If This Be Magic: The Unlikely Art of Shakespeare in Translation - Daniel Hahn

Category: Art, Misc. Non-fiction
Language: English
Keywords: Criticism Plays Shakespeare

Written by Daniel Hahn
Read by Daniel Hahn, Full Cast
Format: M4B
Bitrate: 128 Kbps
Unabridged

Length: 13 hrs and 29 mins
Release date: 04-23-26

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 a new the joy of Shakespeare, celebrates creativity and revels in the power of words.