I’m working on my annual podcast on “William Shakespeare’s Star Wars” and some accompanying posts and YouTube videos. In the meantime, I’ve created some Shakespeare-Star Wars artwork via Night Creator, a free, online AI artwork website. It’s enjoyable, easy, and I hope you enjoy these “compositions.” To see more of my AI-generated art, go to this website:
William Shakespeare’s Star Wars is a series of parody plays written by Ian Doescher that takes the prose screenplays of the Star Wars story and transforms them into Elizabethan verse. Last time I mentioned how much I loved the cheeky references to Shakespeare and Star Wars, and how Doescher adapts the cinematic quality into Elizabethan drama very well. In my podcast, I also emphasized the way Doescher gives each character verbose Shakespearean language that works very well for radio and theater:
My podcast episode where I do dramatic readings of “Verily A New Hope.”
I must confess, Return of the Jedi is my favorite Star Wars movie. I’ve seen all 9 films and it’s still my favorite. I adore the effects, the tight storytelling, the emotional farewells, and the dramatic victories. What I want to do with this post, (and the accompanying podcast), is to see whether this edition captures what I love about Jedi. The short answer is- no. It doesn’t capture it, IT EXPANDS IT! In many ways this play is Doescher’s triumph- he manages to capture the tone and characters of Star Wars perfectly, and makes the Shakespearean style his own!
Notes about the play
The first play in the series, “Verily, A New Hope,” took plot and structure inspiration from Henry V; it tells the story as an epic heroic story of Luke’s heroic deeds, much like how Henry V is about a king who grows from boy to man.
The second play “The Empire Striketh Back,” takes inspiration from Hamlet and Macbeth to explore Luke’s temptation by the Dark Side of the Force. It also uses Much Ado About Nothing as an inspiration for the burgeoning relationship between Han and Leia
I would argue that “Jedi Doth Return” is a mixture of all the other plays Doescher took inspiration from. Unlike the previous plays, this feels less like a parody, and more like an adaptation. I feel that Doescher has finally become so comfortable writing in the Shakespearean style, that he rarely needs to flat out parody lines and speeches, and simply uses Shakespearean dialogue to tell the story.
Moments to Watch for:
The Language
I’ll discuss the language of Jedi in greater detail in my podcast, but I’d like to highlight one or two here.
Extended metaphors:
Vader: It is the role I play, my destiny— The grand performance for which I am made. Come, author of the dark side of the Force, Make me the servant of thy quill and write The tale wherein my son and I are seal’d As one. Come, take mine ev’ry doubt from me, And fashion from my heart of flesh and wires A perfect actor: callous, cold, and harsh. Let this, the second Death Star, be the stage, And all the galaxy be setting to The greatest moment of my narrative:
The scene in which the Empire’s fight is won Whilst I decide the Fate of mine own son - The Jedi Doth Return Act I, Scene i
3. Parody Lines
The biggest appeal of William Shakespeare’s Star Wars is the fact that it is a parody, and I’ve said for many years that parody and gentle riffing on Shakespeare is a great way to get students to overcome their fear of Shakespeare and engage with him. Students who know Star Wars but don’t know Shakespeare will recognize the familiar characters and plots of the movies and then see how Shakespeare’s language tells the story anew. Similarly, people who know Shakespeare will recognize the way Doescher re-tools famous Shakespeare quotes to give to characters in the Star Wars Universe, like here, where he spoofs the famous “All the World’s A Stage” speech:
In the Educator’s guide, which I’ve attached below, Doescher tells you exactly which lines he has parodied and the plots of the original plays so the students can learn about Shakespeare through these famous speeches. Orson Wells once said: “We sit through Shakespeare to recognize the quotations,” and this edition gives us thrilling space battle, wonderful characters, and witty dialogue to keep us entertained while we wait.
