If This Be Magic The Unlikely Art of Shakespeare in Translation
- 9 Apr 2026
- 9781805301622
- £25
- 416 pp
- 159×240mm
- 9 Apr 2026
- 9781837261130
- £19.99
- 416 pp
- 23 Apr 2026
- 9781837267606
- £30
- 13 hrs 29 min
In a few words
A fascinating study into the world of translation and Shakespeare from the award-winning translator Daniel Hahn
In a few words
A fascinating study into the world of translation and Shakespeare from the award-winning translator Daniel Hahn
In a few words
A fascinating study into the world of translation and Shakespeare from the award-winning translator Daniel Hahn
Learned but cheerful and chatty . . . This is a book that forces any reader to think deeply about the building blocks of Shakespeare's language . . . The tone is that of an enthusiastic professor inviting his students to continue the lecture in the pub
Kate Maltby
Financial TimesBrilliant . . . If This Be Magic takes its place among the liveliest examples of the wit that Shakespeare continues to spark
Fintan O'toole
ObserverLearned but cheerful and chatty . . . This is a book that forces any reader to think deeply about the building blocks of Shakespeare's language . . . The tone is that of an enthusiastic professor inviting his students to continue the lecture in the pub
Kate Maltby
Financial TimesBrilliant . . . If This Be Magic takes its place among the liveliest examples of the wit that Shakespeare continues to spark
Fintan O'toole
ObserverLearned but cheerful and chatty . . . This is a book that forces any reader to think deeply about the building blocks of Shakespeare's language . . . The tone is that of an enthusiastic professor inviting his students to continue the lecture in the pub
Kate Maltby
Financial TimesBrilliant . . . If This Be Magic takes its place among the liveliest examples of the wit that Shakespeare continues to spark
Fintan O'toole
ObserverMore about
the book
Why might Hamlet be even longer in Italian?
How does the story of Romeo and Juliet begin . . . in Thai?
How do you build a joke in German, or recreate a rhyme in Japanese?
And why are Lady Macbeth’s pronouns such a problem?
What does it mean to translate Shakespeare? When we change all the poetry, all the wordplay, all the syntax – all the words! – is it still Shakespeare? And is it still any good?
Daniel Hahn, seasoned translator and Shakespeare fanatic, will change the way you think about language itself. Ranging widely across Shakespeare’s works, and across the world’s languages, this book explores why we choose the words we do and what effect they have.
No knowledge of any particular language is required, though a bit of patience for the nerdiest of close reading is desirable. This micro-attention to detail reveals anew the joy of Shakespeare, celebrates creativity and revels in the power of words.
More about
the book
How do you rebuild a 400-year-old topical joke in a new culture and with none of the same words?
How does Romeo and Juliet’s first meeting unfold if they can’t mention pilgrims?
What does Taming of the Shrew sound like in a language where every noun has a gender?
Why might Hamlet be even longer in Japanese?
And why are Lady Macbeth’s pronouns such a problem?
What does it mean to translate Shakespeare? When we change all the poetry, all the wordplay, all the syntax – all the words! – is it still Shakespeare? And is it still any good?
Daniel Hahn, seasoned translator and Shakespeare fanatic, will change the way you think about language itself. Ranging widely across Shakespeare’s works, and across the world’s languages, this book explores what translators have done and what is possible.
No knowledge of any particular language is required, though a bit of patience for the nerdiest of close reading is desirable. This micro-attention to language will reveal some of the complexities of Shakespeare; and by using his work as its subject, with the extraordinary pressures that he puts on language, it will reveal even more about the craft of translation, and the power of words themselves.
More about
the book
Why might Hamlet be even longer in Italian?
How does the story of Romeo and Juliet begin . . . in Thai?
How do you build a joke in German, or recreate a rhyme in Japanese?
And why are Lady Macbeth’s pronouns such a problem?
What does it mean to translate Shakespeare? When we change all the poetry, all the wordplay, all the syntax – all the words! – is it still Shakespeare? And is it still any good?
