In 'As You Like It', Jaques delivers the famous 'Seven Ages of Man' speech. The speech begins with the well-known line, 'All the world's a stage,' and describes human life as a sequence of seven stages.
Jaques is one of Duke Senior's noblemen living in the Forest of Arden. He is characterized by melancholy, skepticism, and sharp observation. In Act II, Scene 7, he reports meeting the fool Touchstone and then develops the theatrical metaphor: people enter and leave the world like actors, each playing successive roles.
The seven stages run from infancy and childhood through school, adulthood, justice, old age, and a final return to helplessness. The speech is often called 'The Seven Ages of Man', although Shakespeare's text itself presents it as Jaques's reflection on the world's stage.
Touchstone is a common mix-up because he is the play's professional fool and a major comic presence. Rosalind is the play's heroine, and Orlando is her love interest; neither delivers this speech. Jaques does not drive the romantic plot, but his commentary gives the comedy a darker, philosophical dimension.