If This Be Magic

The Unlikely Art of Shakespeare in Translation

By: Daniel Hahn

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Hardcover | 28 April 2026

At a Glance

Hardcover
416 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
24.0 x 15.9 x 4.2

Hardcover

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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 affect 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 will reveals anew the joy of Shakespeare, celebrates creativity and revels in the power of words themselves.

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