Books

William Shakespeare's Star Wars: Verily, A New Hope

  • Apr 17, 2021
  • Ian Doescher
  • 163 responses.

William Shakespeare s Star Wars Verily A New Hope MAY THE VERSE BE WITH YOU Return once to a galaxy far far away with this sublime retelling of George Lucas s epic Star Wars in the style of the immortal Bard of Avon The saga of a wise Jedi knight an

  • Title: William Shakespeare's Star Wars: Verily, A New Hope
  • Author: Ian Doescher
  • ISBN: 9781594746376
  • Page: 315
  • Format: Hardcover

    • MAY THE VERSE BE WITH YOU Return once to a galaxy far, far away with this sublime retelling of George Lucas s epic Star Wars in the style of the immortal Bard of Avon The saga of a wise Jedi knight and an evil Sith lord, of a beautiful princess held captive and a young hero coming of age, Star Wars abounds with all the valor and villainy of Shakespeare s greatestMAY THE VERSE BE WITH YOU Return once to a galaxy far, far away with this sublime retelling of George Lucas s epic Star Wars in the style of the immortal Bard of Avon The saga of a wise Jedi knight and an evil Sith lord, of a beautiful princess held captive and a young hero coming of age, Star Wars abounds with all the valor and villainy of Shakespeare s greatest plays Tis a tale told by fretful Droids, full of faithful Wookiees and fearsome Stormtroopers, signifying pretty much everything.Reimagined in glorious iambic pentameter, William Shakespeare s Star Wars will astound and edify Rebels and Imperials alike Zounds This is the book you re looking for.

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    William Shakespeare's Star Wars: Verily, A New Hope

    About "Ian Doescher"

    1. Ian Doescher

      Ian is the author of the William Shakespeare Star Wars series He s a Portland native, and lives in Portland with his spouse and two children Ian has a B.A in Music from Yale University, a Master of Divinity from Yale Divinity School, and a Ph.D from Union Theological Seminary.

    163 Comments

    1. You re not reading this book for the story You know the story If you re picking up this book, you ve seen movie movies times than you can count You re reading this book for the execution And let me tell you the execution is hilaaarious Now you might be a little leery, what with George Lucas undo preference for a revised Star Wars coupled with his tight control over the copyright of the franchise, and fear that not even the language of Shakespeare can make worth entering into that whole mess aga [...]

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    2. Actual rating 3.5 C 3PO Now is the summer of our happiness Made winter by this sudden, fierce attack R2 D2 Beep beep, Beep, beep, meep, squeak, beep, beep, beep, whee C 3PO We re doomed Sometimes the greatest things in life are made better in combination Chocolate Yum Peanut Butter Yes, please But a Reese s Peanut Butter cup is quite possibly manna under heaven Some things, like chocolate and peanut butter, are just meant to be Others, like David Bowie and Iman, require of a stretch of the imag [...]

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    3. Ian Doescher has set Star Wars Episode IV A New Hope to Shakespeare s iambic pentameter As someone who has the entire Star Wars story memorized but isn t the biggest fan of Shakespeare, I found this idea charming I read the entire play in under two hours and think it would be an asset for high school English classes because it could make Shakespeare relevant to the kids I am curious to read the other parts of the saga especially the I am your father scene which has the making for classic literat [...]

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    5. Find all of my reviews at 52bookminimum Friends, rebels, Starfighters, lend me your ears William Shakespeare s Star Wars Verily, A New Hope is exactly what the title says Star Wars rewritten in iambic pentameter If you aren t a Star Wars fan, then what the fuck are you doing reading this you re probably not going to understand why this is the best thing I ve seen lately I m also fairly certain zombie Shakespeare won t be returning from the grave anytime soon in order to tell me that I read wrong [...]

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    6. 4.5 5 StarsI loved this so so much I found the audiobook on Scribd and honestly, it was so much better than reading the physical book I started the physical book a while back and hadn t finished it, and I thought I loved it, BUT THE AUDIOBOOK MAN There are tracks from the soundtrack, sound effects, and a full cast doing the voices of all of the characters similar to how they sound in the movie.Star Wars written as Shakespeare is GENIUS and I am so pumped to read the rest of these NOW I NEED TO G [...]

