William Shakespeare's The Empire Striketh Back

Thy tauntaun shall but freeze ere thou canst rideUnto our prim’ry marker, I predict.

HAN

Then I shall dine with thee tonight in Hell!

[Exeunt Han Solo, Chewbacca, and deck officer.

EnterLUKE SKYWALKER, hanging upside down from balcony.

LUKE

What warren, friends, is this? I am withinSome icy shelter. Now I do recall—The creature large hath ta’en me by surprise,Then quickly did my body overpow’rBy knocking me aside with painful blow.It kill’d my tauntaun with its vicious claw,

Unmovèd by the creature’s awful scream.It must have dragg’d us to this frozen lair.E’en now I hear it gnaw my tauntaun’s flesh,The stench of musty death is in my nose.Now I’m awake, hung up by my own feet,And sounds of tearing skin and crunching boneDo echo through the monster’s gloomy cave.The tauntaun, though, is only the first dish,And I am bound to be the second course.Indeed, I have a problem grave, and howShall I make rescue for myself? But wait—What’s there—a’lying on the snow nearby?It is my lightsaber—how fortunate!’Tis still too far to grasp with my own reach:Thus call I on the Force to save my life.

O concentrate, and call upon the thingsThou learn’st from Obi-Wan when he still liv’d.Forsooth, I feel the Force begin to flow—Within, nearby, inside, surrounding me.O Force most strong—the lightsaber’s at hand!Now am I free to flee the fierce beast’s clutch,But, lo, the creature comes to me anon!It will attack me in its fiery rageUnless I am the first to strike. Lay on!

EnterWAMPA. Luke cuts off the wampa’s arm and exits quickly.

WAMPA

Alas, how I am by this man abus’d—Could I, for seeking food, not be excus’d?

It seemeth that this wampa shall have strife.Thus, gentles all: have pity on my life.

[Exit wampa.

Scene 4.

The rebel base on Hoth.

Enter C-3PO, R2-D2, PRINCESS LEIA, and CHEWBACCA.

C-3PO

O horrid interim of waiting, timeThat doth like snail unwillingly creep by.Full many hours have pass’d without a wordOf Master Luke or Captain Solo. NowThe day grows late, and whisper’d words of fear

Throughout the base are heard for these men’s fate.It seems that all lose heart, and think the worst,For how can e’en our bold Han Solo standThe harsh and unrelenting chill of Hoth?But now, no more, C-3PO; thou artNot made to worry and to fret. Be brave!Come now, R2, there’s no more we can do.Behold, my joints are freezing.

R2-D2

—Whistle, hoo.

C-3PO

Say not such things! Of course we shall set eyesOn Master Luke again. And he shall beIn perfect health, thou impish little droid.Aye, he shall be in perfect health.

R2-D2