Characterizations
What I love the most about the movie and the play is that it’s a very character-driven story. Instead of long trench runs with pilots we’ve never met, we get duels to the death between characters we’ve known for years. At its heart, Jedi is the story of the Skywalker family reuniting after Darth Vader ripped it apart. It’s also the culmination of Luke growing from a boy to a man. Doescher does an incredible job voicing these characters through the verse, and his use of the language helps highlight each character’s struggle and journey.
Luke/ Vader
Left- production photo of Mark Hamil holding a skull Yorrick-style. Right- AI art I created of Luke as Hamlet.
Luke has more of a duality in this story- sometimes his speeches are hopeful, positive, and full of decisive language, while other times he is bitter, angry, and mournful. This is a perfect characterization for a young man whom the Emperor hopes to turn to the Dark Side, and these speeches excellently bring out his character. Sometimes Luke even repeats lines spoken by Vader and the Emperor just to drive this point home.
Emperor
A speech from “Jedi Doth Return.” Notice how the ideas run on past the ends of lines and how long each sentence is
As for Emperor Palpatine, his speech is similar to Claudius in Hamlet in the sense that he has many run-on lines that only get to the point at the very end. This man knows he has the ea of the entire galaxy, so he can afford to make people wait for him to finish talking. As Luke himself says: “Your overconfidence is your weakness,” and Doescher does a great job conveying that weakness through the language.
Leia/ Han
My favorite part of The Empire Striketh Back was how Doescher conveys the love between Han and Leia. In that play/ movie, it was done through irritating each other in public, and soliloquizing in private. In Jedi, Han and Leia are more of a couple, supporting each other in their fights and the language has more of a romantic tone.
Han (Hal Jourdan) and Leia (Janine Ashley) finally confess their love in this scene.
My Criticism
To sum up, Jedi is a milestone in the William Shakespeare’s Star Wars Series where Ian Doescher learned how to make the language his own, rather than borrowing lines and phrases from Shakespeare. It’s a pity there aren’t more books in this series…. right?
If you enjoyed the accompanying podcast episode to this post, please consider subscribing and donating to help me continue making fun and educational content like this!
Today, April 23 is the established birthday of William Shakespeare! Today I’ll share some of my favorite posts, videos, podcasts, and quirky recipes related to Shakespeare!
Since Mothers’ Day is this weekend, I wanted to pay homage to the greatest mother characters in the Shakespearean cannon. I know I already made a list in a previous post, but I wanted to create some art to show some of the aspects of these women that I find inspiring: Cleopatra Most art depicting… Read more: AI Art of Shakespeare’s Greatest Mother Characters
Using self-paced online activities, your child(ren) will compare the plot and characters of Star Wars to Shakespeare’s plays. We will also discuss Shakespeare writing by looking at “William Shakespeare’s Star Wars” by Ian Doescher. Course Description Outline Unit 1: How Is Shakespeare Like Star Wars? Class I- Setting the Scene Class 2: The Journey of… Read more: New Class: Shakespeare and Star Wars!
Great online classes in Shakespeare and science are available for students all this month at Outschool.com. These classes are Flex Schedule, which means the teacher prepares the activities in advance and allows you to do them at your own pace without direct consultation. Class Descriptions 2. An Immersive Guide to Shakespeare’s London 3. The Violent… Read more: Great Classes for the Month of May!
I’m working on my annual podcast on “William Shakespeare’s Star Wars” and some accompanying posts and YouTube videos. In the meantime, I’ve created some Shakespeare-Star Wars artwork via Night Creator, a free, online AI artwork website. It’s enjoyable, easy, and I hope you enjoy these “compositions.” To see more of my AI-generated art, go to… Read more: AI Shakespeare Star Wars Art
Introduction What Is William Shakespeare’s Star Wars? William Shakespeare’s Star Wars is a series of parody plays written by Ian Doescher that takes the prose screenplays of the Star Wars story and transforms them into Elizabethan verse. Last time I mentioned how much I loved the cheeky references to Shakespeare and Star Wars, and how… Read more: Review: “Star Wars- the Jedi Doth Return .” by Ian Doescher
For my Shakespeare club, my actors and I are reading William Shakespeare’s Star Wars: The Empire Striketh Back. We started staging the scene today and I’d like to publish some of our work and our discoveries going through the text.
