Ein Monolog aus William Shakespeare’s The Phantom of Menace

Es sind nur noch wenige Tage bis zur Veröffentlichung von William Shakespeare’s The Phantom of Menace. Grund genug von Ian Doescher, einen kurzen Auszug aus dem Werk auf Facebook zu posten (via Jedi-Bibliothek):

Amidala: A person young is thought to have no pow’r,
E’en when she is a queen, as like myself.
Those older do surround, e’er pressing in
And questioning each word that I do speak.
One thinks I shall a poor decision make,
Another thinks himself more competent.
The best of them do bow and show respect
And treat me with the def’rence due my throne,
Yet even their eyes speak of disbelief—
Their courtesy becomes a stifling thing.
A youth is no more frail than older folk,
No less intelligent, no less sublime.
Our steps are newer, yet we are no jewel
To be protected and encas’d by them.
We know of violence and life’s harsh ways,
Our tears descend in grief as their tears do.
We are not made of softer stuff than they,
The moods we feel oft run irate and rough.
We have no thoughts less noble than our elders’—
In truth, compassion may we ably teach.
Then why is’t thought that youth are so beneath
Those older than we are, of any rank?
‚Tis foolishness, yea, ‘tis foul treachery!
If e’er these older ones could look within
And plumb the depths of youth, what wonders would
Before their eyes appear: the courage, strength
And valor it requires to be a youth:
The daily struggle to survive amid
The thousand constant doubts we do receive
From ev’ry person, e’en those who are dear,
The ever-present skirmishes with those
Of our own age, who should support and praise
Us, bound within the sacred bond of youth,
But who, instead, do injure with harsh words.
To be a youth within a world run by
An older generation taketh strength—
Yea, that beyond a hundred elders’ might.
To be both youth and leader truly is
To be a target ever in their sights.
I would not trade my station for the world,
Nor would I wish it on my enemy.
Although the path is fraught, this is our cause:
We youth shall mold the future we desire.

Das Werk wird am 7. April erscheinen und lässt sich bereits vorbestellen. Eine Leseprobe zum Werk findet ihr hier.