"Remember that the most beautiful things in the world are the most useless; peacocks and lilies, for example"

To me, this quote has two meanings to it.

Firstly, that everything in this world is beautiful, only we don't notice the hectic busy things, that have purpose and reason because we are focused on their piont, not their beauty. I think something simple, with no use, can be apreaciated fully for its beauty because we have no other reason for looking at it. If we only noticed the fast-moving busy things in life then nothing would be beautiful.

Secondly, and lastly, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Something small and useless could mean everything to one person, simply because of the meaning behind it. Beauty is subjective and personal, useless or not.

"All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players"

Personally, I believe the quote "All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players" (Shakespeare, As You Like It, 1600) implies that life is simply a game that all humans are unconsciously playing. Maybe no-one is really living their lives as they would like, but instead acting a different part in response to the company they are keeping at that moment in time. Perhaps every single person is an actor; some just prefer to stay off the stage.

I agree with Shakespeare, the world is just one huge production acted out on our very own stage. A strict improvisation where we make up who we want to be every day, changing constantly to mold ourselves into the surroundings. One day we act the villain whereas others, the hero. After constantly living this way, surely people start to forget who they were meant to be at a specific time or even forget who they are behind the scary mask. These become the cracks in our play, the areas that aren't as great as the rest. Like most theatrical plays, there are ups and downs, just like life.

When forced to think alone about what Shakespeare was really trying to show when writing 'All The Worlds A Stage' it makes me wonder who is real from fake? Are people fake when they act different around others, or is it human nature? Was he trying to say that the world is our own stage and we should use it to act our own lives or that we should become characters that aren't really who we are?

In my theatre studies lesson, we discussed this quote together, gradually leading into from a discussion about the arts in general. It seemed that the term "The Arts" was very subjective and each person came up with different ideas as to what it meant to them and what it could mean to others. For example, modern art, e.g, rubbish scattered across the floor, to some may simply just be rubbish scattered across the floor whereas to others it would be talented art. What is an "Art" to some, may not be to others. This is the conclusion that we made, art is what your passionate about, hobbies and interests. It really is each to their own.