Meaning
What does The Tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise mean?
The tragedy of Darth Plagueis the wise is a Sith legend recounted to Anakin Skywalker by Palpatine (portrayed by Hayden Christensen and IanMcDiarmid respectably) in Star Wars’ third installment; Revenge of the Sith.
Online, Star Wars fans spread the legend as a copypasta.
Origin
What's the origin of The Tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise?
Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith was premiered in the US on May 19th, 2005.
In one of the scenes, Chancellor Palpatine is telling “the tragedy of Darth Plagueis the wise” to Anakin, with the intention of luring him to the Dark Side.
The meme Is it possible to learn this power? also originates from this scene.
Spread & Usage
How did The Tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise spread?
The copypasta started spreading on Reddit’s r/copypasta subreddit in 2016.
“The tragedy of Darth Plagueis the wise” would appear all over the internet, from sites like Facebook to YouTube to message and image boards, like Reddit or 4chan.

External resources
- The Star Wars Wiki – The Tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise