phrase
All the World's a Stage
Life is a performance with assigned roles.
Origin
From the 'Seven Ages of Man' speech in As You Like It (Act II, Scene 7), delivered by Jaques. The speech outlines seven life stages, from squalling infant to second childhood.
Modern usage
Quoted in essays on identity, performance, and social media. Erving Goffman's sociology of self-presentation made it a serious framework, not just a flourish.
Tags
performance
identity