The Scene In Context
Han and Leia have a fight before he leaves in “The Empire Strikes Back”
The scene is the first moment where Han Solo and Princess Leia display their repressed feelings for each other. Han wants to stay with Leia, but he has a bounty hunter trying to hunt him down. Also, Leia has not directly given him any sign of affection, (though Han suspects that she does have feelings for him). He wants her to ask him to stay, not because of his service to the rebellion, but because she loves him back.
Ian Doescher’s Version
Leia And Han, Act I, Scene ii [Enter Han SL, Leia enters after. stops. L: Han, halt! H:[Turn to her, bows] What is thy pleasure, Highness? L: I did believe that thou had chos’n to stay. H: [Center Stage turn out] The bounty hunter we did meet on Ord Mantell hath chang’d my mind L: -We need thee Han. H: [Turn to her] What “we?” Why speakest thou of “we?” (circling her) Dost thou in royal terms speak her of “we?” (Hands on shoulders) Hast thou a rodent in thy pocket such That thou and he are “we? (holding her hands)” What meanest thou? What need is there that thou dost share with all? [moving her center stage] [Turning to audience] Speak not of “we,” but “I.” O princess, what Dost thou most need? Not “we,” not “they,” but thou? L: [Turning to him] I know not what thou speakest of. H: [pointing at her] - ‘Tis true. Most probably thou dost not know thyself. L: Thy vanity [takes his pointer finger and points it to the sky] Hath puffed up thine imagination. H: -Aye? (Smiling) Then why doest thou yet follow me? Wert thou Afraid I would depart without a kiss? [He stands behind her, looking at her as if he's about to kiss her cheek. She steps on his foot] L: I would as eagerly kiss Wookie lips. H: That can arran`ed be. [He turns SR, starts to leave, then turns back to her.] By heaven’s breath, A kiss would suit thee well! [Exits SR}
My podcast episode about the scene
Like Han in the original script, Doescher latches on to the fact that Leia says “We need you Han,” instead of “I need you,” (which would confirm Han’s suspicions that she has feelings for him). Doescher’s Han has a mocking speech where he tries to coax Leia into saying what she truly wants from him. In both versions Leia, (annoyed with Han’s childish behavior), retorts by saying that she would rather kiss a Wookie, but in Doescher’s version, she also has a soliloquy where, like Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing, she laments that she would admit her affections if Han could put his ego aside and woo her gently, instead of his accustomed taunts and mockery.
The Verse
If you read my review of the first Shakespeare’s Star Wars play, you know that Doescher put almost every line in iambic pentameter- the standard verse for Shakespeare that has 10 beats per line. I like to call verse the heartbeat of a character and iambic pentameter is sort of a baseline for a character who is calm or in control of their emotions. What’s great about this scene is that Doescher intentionally breaks from the norm of iambic pentameter, which is appropriate because these characters are bubbling with emotions; anger, jealousy, fear, and of course, love.
Leia’s Verse
Leia only has two regular verse lines- right after she enters and right before she leaves:
L: I did believe that thou had chos’n to stay. Leia is a princess, used to giving orders and being obeyed. Accordingly her first line is a simple two word command "Han halt." Then Leia clearly. simply, and in standard iambic pentameter, asks Han to explain why he is going. From that point on, none of her lines are 10 syllables long- they either complete his or his lines complete hers. This kind of rapid-fire call and response is called Stichomythia, and it indicates how intelligent these characters are, how passionate they are, and how impatient they are with each other. It's not unlike some of Shakespeare's other great lovers like Beatrice and Benedick, or characters who dispise each other like Richard III and Lady Anne:
Notice that in this “keen encounter of wits,” the characters talk on top of each other. The verse lines indicate that Han and Leia need to keep topping each other and pick up the tempo. This helps convey how frustrated Leia is with Han and is trying to get him to get to the point! The only other regular verse line is her coup-de-gras at the end where she says “I would as soon kiss Wookie lips!” At that point, she’s done talking to Han and just wants him to go, and the verse reflects her decisive choice.
