The Gerontologist, Vol 32, Issue 6 733-738, Copyright © 1992 by The Gerontological Society of America

ARTICLES

"To everything there is a season": some Shakespearean models of normal and anomalous aging

HS Donow
Southern Illinois University, Carbondale 62901-4503.

Shakespeare perceived aging characters as falling broadly into two categories: normal and anomalous. The former age in conformity to societal expectations, often displaying an inability to affect the outcome of events; the latter (e.g., Lear and Falstaff), deviating from these behavioral norms, dominate the action of their respective plays. Falstaff, a prime example of the anomalous ager, suffers rejection by King Henry V, his former boon companion, a consequence of ageism.