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A fascinating study into the world of translation and Shakespeare from the award-winning translator Daniel Hahn
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.
“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 Times
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“Brilliant … If This Be Magic takes its place among the liveliest examples of the wit that Shakespeare continues to spark”
Fintan O’toole
observer
“A deliciously fresh reading of Shakespeare … a stirring celebration of the plurality of languages”
wall Street Journal
“Hahn’s skilled and compelling chapters offer much to savour”
Margreta De Grazia
times Literary Supplement
“Funny, 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
spectator
Daniel Hahn
Daniel 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.
How on earth do you translate Shakespeare?
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.”
Guardian