William Shakespeare's Star Wars by Ian Doescher

Ian Doescher obviously loves Shakespeare. He takes such care of a very beloved script, translating it into iambic pentameter and rhyming couplets. It must have taken a heck of a lot of diligence and research to accomplish, and to think he's done this 6 times, one for each film! I am thoroughly impressed and obviously incredibly lazy. I can't even write on this blog every night.

Despite the impressiveness of Doesher's feat, I do feel he took a few shortcuts. He relies heavily on Henry V, utilizing the St. Crispin's Day speech. Luke also has an Antony "Friends Romans Countrymen" moment and a sort of "Alas, poor Yorick" moment too. I don't remember anything similar in the actual films. Luke, as a relative newcomer to the Rebellion, has no place speechifying to the pilots in the war room. I can maybe see how Henry's journey mirrors Luke's, but it feels like a bit of a cop-out. But then again, he's just re-written a script in iambic pentameter. A guy taking on a challenge like this certainly has the right to use a crutch here and there, right?

One thing I do wish: I wish he'd had Luke say "Carrie!" after he came back from blowing up the Death Star. Some things should stay the same.

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