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William Shakespeare's Star Wars: Verily, A New Hope Hardcover – July 2 2013

by Ian Doescher (Author)
4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 1,391 ratings
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The New York Times Best Seller

Experience the Star Wars saga reimagined as an Elizabethan drama penned by William Shakespeare himself, complete with authentic meter and verse, and theatrical monologues and dialogue by everyone from Darth Vader to R2D2.

Return once more 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.

Authentic meter, stage directions, reimagined movie scenes and dialogue, and hidden Easter eggs throughout will entertain and impress fans of Star Wars and Shakespeare alike. Every scene and character from the film appears in the play, along with twenty woodcut-style illustrations that depict an Elizabethan version of the Star Wars galaxy. Zounds! This is the book you’re looking for.
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  1. Book 4 of 9
    William Shakespeare's Star Wars
  2. Print length
    176 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    Quirk Books
  5. Publication date
    July 2 2013
  6. Dimensions
    13.97 x 1.78 x 21.08 cm
  7. ISBN-10
    1594746370
  8. ISBN-13
    978-1594746376
  9. See all details
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From the Publisher

star wars, shakespeare, mash-up, parody, ian doescher, gift for star wars fan, star wars books

star wars, shakespeare, william shakespeare's star wars, scifi, humor, fantasy, gift

star wars, shakespeare, william shakespeare's star wars, scifi, humor, fantasy, gift

star wars, shakespeare, william shakespeare's star wars, scifi, humor, fantasy, gift

star wars, shakespeare, william shakespeare's star wars, scifi, humor, fantasy, gift

star wars, shakespeare, william shakespeare's star wars, scifi, humor, fantasy, gift

Q & A with Ian Doescher

What inspired you to combine Star Wars with iambic pentameter?

In 2012, I read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, watched the Star Wars trilogy for the millionth time, and attended the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Within the span of a few months, I had mash-ups, Star Wars, and Shakespeare on my mind.

Was it intimidating to take characters and plotlines that are so familiar and create something new?

I’ve been a fan of Star Wars for so long I feel some ownership in the characters—as I imagine most Star Wars fans do—so treating them as characters of my own feels natural. There’s always pressure, because other Star Wars fans may not interpret these characters the way I do, and may let me know, but the fun and challenge of it is well worth the risk.

Copyright 2020 by Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM.

Product description

Review

Praise for the William Shakespeare’s Star Wars® Series:

“Reverent, clever and a novel way for fans to re-immerse themselves in their beloved franchise.”—New York Times, on the series

“A quirky addition to the genre-busting canon.”—Entertainment Weekly, on William Shakespeare’s Star Wars

“A great gift for every geek you know, no matter what their passion.”—Huffington Post, on William Shakespeare’s Star Wars

“Enormous fun.”—A.V. Club, on William Shakespeare’s The Empire Striketh Back

“The writing’s quite good; elaborate Elizabethan woodcuts. . .are just icing on the cake.”—The Wall Street Journal, on William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of the Sith’s Revenge

“At last, the mother of all mashups is upon us.”—CNET.com, on William Shakespeare’s Star Wars

“With movie Easter eggs aplenty, Bard babes and Star Wars lovers will be equally enthused.”—Brit + Co, on William Shakespeare’s The Force Doth Awaken

“Each page proves that the English language is a playground, and Ian Doescher uses every opportunity to the fullest.”—Sweety High, on William Shakespeare’s Jedi the Last

“The book is so brilliant you’ll wonder why someone didn’t think of it sooner.”—Paste Magazine, on William Shakespeare’s Star Wars

“As Shakespeare would say, you might think, this be madness, yet there is a method in ’t.”—Newsday, on William Shakespeare’s Star Wars

About the Author

Ian Doescher is the New York Times best-selling author of the William Shakespeare’s Star Wars® series, the Pop Shakespeare series, and MacTrump. He has written for Marvel Comics and is a contributing author to the story collection Star Wars: From a Certain Point of View. He lives in Portland, Oregon, with his family. Visit him at IanDoescher.com.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Quirk Books (July 2 2013)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 176 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1594746370
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1594746376
  • Item weight ‏ : ‎ 272 g
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 13.97 x 1.78 x 21.08 cm
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 1,391 ratings

About the author

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Ian Doescher

Ian Doescher

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Ian Doescher is the author of the William Shakespeare Star Wars series and the Pop Shakespeare series. He lives in Portland, Oregon, with his spouse and two sons. Visit Ian online at www.iandoescher.com.

Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
1,391 global ratings

Top reviews from Canada

Deborah Quiring
5.0 out of 5 stars mythic!
Reviewed in Canada on October 24, 2013
Verified Purchase
The book was in excellent condition when it arrived.
The content was as clever as hoped for! Will be a
great gift!
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Angela Farrington-Thompson
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant!
Reviewed in Canada on April 1, 2014
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As both a Literacy and Drama teacher, I have to say this book is amazingly well-done. For the Star Wars fan, its a must have. For anyone teaching Shakespeare to middle or high school students, its a terrific illustration of how Shakespeare really can be understood, as it uses lines and scenes we are so familiar with, and 'translates' them into Shakespeare's type of language. Thus students can see the similarities, and find the meanings. It serves as a terrific little introduction piece to a Shakespeare unit. If you can understand Star Wars this way, you can find what is being said in Romeo and Juliet or Macbeth. I'm thrilled that an Empire Strikes Back edition is on its way!
One person found this helpful
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Gord Rachar
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic
Reviewed in Canada on September 5, 2013
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Ian Doescher did a fantastic job tying in the plot of Starwars to Shakespeare's style. I actually picked up more about the movie from this book than from watching the movie. I would very highly recommend this as a first Shakespeare reader (yes, I'm serious). Way back when in Junior High when I first read Shakespeare I was put off by the mechanics of writing for a stage play. But with a storyline I knew, I could see how it worked. I'm interested now in reading a real Shakespeare play.
2 people found this helpful
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K. Young
4.0 out of 5 stars Delightful!
Reviewed in Canada on July 20, 2013
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So often, when reading this, I wondered if the author ever saw Gerard Butler and Christian Bale act out a scene from Empire on stage for younglings in the movie Reign of Fire. As both a Shakespeare and Star Wars geek, I was thrilled with this tome. I no doubt will re-read it many times!
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Chelle
5.0 out of 5 stars Eceeded my expectations !!!
Reviewed in Canada on December 21, 2017
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Very pleased with this ..So awesome. Perfect for my nerdy Brother for Christmas. I highly recommend this.
Plan to get more in the future.
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Tyson Hein
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in Canada on January 25, 2018
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Very impressed with the quality of writing and how the whole story was translated. Very well done!
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Lauren Swan
5.0 out of 5 stars Simple and funny
Reviewed in Canada on January 17, 2017
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This was a present for a Star Wars fan with a degree in English and she loved it! It's very basic Elizabethan English so anyone can enjoy it.
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Nancy Grégoire
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellente parodie
Reviewed in Canada on June 17, 2016
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Quelle excellente parodie! Elle est parfaite pour ceux et celles qui souhaitent s'initier au monde de George Lucas, tout comme à celui du Barde de Stratford et à ses œuvres!
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Top reviews from other countries

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Raulo
5.0 out of 5 stars Star Wars y Shakespeare
Reviewed in Spain on September 4, 2020
Verified Purchase
Muy divertido, un inglés bastante asequible a la hora de traducirlo y una adaptación de los personajes galácticos a personajes shakesperianos muy buena y muy curiosa.
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Jean Picetti
4.0 out of 5 stars Adorável
Reviewed in Brazil on May 25, 2018
Verified Purchase
O "livro quatro" é o único que não segue o padrão da coleção em relação a nome e estética, de resto é tão bom quanto todos os outros.
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Armando
5.0 out of 5 stars Excelente opción
Reviewed in Mexico on December 27, 2017
Verified Purchase
Cabe aclarar que no he leído el libro, sin embargo la calidad del libro, sus acabados y sus ilustraciones son excelentes.

En las hojas que leí encontré palabras en inglés que no conozco, quizá sea porque está redactado con un estilo "a la antigua" que incluye palabras inglesas que no conozco. Esto para mí no es inconveniente pero habría que tomarlo en cuenta para las personas que no estén tan familiarizadas con el idioma inglés.

De colección!
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Ishimura
5.0 out of 5 stars AWESOME BOOK!
Reviewed in Japan on July 3, 2021
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Great book for Star Wars fans!
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Colleen Lacy
5.0 out of 5 stars If you are a fan of Shakespeare and "Star Wars" read this book.
Reviewed in the United States on April 16, 2015
Verified Purchase
Twins, separated at birth, brought together by fate to fight a war for the good of all, pitted unknowingly against their own father. With combat, subplots with comic relief, a ghost, and an antihero on the side, sounds like a pretty good Shakespeare play to me.

But really, it's the plot of "Star Wars." So why does it sound so much like an Elizabethan Revenge Tragedy? Because George Lucas based his screenplay on the same literary archetypes and structures Shakespeare used (and is often credited for creating) in his writing.

Now Ian Doescher has taken these two icons and brought them together in "William Shakespeare's Star Wars: Verily, A New Hope". This script, for it is written in script format, follows scene by scene "Star Wars, Episode IV: A New Hope" but is completely in Iambic Pentameter, with the added flourish of some Elizabethan Early Modern English.

Fans of the Bard and Star Wars will find plenty of in-jokes throughout the text that are not directly from "A New Hope". For example, Luke has a rousing speech that references both "Julius Caesar" and "Henry V", and Han Solo waxes sentimental about his days as a nerf herder. For those who are fans of only one or the other, many jokes may go by unnoticed. For those unfamiliar with both source materials, this is unlikely to be a book of any interest.

There is a scholarly element to this book for those who wish to look for it, but all in all, it's just a lot of fun. I laughed out loud at moments (not something I'm apt to do when reading), and as a theatre artist, found myself thinking of possible staging solutions for battles in space. And there are illustrations, some of which I would happily frame and hang on my wall.

There are some flaws, of course, mostly in structure. Shakespeare was a wordsmith and very spare with stage directions; it was all about the language. And "Star Wars" tells a lot of story visually. As a result, Doescher employs a Chorus to deal with much of the action, and said Chorus is perhaps a bit too present within scenes. Also, as previously mentioned, the entire thing is written in Iambic Pentameter. Although this was the primary verse form in which Shakespeare wrote, nowhere in his work is any play written ENTIRELY in Iambic Pentameter. He would use prose or another form of verse to identify class, relationship, and even social situations. The TYPE of verse, or prose, was just as important in Shakespeare's writing and it seems Doescher missed that element of the Bard's style. But then again, this is the nit-picky, scholarly bits.

I'll just bring it back to this: If you are a fan of Shakespeare and "Star Wars" read this book. Enjoy it. Have fun. Laugh. And if anyone has plans to mount a stage production, call me. (Review also posted on Goodreads.com)
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