Left- Ruiz Burgos “Princess Leia & Han Solo” Right- Juliet by Philip H. Calderon (1888)
However, as you can hear in the podcast, alone in soliloquy, Leia reveals to the audience that she is still conflicted with her feelings for Han- listing all his best qualities like his hands, his face, his eyes, etc. This rhetorical technique is called anaphora, and it helps Leia build in excitement getting lost in Han’s attractive qualities. For my staging of the scene, Leia puts her hand on her cheek while standing under a balcony to emulate Juliet’s famous musings on Romeo:
Juliet. ‘Tis but thy name that is my enemy; Thou art thyself, though not a Montague. What’s Montague? it is nor hand, nor foot, Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part Belonging to a man. O, be some other name! What’s in a name? That which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet; So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call’d, Retain that dear perfection which he owes Without that title. Romeo, doff thy name, And for that name which is no part of thee Take all myself. – Romeo and Juliet, Act II, Scene ii.
Han’s Verse
While Leia’s verse is quick and direct, Han’s is slower and longer. His sentences spill over from one verse line to another because he’s taking his time. Again, his objective is to basically “neg” Leia into admitting that she loves him, so he’s enjoying goading her. He’s sort of like Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing, though Han speaks verse and Benedick speaks prose:
Han’s Extended Metaphor
Again, Han’s goal is to tease Leia into admitting that she loves him, so when she says: “We need thee Han,” he feigns ignorance and asks her to clarify her phrasing- going through all the permutations of “we” (including the colloquial, “Do you have a mouse in your pocket?”) to get her to specify what she means by “we.” If you look at Doescher’s official education guide for the William Shakespeare’s Star Wars series, you can see how Shakespearean characters often go into lengthy metaphors or comparisons to explore an idea or theme:
As I was writing William Shakespeare’s The Empire Striketh Back, I was surprised to realize I had made more references to Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing than any other play. Much Ado is a comedy—probably my favorite of Shakespeare’s comedies—so it was strange that lines from it kept popping up in the darkest of the original Star Wars® trilogy. –
Both of my actors are female and obviously, they aren’t Carrie Fisher or Harrison Ford. Since this play is a parody of the original Star Wars, I wanted to incorporate some physicality and vocal elements, without telling them to impersonate the Star Wars actors.
Han
Harrison Ford is much taller than Carrie Fisher and he uses his height to mock and irritate her. He also crosses his arms and points his index finger at her frequently in this movie, so I used that in the blocking. He also has a “cowboy stance”- legs apart, slight bend in the knees, slow, deliberate gait. Ironically, another man who has this kind of walk is David Tennant in his performance as Benedick in “Much Ado About Nothing.”
David Tennant and Catherine Tate in “Much Ado About Nothing,” Act I, Scene ii.
As for Carrie Fisher, she has a faster pace and keeps her arms close to her body. She looks like a ball of stress and anxiety, which is appropriate. After all, not only is she going to lose the man she loves, she’s under attack from an empire and living on a cold, dark planet made of ice! I told my actor to put these characterizations into her performance to not imitate Carrie Fisher, but to get the essence of how her emotions affect how the character moves and speaks. That’s the difference between acting this scene, and just doing impressions of the original actors.
I’m excited to see how my actors bring these techniques to life, and I hope you have enjoyed this little insight into how Doescher’s writing once again pulls back the curtain on how Shakespeare used his verse to show the hearts of his characters!
Concept: To explore the plot, characters, and themes of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar while also gaining an insight into Ancient Roman history and culture.
Student Description: Delve into the passionate speeches of Brutus and Antony in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, which led a whole country to revolution.