Daniel Hahn, seasoned translator and Shakespeare fanatic, will change the way you think about language itself. Ranging widely across Shakespeare’s works, and across the world’s languages, this book explores why we choose the words we do and what effect they have.
No knowledge of any particular language is required, though a bit of patience for the nerdiest of close reading is desirable. This micro-attention to detail reveals anew the joy of Shakespeare, celebrates creativity and revels in the power of words.
A deliciously fresh reading of Shakespeare . . . a stirring celebration of the plurality of languages
Hahn's skilled and compelling chapters offer much to savour
Margreta De Grazia
Times Literary SupplementFunny, learned and invigorating . . . endlessly erudite, never pedantic . . . both enormous fun and an intellectual treat . . . a witty and spirited dive . . . It succeeds as a workshop, a masterclass and a practical taster
Boyd Tonkin
SpectatorSuperbly diverting . . . delight and endless curiosity displayed in these pages . . . Hahn has amply demonstrated not only the treasures of other languages, but also the rich and strange inexhaustibility of Shakespeare himself
A deliciously fresh reading of Shakespeare . . . a stirring celebration of the plurality of languages
Hahn's skilled and compelling chapters offer much to savour
Margreta De Grazia
Times Literary SupplementFunny, learned and invigorating . . . endlessly erudite, never pedantic . . . both enormous fun and an intellectual treat . . . a witty and spirited dive . . . It succeeds as a workshop, a masterclass and a practical taster
Boyd Tonkin
SpectatorSuperbly diverting . . . delight and endless curiosity displayed in these pages . . . Hahn has amply demonstrated not only the treasures of other languages, but also the rich and strange inexhaustibility of Shakespeare himself
A deliciously fresh reading of Shakespeare . . . a stirring celebration of the plurality of languages
Hahn's skilled and compelling chapters offer much to savour
Margreta De Grazia
Times Literary SupplementFunny, learned and invigorating . . . endlessly erudite, never pedantic . . . both enormous fun and an intellectual treat . . . a witty and spirited dive . . . It succeeds as a workshop, a masterclass and a practical taster
Boyd Tonkin
SpectatorSuperbly diverting . . . delight and endless curiosity displayed in these pages . . . Hahn has amply demonstrated not only the treasures of other languages, but also the rich and strange inexhaustibility of Shakespeare himself
Daniel Hahn
View profileDaniel Hahn is an award-winning translator, author and editor. His translations include novels from a dozen countries, as well as short fiction, wide-ranging non-fiction, children’s books and plays. He is the author of Catching Fire: A Translation Diary, and editor of a new edition of The Oxford Companion to Children’s Literature. He has been on the board of a number of organisations that work with literature, literacy and free speech. He is currently editing The Penguin Book of Brazilian Short Stories (with Padma Viswanathan) and translating a Mexican novel.
Daniel Hahn
View profileDaniel Hahn is an award-winning translator, author and editor. His translations include novels from a dozen countries, as well as short fiction, wide-ranging non-fiction, children’s books and plays. He is the author of Catching Fire: A Translation Diary, and editor of a new edition of The Oxford Companion to Children’s Literature. He has been on the board of a number of organisations that work with literature, literacy and free speech. He is currently editing The Penguin Book of Brazilian Short Stories (with Padma Viswanathan) and translating a Mexican novel.
Daniel Hahn
View profileDaniel Hahn is an award-winning translator, author and editor. His translations include novels from a dozen countries, as well as short fiction, wide-ranging non-fiction, children’s books and plays. He is the author of Catching Fire: A Translation Diary, and editor of a new edition of The Oxford Companion to Children’s Literature. He has been on the board of a number of organisations that work with literature, literacy and free speech. He is currently editing The Penguin Book of Brazilian Short Stories (with Padma Viswanathan) and translating a Mexican novel.
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If this Be Magic by Daniel Hahn – “a superbly diverting book about language and creativity” – is the Guardian’s book of the day.
Filled with “delight and endless curiosity … By the end of the book, Hahn has amply demonstrated not only the treasures of other languages, but also the rich and strange inexhaustibility of Shakespeare himself.”
