Editing 1771: It Was I
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Darth Vader counters by pointing out that regardless of the grammatical correctness of "It was I", it is a {{w|set phrase}} with a good archaic ring to it suitable for a dramatic revelation from an Emperor. Vader and the Emperor using English archaisms has canon basis in ''Star Wars'', with Vader asking "What is thy bidding, my master?" in ''The Empire Strikes Back''. Historically, "thee", "thou", and "thy" were actually ''informal'' pronouns, but because they are not used in modern English, except in reciting historical works like some editions of the Bible, they are thought of as ceremonial and formal today. Using the archaic form would be more consistent with the Emperor's speech pattern. | Darth Vader counters by pointing out that regardless of the grammatical correctness of "It was I", it is a {{w|set phrase}} with a good archaic ring to it suitable for a dramatic revelation from an Emperor. Vader and the Emperor using English archaisms has canon basis in ''Star Wars'', with Vader asking "What is thy bidding, my master?" in ''The Empire Strikes Back''. Historically, "thee", "thou", and "thy" were actually ''informal'' pronouns, but because they are not used in modern English, except in reciting historical works like some editions of the Bible, they are thought of as ceremonial and formal today. Using the archaic form would be more consistent with the Emperor's speech pattern. | ||
β | Palpatine finally decides to take a third option, and uses "[ | + | Palpatine finally decides to take a third option, and uses "[http://www.papermag.com/it-me-you-and-everyone-we-know-a-look-at-the-webs-most-ambiguous-meme-1427655235.html it me]", a popular meme on Twitter in 2016. Darth Vader, out of embarrassment, begs him not to talk like that again. |
One of [[Randall]]'s themes is that grammar pedants apply rules to correct other people long after those rules have fallen out of actual usage. Luke is here being an anti-grammar-pedant, asking the Emperor to disapply the rule. See [[890: Etymology]] for another instance of Luke failing to notice semantics. | One of [[Randall]]'s themes is that grammar pedants apply rules to correct other people long after those rules have fallen out of actual usage. Luke is here being an anti-grammar-pedant, asking the Emperor to disapply the rule. See [[890: Etymology]] for another instance of Luke failing to notice semantics. | ||
β | Characters concentrating on the linguistics of other characters speech while they deliver dramatic revelations, or the overall situation being already critical, | + | Characters concentrating on the linguistics of other characters speech while they deliver dramatic revelations, or the overall situation being already critical, [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/YouMakeMeSic is a classical joke]. But characters interrupted for grammatical remarks typically ignore it or just blame the interrupter for not focusing on the important subject. Here, Randall goes one step further by having the other characters join the grammatical argument instead. |
The title text runs with the joke in the final panel, applying the same meme to Darth Vader's iconic quote "No, I am your father." It could be said that such a phrasing robs the moment of all gravitas, but then again, Yoda managed to coin a phrase like "Do or do not; there is no try", and still be taken seriously. | The title text runs with the joke in the final panel, applying the same meme to Darth Vader's iconic quote "No, I am your father." It could be said that such a phrasing robs the moment of all gravitas, but then again, Yoda managed to coin a phrase like "Do or do not; there is no try", and still be taken seriously. |