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    7. I m sorry, five stars is necessary What could have been an easy joke is instead a wonderful and perfectly hilarious tribute to both Star Wars and Shakespeare, written with care and attention to detail hey, iambic pentameter ain t easy Soliloquies about Fate Fourth wall breaking asides Omniscient choruses Idioms galore Yep, it s all here Doescher doesn t miss a thing, and the result is a book that can be enjoyed on different levels whether you crack it open to a random page for sheer amusement O [...]

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    8. In time so long ago begins our play,In star crossed galaxy far, far away This was everything you would expect from Star Wars if it had been written by the great William Shakespeare It was witty, smart and full of crazy drama Basically A LOT of fun to read and something I got added enjoyment from by reciting it out loud to my dog C mon You know you ALL would do that too while reading this And honestly I m beginning to think that I missed my calling in life Surely the Royal Shakespeare Company are [...]

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    9. I was raised on Star Wars.This book is just what it sounds like.Am I the only one who is really pissed that droids are slaves They are clearly sentient beings, and should not be sold at slave auctions and be subject to any master who buys them And at the end, how come C 3PO and R2 D2 don t get medals from Princess Leia This is bad.R2 D2 can speak perfect Shakespearean English and lets the audience know his innermost thoughts in numerous asides I m not sure I like that.The author also uses asides [...]

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    10. This is not a book to give someone who likes Star Wars and needs an introduction to Shakespeare nor is it a good book to give to someone who likes Shakespeare and needs an introduction to Star Wars First, if you really like your Star Wars, then it may be a novelty item, though for the adult who can get through the reading than the child who will have no basis for anything as it is written Second, for me, the author seems to have a base knowledge of Shakespeare, but not quite a complete directio [...]

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    11. Read on the WondrousBooks blog.My last finished book for 2015, with a review coming a bit late.I loved this Ian Doescher is a genius I can only imagine the dedication he has to both Shakespeare and Star Wars in order to be able to write an entire series like this But it works The book was hilarious and very interesting to read What I had a lot of fun with 1 R2 s dramatic monologues.2 All of the hidden jokes about the chemistry between Luke and Leia.3 The creativity of the author as a whole.To me [...]

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    12. 3.5 stars Pray, R2 D2, Where art thou Seriously, how awesome is that This book or should I say play is like a love story between George Lucas Star Wars and the works of William Shakespeare I have seen each Star Wars movie times than I can count and also read a couple of star wars books to the boys along the way I am than familiar with Star Wars and it was fun to read it in iambic pentameter I thought when I began reading this book, that this book will get old fast for mebut it didn t It was a [...]

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    13. This is amusing as a quick read I m contemplating who might enjoy it as a quirky Christmas gift It d have to be someone who can appreciate the ridiculous literary touches like R2D2 beeping in iambic pentameter , and who is a pretty big fan of both Star Wars and Shakespeare, I think I m not really enough of a fan of either to truly appreciate this.I can also imagine that you could be too much of a fan of Shakespeare or Star Wars to appreciate this It s best taken lightly.Definitely a gift for a g [...]

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    15. This is absolutely a book only for people who love Star Wars But why would you read it if you didn t You d also need to have a certain love, or at least appreciation, for Shakespeare Sure, it s a niche audience, but I d bet it s a pretty sizable niche And, astonishingly, Doescher does an admirable job serving that niche What I expected going in was that this would essentially be the script of Star Wars, with a lot of anon s and prithee s thrown in I wasn t expecting that Doescher would actually [...]

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    16. Clever clever I had so much fun with this the author wrote it all in iambic pentameter, here and there borrowing from Shakespeare s plays Luke started one speech with a nod to Julius Caesar, and by the end had moved on to Henry V When C 3PO thinks he hasn t turned off the trash compactor soon enough to save Luke and co he says A plague on 3PO for action slow, a plague upon my quest that led us here, a plague on both our circuit boards, I say Hee hee.For people who know the movie by heart, or hav [...]

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    17. I love Star Wars the movies Like the auther, I have watched them over and over and over They never get old I enjoyed reading this little book of Star Wars verse so much It was a whole new way to enjoy what I have always enjoyed watching on the screen, plus a new voice for R2 D2 His comments, in English to the audience reader were wonderful A couple of asides that were a beautiful addition to the characters thoughts and feelings that we do not get to know when we see them on the screen One from L [...]

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    18. In a nutshell William Shakespeare and Star Wars is an odd yet genius combination in this well executed retelling of A New Hope It s a must read for any Star Wars fan WritingIt s simultaneously odd yet hilarious to have such well known characters speak like Shakespearean characters Yet it actually works quite well in the context Rather than being a mere parody of Star Wars, the book is of a retelling that is told in the style of William Shakespeare Something I liked in particular about this book [...]