Parent Description Using self-paced online activities, and a helpful handout, your child(ren) will analyze the rhetoric and persuasive power in two speeches from Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar.” The course will also cover the culture of Ancient Rome, and the circumstances that led to Julius Caesar’s assasination, which inadvertently led to the birth of the Roman Empire.
Course Organizaiton (the class is divided into 4 parts that students can complete at their own pace over a week-long period
Each lesson will have:
“That Is the Question” (Essential Question)
Lesson Objectives
Set the Scene (Background and context)- 1-3 slides
The Players (biography) 1-3 slides
Go Deeper (Webquest)
Explore military life and the lives of women in Rome using my blog and other websites as a guide.
Post 3 things you learned to the Outschool page or send a photo of your completed handout.
Words, Words Words (Vocabulary, famous lines)
A Taste of Your Quality (Independant Project)
Show us your mettle (Test)
So each class should be 14-15 slides long.
Outline
Class I- Background on Caesar and Roman Culture
That is the Question:
Why did Brutus feel Julius Caesar had to die?
What was the aftermath?
Can one person’s speech effect an entire nation?
Lesson Objectives
To provide historical and political context to explain why Julius Caesar was assassinated, and how his death inadvertantly created the Roman Empire.
To explain the Rhetorical Triangle, the building blocks of persuasive speech.
To go through the story of Julius Caesar focusing on the effect of the speeches.
To study the famous “Friends, Romans Countrymen” speech.
To contrast this speech with some more recent political speeches and you think critically about:
Brutus- Podcast episode. I posit in this episode that Brutus is
Words, Words, Words-
Traitor
Republic
Dictator
Revolution
Ethos
Pathos
Logos
Rhetoric
Colossus
Aeneus
A Taste Of Your Quality:
(Independent work): We’ll examine a painting of Brutus’ ancestor Lucius and learn why Brutus values Rome more than even family.
Show Us Your Mettle:
Quizzes on Brutus
Class 3- Antony and Brutus’ Dueling Speeches
(c) Hartlepool Museums and Heritage Service; Supplied by The Public Catalogue Foundation
That Is the Question
After Caesar’s Death, his friend Marc Antony held a funeral for him where he gives the famous “Friends, Romans, Countrymen” speech. How did Antony’s speech affect the crowd?
Brutus has a speech where he explains why he killed Caesar. What does he say, and how effectively does he say it?
Antony was secretly plotting to take power for himself, and get Brutus and Cassius killed. How did he do it?
Do speeches have the power to change a nation?
Learning Objectives
To explain the Rhetorical Triangle, the building blocks of persuasive speech.
To study the famous “Friends, Romans Countrymen” speech, as well
To look at these speeches and get you to think critically about:
We’ll talk about the consequences of violent revolutions and how Julius Caesar has inspired some of the greatest speeches in political history.
-Patrick Henry
– Gettysburg Address
– Mean Girls
That Is the Question
How have people interpreted the play “Julius Caesar” in America?
Does this play promote violence?
What kind of violent speech do we deal with in politics today?
Learning Objectives
To show the link between American History and Julius Caesar
To address the controversy and the misconception that the play promotes violent assassination.
To end on a cautionary note people must think critically about what they hear in politics and not make rash decisions based on appeals to fear.
Setting the Scene- US History
America was founded using the principles of republican government that Ancient Rome used- with a senate, and a series of checks and balances to ensure no one has too much power.
America was founded in a violent revolution, and some of our country’s early leaders used Brutus as an inspiration- to overcome a tyrannical king.
In later years, however, some people have forgotten what happened to Brutus
Today, we are often bombarded with speech that encourages fear and anger and we must think critically when we hear such speech in whatever forum- Roman, or Reddit.
The Players (use my JC lecture?)
Patrick Henry
Abraham Lincoln
John Wilkes Booth
Donald Trump
Go Deeper
-Watch the Caesar Video
– How does the play promote nonviolence?
– How did Brutus’ assassination fail to save the Roman Republic?