William Shakespeare's The Jedi Doth Return

[ aside:

] I never did imagine that, in death,I would be call’d upon to justify
The words I spoke in life. ’Twas well I spoke
Not of the midi-chlorians to Luke,
For then he would have endless questions still.
[ To Luke:] Thine inquiry shall have an answer, Luke,
For verily thou dost deserve to know.
Thy father was seducèd by the dark
Side of the Force. ’Twas then that he no more
Was Anakin Skywalker, only Darth.
When that had happen’d, thy good father was
Destroy’d. And thus, forsooth, the words I spoke
Were truthful, from a certain point of view.

Luke

“A certain point of view”? What doth that mean?
It may be said that I, within my ship,
Do see my X-wing as an instrument
Of truth and justice, aye, a noble thing,
While from a certain point of view I know
Mine enemies do see it as a threat.
It may be said that when I was attack’d
By rancor vicious and intemperate,
Prepar’d to make of me his morning meal,
There is a certain point of view that doth
Suggest he was a simple hungry beast.
It may e’en be that our Rebellion is,
For us, an undertaking pure and good,
Possessing every virtue possible,
While from the Empire’s certain point of view
It is a mere annoyance to be crush’d.
But this, I do not understand: how can
A certain point of view say that a man
Was murder’d by another man, when both
Are one and they together are my father?

Obi-Wan

Luke, thou shalt find that many of your truths
Depend entirely on your point of view.
It well may be that thou dost like it not,
But does not follow that it is not so.
’Tis true, that Anakin a good friend was.
When I first knew him, he already was
A pilot skill’d and swift, and it amaz’d
Me with what strength the Force work’d in his life.
I took it on myself to train him as
A Jedi. Even then I did believe
That I could train him just as Yoda could.
But there my fault did lie. Therein I fail’d.

Luke

I do believe it may be rectified.
What if he could be turnèd once again?
There is yet good within him—I can feel’t.

Obi-Wan

He is machine e’en more than man, I fear.
His soul’s an evil, tangl’d labyrinth.

Luke

I shall not do it, Ben.

Obi-Wan

—Thou canst not ’scape
Thy destiny. You must confront and face
Darth Vader once again.

Luke

—I shall not kill
My father.

Obi-Wan

—Then the Emperor hath won.
Thou wert our only hope the Empire and
The dark side to defeat. If thou wilt not,
No other shall arise to take our place.

Luke

But must this necessarily be so?
For Yoda spoke of yet another. Who?

Obi-Wan

No more of hidden pasts: thou shalt know all.
The other one of which he spoke is none
But thy twin sister.

Luke

—Sister? I know none.

Obi-Wan