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    19. You might dismiss this as a gimmicky joke like Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, but it s actually surprisingly brilliant Rather than just render the Star Wars screenplay in iambic pentameter, the author fleshes it out into a full Shakespearean play significantly longer than the movie complete with a chorus, audience asides and inner monologues The genius of this is twofold.First, it enriches Star Wars for example, R2 D2 becomes an interesting character rather than comic relief we see of Obi Wan [...]

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    20. While I guess I should have, I hadn t expected the author to borrow and adapt passages from Hamlet, Julius Caesar, Henry V, etc Some of that was delightful some of it came off a trifle silly I thought the way the author wrote out R2 D2 s electronic noises in iambic pentametre e.g Beep, whistle, squeak, beep, meep, hoo whistle was cute, although rendering Huttese and Rodian without any translation, not so much Although I m all for alien languages with subtitles in movies R2 is also given speeches [...]

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    21. Star Wars and Shakespeare, together at last It was bound to happen If they can wedge Les Mis rables onto a stage, or add zombies to Jane Austen, they can clothe Luke Skywalker in 16th century tights and a ruff Aye, verily It has good points and bad points The asides are quite funny and informative They tell a little about what the characters were thinking than the movie ever did Although R2 D2 s whistles and beeps, funny at first, became pointless and irritating after a while And why can t all [...]

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    22. This book was everything I wanted it to be and I love Shakespeare and Star Wars has been my favorite movie series since I was two, so when I saw this box set I kinda squealed in the middle of the shop I loved the way Ian transferred the story over I also loved seeing some of Shakespeare s popular themes and opinions brought out in the story, like Vader s rampage about politicians One of my favorite parts of the book are the little side speeches the characters make that aren t in the movies, esp [...]

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    23. Second Reading January 2017This is genius It is brilliantly done Iambic Pentameter A clear connection to WS s greatest plays Faithful to Star Wars.I had no idea that George Lucas studied Hamlet when writing SW in order to massage the best of the Shakespearean archetypes into his SW story Hearing SW in this verse, it is obvious And amazing.First Reading February 2015 So smart So well done Truly inspired

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    24. Sta reci, ako volite Sekspira ili Star Wars slobodno probajte Pricu znate tako da je glavni interes kako sve to zvuci po Sekspiru I vala smesno je Tako da probajte.

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    25. I should begin by saying that I m going to be grossly unfair and harsh in judging Ian Doescher s efforts in this book He comes at times to really capturing a Shakespearean flavor and verve but too often appears to believe that he s channeling the Bard by using thou and prithee and anon, putting verbs at the end of sentences, and stressing past tense endings e.g banish d That said, this is an enjoyable if frivolous diversion, and I would recommend it to the probably not quite as rare as you think [...]

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    27. I ve had my sights on this book for quite a while When I saw it up on Edelweiss, I promptly requested a digital copy, and was pretty glad I was approved quickly All this in exchange for an honest review, of course I must confess I m a long time Shakespeare addict I sure don t find all his works wonderful, I have my favourites and my not so favourites, and sometimes I take it in jest than in earnest, but we re nevertheless speaking here of someone who recognises her iambic pentameters when she s [...]

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    28. I got a copy of this book to review from the Quirk Books in exchange for an honest review When I saw this book was releasing I really wanted to read it, I love Shakespeare and Star Wars and was eager to see what would happen when the two are put together The result was very pleasant I enjoyed the dramatic way Star Wars is done in play form and the wonderful illustrations throughout I really enjoyed reading this.This book covers Star Wars Episode IV A New Hope in a very Shakespearean format The b [...]

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    29. That William Shakespeare sure wrote a lot of plays, eh Unfortunately for us, he had to go and die some three hundred and fifty years before George Lucas created Star Wars talk about your bad timing Luckily, author Ian Doescher has studied the immortal work of the Bard and has rewritten the classic sci fi script in iambic pentameter.I received a free copy from the fine folks at Quirk Books in exchange for an honest review.Sure, you could look at this book as a joke but the truth is, Doescher puts [...]

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    30. That was so much fun Very Star Wars, melded nicely with Shakespearean style and language, plus a little Greek drama added in through the role of the chorus I really enjoyed this.

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