William Shakespeare’s global reach extends far beyond his English roots, posing profound challenges for translators aiming to capture the Bard’s linguistic intricacies. Daniel Hahn, an accomplished translator and author, explores these challenges in his book *If This Be Magic: The Unlikely Art of Shakespeare in Translation*, published this year by Canongate.

Shakespeare’s plays are richly textured with references to diverse locations and cultures, reflecting both his imaginative scope and the political constraints of his time. Though deeply rooted in England, his settings span Denmark, Illyria (modern Croatia), Bohemia (now the Czech Republic), Cyprus, Vienna, Egypt, and several Italian city-states, among others. Characters such as Othello, with roots in North African Mauretania, and Caliban, whose mother is Algerian, further underscore the global dimensions of his work. The plays subtly embed evidence of burgeoning global trade, with mentions of “China dishes” in *Measure for Measure*, Mughal jewelry in *Henry VIII*, and merchants from Muscovy in *Love’s Labour’s Lost*. Yet, these multicultural elements coalesce around a highly precise use of English designed for dramatic effect.

Hahn’s book tackles the formidable task of translating Shakespeare’s language, which balances rhythmic precision, multiple layers of meaning, and sound patterns. Shakespeare’s famous iambic pentameter, a ten-syllable line with alternating stress, is foundational to the plays’ emotional cadence. However, this meter poses significant problems in languages such as French, which prefers longer syllabic lines, or Greek and Italian, where monosyllabic words are far less common than in English. Hahn illustrates how translators must navigate such prosodic constraints, often substituting or adapting meters, sometimes at the expense of length, pacing, or subtlety.

In conversations with translators from Finnish, Danish, Japanese, te reo Māori, Brazilian Portuguese, and other languages, Hahn reveals the diverse strategies and challenges each faces. For instance, Danish translators can retain the iambic pentameter due to linguistic similarities, while French adaptations employ a 12-syllable line to approximate rhythm. The process is further complicated by Shakespeare’s frequent use of wordplay and double entendres, which are often culturally and linguistically specific. In one example, the French translator resurrects archaic terms to replace English sounds that have no direct equivalent, maintaining a sense of rhythm and effect.

While translation inevitably alters some aspects of the original text, Hahn rejects the notion that poetry is entirely lost in translation. Instead, his work argues that Shakespeare’s plays are brought to life anew in other tongues, often reviving the immediacy that English speakers may no longer fully perceive. Cultural and linguistic differences compel translators to prioritize different elements—be it humor, meter, or emotional nuance—to preserve the “local habitation” of the text within another language.

Hahn also challenges the assumption that Shakespeare’s universality lies solely in storytelling. Rather, he emphasizes the precision with which Shakespeare depicts individual characters and experiences—each death, relationship, and emotion is distinct and deeply specific. For translators, this specificity demands a delicate balance: dismantling the original expression and reconstructing it in a fresh linguistic environment without losing its essential force.

By blending linguistic analysis with interviews and examples from around the world, Hahn’s *If This Be Magic* offers both a tribute to Shakespeare’s enduring vitality and a window into the ingenuity of translators who bridge centuries and cultures. The book highlights the interplay between constraint and creativity that makes Shakespeare’s work a continuing source of literary inspiration globally.