Ian Doescher - William Shakespeare's The Jedi Doth Return

O agony!

—Young fool, ’tis only now
In this, thy final living moment, thou
Dost comprehend thy folly and my might.

Thy feeble skills are nothing when compar’d
To all the power of the dark side. Thou
Dost pay the rightful price for thy severe
And utter lack of vision. Aye, thy debt
Is due, and I am both thy creditor
And thy collector, too. What thou hast not
Repaid with thy belief I shall exact
From thine own flesh. And O, what joy it brings
To charge thee thus—my payment justly earn’d.
To wound thee, hurt thee, break thee, and, at last,
To bring to thee the death that I am ow’d.

O, Father, please, do not stand idly by—
Assist me, if thou ever mercy knew!

And now, young Luke Skywalker, thou shalt die.

My Father, gracious father, lend me aid!
Extend to me the grace I beg of thee!

[ aside: ] This torment is not only his, but mine.
His ev’ry shriek doth sound within my soul
As though ’twere I who were assaulted here.
What feeling’s this—my heart hath turn’d toward
The boy? My heart, that center of my soul
That I so long have hidden ’neath the dark
And evil deeds that well befit a Sith.
But how my heart doth groan as though it wakes
From lengthy sleep. It shakes my spirit, spurs
My aging wither’d body, and doth make
Me young again—I am a Jedi Knight,
By Obi-Wan instructed; Anakin,
The name by which my mother call’d me, calls
Me now to resurrect my former self.
Methinks I feel the Force within me here—
Not to perform the deeds of evil men
But to release myself from bitter hate
And rescue Luke, whose courage I behold.
It is the cause, it is the cause, my soul.
Be Anakin Skywalker now—recall
The man thou wert and rescue thy dear son!

O Father, thou hast sav’d me from great woe—
And thou hast sav’d thyself. Now, let us go!

The battle’s over, my commander. All
The rebels have been routed, and abscond
Unto the forest. Reinforcements are
Requir’d to aid us in our quick pursuit.

Hurrah!

—Send thou three squads to bring them help!
Pray, open up the back door speedily.
What joy! The rebels know defeat today,
And we’ll rejoice to bear the news unto
Our officers superior. Go now!

A cunning line! And you are quite the catch—
Deceiv’d by rebels playing Empire’s part!
We dangled all your hopes for victory
As bait to draw you in and hold you fast,
And now we take the bunker in our care.
Let fall your weapons, else I shall release
Your lives unto these creatures’ fearsome pow’r!
Perchance they seem not vicious, yet they have
What thou canst never know: fierce bravery.

This bunker shall anon destroyèd be,
And then our friends may strike their final blow.

Indeed! Pray, give to me another charge.
We shall fulfill this task with perfect skill—
And leave no charge unusèd.

—Auugh!

—’Tis set!
Now let us fly! Else we shall bear the blast.

’Tis done, the Endor crew hath triumph’d yet—
The shield is down! Upon the Death Star’s main
Reactor let us fly anon. Then shall
We reach the core and give it quite a zap!

We fly with haste! Red Group, Gold Group, form up
And follow me! Today rebellion shall
Have reason to exult! Our enemies
Shall soon be vanquish’d! O what triumph shall
Be ours when this great Death Star its own death
Doth undergo. Three things shall be achiev’d
Thereby. The first shall be a victory
For our Rebellion—all the fervent hopes
Of these past years attain’d in one swift stroke.
The second benefit of Death Star’s end
Is freedom and security for all
Within the galaxy—no more oppress’d
By evil tyrants, people shall once more
Be free to dwell in possibility.
And finally, the third result of this
Great Death Star’s fall shall be the rising up
Of all whose pasts conceal some awful guilt,
Some aspect of their lives that brings regret.
I speak of my own past—you all know well
How I betray’d my friend when th’Empire forc’d
My hand. And e’en that friend, good Han, hath through
Rebellion’s cause found purpose he had ne’er
Imagin’d. In this battle we fight not
To merely terminate an enemy—
Full many of us rebels seek the bliss,
The balm and healing of redemption’s touch.
So let it be, my noble comrades all:
Fight now for the Rebellion, fight for all
Who dwell within our galaxy, and fight
Most ardently, indeed, for your own souls.
Thus shall we raise those who by Empire’s might
Have died, and forth from their celestial graves
Shall they ascend and with a rebel’s voice
Cry “Havoc!” and let slip the dogs of war!

Well spoken! I fly in for rebels’ gain!

N’tiya tih.

—We fly with thee, good Wedge:
Inside the station, t’ward the centermost.
TIE fighters follow us adroitly in—
Mark well how they do come behind anon.
We must outrun them e’en as we approach
The place where we shall strike the Death Star’s core.