespeare could have wallowed in that catastrophic failure and vowed never to write or perform another play in his life. Instead, he and his fellow shareholders rolled up their sleeves and rebuilt the theatre with a tile roof instead of thatch.

Our mistakes are meant to teach us how to make changes for the future, not to consume us or hold us back. By embodying resilience, we confirm that there is always another performance to give, and another opportunity to enjoy the show.

Shakespeare encourages us to embrace freedom, express creativity, and embody resilience. “All the world’s a stage,” “to thine own self be true,” and countless other inspirational writings of the Bard of Avon show that Shakespeare is not just a poet and playwright; he can add philosopher and mental health guru to his list of vocations. Do you agree? Does this theory resonate with you? Drop a comment, let me know, and thank you for reading!