Sketch of Age in Shakespeare's Henry IV (Parts 1 and 2)

Abstract As there is birth, everything including human being is certain of the journey of being aged but the society and its various institutions became dogmatic at the time of approaching an aged man focusing on their norms and culture. On the other hand, there is no universal definition or margin of calling a person aged. Despite the people in the society, however knowledgeable and gifted they are, keep on pursuing the social norm and cannot think over it. Shakespeare is also one of them who consider the age as the society sees. But, being an undisputed and world class writer, this approach cannot be expected from Shakespeare. And so, this paper investigates Shakespeare’s attitude towards age and aged people in comparison to the young in the both parts of the drama, Henry IV. For this investigation, the text with all its annotations and critics’ comments are analysed minutely from a gerontological point of view. This study also examines the concept of aging in some other works of Shakespeare.www.jcsll.gta.org.u