William Shakespeare's The Empire Striketh Back

There is a willow grows aslant a brook,That shows his hoar leaves in the glassy stream;There with fantastic garlands did she comeOf crow-flowers, nettles, daisies, and long purplesThat liberal shepherds give a grosser name,But our cold maids do dead men’s fingers call them:There, on the pendant boughs her coronet weeds

Clambering to hang, an envious sliver broke;When down her weedy trophies and herselfFell in the weeping brook. Her clothes spread wide;And, mermaid-like, awhile they bore her up:Which time she chanted snatches of old tunes;As one incapable of her own distress,Or like a creature native and induedUnto that element: but long it could not be

Till that her garments, heavy with their drink,Pull’d the poor wretch from her melodious layTo muddy death.

This device is called on more frequently in William Shakespeare’s The Empire Striketh Back, giving the chorus a needed break.

Fourth, Lando. As much as I like Billy Dee Williams, and as smooth as he was in 1980, in my opinion his character isn’t fleshed out very well. We never know what he was thinking when he was forced to betray his friend, or what made him decide to help Leia and Chewbacca in the end. Filling in some of Lando’s story with asides and soliloquies that show how conflicted he feels hopefully gives him some depth and makes him even more compelling than in the movie.

Once again, writing William Shakespeare’s The Empire Striketh Back was a delight. Most Star Wars fans agree that

Empire is the best of the original trilogy, and I hope I’ve done it justice. I say “most Star Wars fans” because in fact, Empire is not my personal favorite. I prefer Return of the Jedi, thanks in large part to two things. First, it is the first Star Wars movie I saw in the theater (I was six). Second, when I was growing up we owned a VHS tape of From Star Wars to Jedi: The Making of a Saga, and I loved hearing about the seven puppeteers who made Jabba move, seeing how the rancor came to life, learning how the speeder bike sequences were done, and so on.

That said, of the three movies, Empire has the most Shakespearean themes—betrayal, love, battles, destiny, teachers, and pupils. All of those, plus the shocking father–son relationship. In some ways, Empire

follows an ancient story form that Shakespeare used: a classic tragedy, with Luke Skywalker as the tragic hero. He is like the Greek tragic hero Oedipus, who learns only too late that his mother is his wife and tears out his eyes after she hangs herself. Luke discovers that Darth Vader is his father just after losing a hand—close enough, right? Luke also demonstrates some serious hubris, just like Oedipus: he faces Darth Vader before being truly ready, despite the objections of the two remaining Jedi in the entire galaxy. And he pays the tragic price for it. Along the way, Han Solo is put on ice and Leia’s and Chewbacca’s hearts are broken. All the heroes will, of course, live on, and the tragedy will turn toward Darth Vader’s redemption in Return of the Jedi, but when you take Empire as a single unit, the tragedy is Luke’s, and the rebels see the worst of things by far.

Thank you for continuing this adventure with me. I hope William Shakespeare’s The Empire Striketh Back offers plenty for both Star Wars fans and Shakespeare fans to appreciate. For instance, I hope talking wampas, AT-ATs, and space slugs (to say nothing of singing Ugnaughts) bring a smile to your face. And did you notice whom Han and Leia sound like once they start getting romantic? (Hint: look at the line endings.)

The positive response to William Shakespeare’s Star Wars was a gift to me as a writer; I hope my retelling of Empire (and Return of the Jedi, coming soon) is a fitting thank-you.

Acknowledgments.