Question

Read the passage and answer the following question(s).

The Seven Ages of Man
by William Shakespeare
All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts,
5His acts being seven ages. At first the infant,
Mewling and puking in the nurse’s arms.
Then the whining school-boy, with his satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school. And then the lover,
10Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad
Made to his mistress’ eyebrow. Then a soldier,
Full of strange oaths, and bearded like the pard,
Jealous in honor, sudden and quick in quarrel,
Seeking the bubble reputation
15Even in the cannon’s mouth. And then the justice,
In fair round belly with good capon lined,
With eyes severe and beard of formal cut,
Full of wise saws and modern instances;
And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts
20 Into the lean and slipper’d pantaloon,
With spectacles on nose and pouch on side,
His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide
For his shrunk shank; and his big manly voice,
Turning again toward childish treble, pipes
25 And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all,
That ends this strange eventful history,
Is second childishness and mere oblivion,
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans every thing.

"The Seven Ages of Man" by William Shakespeare, from As You Like It. In the public domain.

Why does the poet most likely repeat the word sans in the sentence below?
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans every thing.

A.
to show that the man does not need anything

B.
to explain that the man resembles an infant

C.
to emphasize that all traces of the man are gone

D.
to highlight that the man does not want to do anything

Answer 1

C

The repeated "sans" (meaning "without") is an example of anaphora that emphasizes the complete loss of the man's faculties — he has lost teeth, eyes, taste, indeed everything.