IOLANDA PLESCIA

Iolanda Plescia is an Associate Professor of English in the department of European, American and Intercultural Studies of Sapienza University of Rome and the current director of the international MA programme in English and Anglo-American Studies. She earned her PhD in 2006 at Sapienza, where she taught English language and translation before going on to complete a two-year research fellowship at RomaTre University (2008-2010).
Among her research interests are stylistics, the history of the English language, the history of Italian-English translation, literary translation, with special regard to the early modern age and the twentieth century. While her PhD focused on the language of war and the political dimension of Virginia Woolf's use of language in her novels and essay-'writing, her main interests in the past decade have centred on Shakespeare's language and style, and more recently on intersections between literary and scientific texts and scientific translation in early modern England.
She has translated Henry VIII's Letters to Anne Boleyn into Italian (first Italian edition, Nutrimenti, 2013), and published a new translation of Shakespeare's 'Troilus and Cressida' (Feltrinelli, 2015). She is editor of the special issue of Memoria di Shakespeare 'The Shape of a Language' (2016) and co-editor of 'Elizabeth I in Writing: Language, Power and Representation in Early Modern England', Palgrave Macmillan, 2018. Her edition of Shakespeare's 'The Taming of the Shrew' was published by Feltrinelli in 2019, and her new translation of 'Flush' by Virginia Woolf was published in the Feltrinelli Classics series in 2021. Her new translation of 'Sir Thomas More', with Nadia Fusini, appeared in 2022 (Feltrinelli).
She was Visiting Professor in the Fall of 2022 at UCD - University College Dublin, School of English.
She was President of the Italian Association of Shakespearean and Early Modern Studies from 2021 to 2024. 
http://www.iasems.org/
She serves on the editorial board of Memoria di Shakespeare. A Journal of Shakespearean Studies (https://rosa.uniroma1.it/rosa03/memoria_di_shakespeare) and Status Quaestionis (https://rosa.uniroma1.it/rosa03/status_quaestionis).
She also serves on the Advisory Board of the Cambridge University Press Elements in Shakespeare and Text series (Eds: C. M. Bourne and R. Loughnane)
She is an elected member of CUN - the National University Council of Italy - representing associate professors from several humanities fields ('Area 10'). https://www.cun.it/cun/consigliere/iolanda-plescia/ 
 
Full list of publications available here: https://phd.uniroma1.it/web/Iolanda-Plescia_nC2335_EN.aspx    
 
 
EXAM RESULTS are available here (you cannot access these outside of your Sapienza email account): https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1qVqGoyJ-Nz0t8AIbZJwBhUUK92UtRYT0...
 
RICEVIMENTO/office hours (no need to book an appointment) - room 340, 3rd floor, Marco Polo building 
Monday, July 7th, 2025, h. 13 
 
SHAKESPEARE LAB 2024-25
To receive your credits for OTA, you must 1) have been present to all of the lectures/seminars (all but one, in particular circumstances authorised by myself)
2) write a paper of about 2,500 words about a particular textual moment in Shakespeare that illuminates editing practice (following Zachary Lesser's seminars) or a legal use of language (following Gary Watt's approach)
Write in a personal way, responding to what was said in the seminars, and make examples.
NOTE: Papers will be checked for AI/ChatGPT. Even the slightest detection will mean that the OTA credits will not be awarded (remember 1 credit equals 25 hours of work, so you need to put in the time). 
3) If you need your OTA registered for scholarships or other deadlines, send me the paper by July 25th and specify that you need it corrected by the end of the month; otherwise this will be done in September. I won't be able to look at papers in August under any circumstances. Buon lavoro!
Best wishes, 
Iolanda Plescia

 
GUIDA AI CORSI DI LINGUA INGLESE 2023-24 / GUIDE TO ENGLISH LANGUAGE COURSES 2023-24: 
https://web.uniroma1.it/seai/sites/default/files/Guida%20ai%20corsi%20di%20Lingua%20Inglese%202023-2024.pdf  
Please note that emails requesting information available in the guide will not be answered. 
 
LINGUA INGLESE III – IOLANDA PLESCIA (CANALE I-Z) 6cfu II sem
La storia della lingua inglese: problemi e sfide traduttive
Il modulo proposto integra l'acquisizione di competenze di analisi diacronica del testo con il lavoro di analisi e traduzione di testi di epoche lontane dall'inglese contemporaneo, mirando a permettere l'acquisizione di conoscenze sulla storia della lingua inglese e questioni di metodo relative alla comprensione di diverse tipologie testuali. In particolare si illumineranno gli aspetti formali caratteristici di alcuni momenti importanti della storia della lingua inglese, dall'Old English al Late Modern English, per elaborare efficaci strategie di comprensione ed analisi dei testi storici.
Bibliografia • Jonathan Culpeper, History of English, 2nd ed., Routledge 2015
• A.C. Baugh & T. Cable, A History of the English Language, Routledge, 2002 (ed edizioni seguenti): capp. 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10
• N. Braber, L. Cummins, L. Morrish, Exploring Language and Linguistics, Cambridge University Press, 2015: chapters 7, 8, 9, 10 (lettura consigliata)
Ulteriori informazioni e/o integrazioni saranno comunicate a lezione e sulla pagina di Facoltà della docente. METODI DIDATTICI: Lezioni frontali ed esercitazioni
FREQUENZA: Fortemente raccomandata
METODI DI VALUTAZIONE: L’esame consisterà in una prova scritta sugli argomenti del programma del modulo.
 
LINGUA INGLESE I PER LA MAGISTRALE / ENGLISH LANGUAGE I-M - English language and linguistics - advanced course
12 CFU (INGLESE 1° LINGUA: MODULO + LETTORATO ANNUALE)
6 CFU (INGLESE 2° LINGUA: MODULO + 1 SEMESTRE DI LETTORATO)
 Il modulo proposto affronta il problema della traduzione di un testo di epoca lontana, integrando conoscenze sulla storia della lingua inglese relative al periodo dell’early modern English con questioni di teoria e metodo relative alla traduzione letteraria. Sarà prima di tutto approfondito il periodo early modern nelle sue principali caratteristiche formali e linee evolutive; il programma del modulo si concentrerà poi su alcuni testi del corpus shakespeariano, conducendo un’analisi stilistica e diacronica come preparazione necessaria alla prova della traduzione.
Bibliografia:
• A.C. Baugh & T. Cable, A History of the English Language, Routledge, 2002: CHAPTER 8
• Jonathan Hope, Shakespeare and Language, Arden, 2010: CHAPTERS 1-2-3
• David Crystal, Think on My Words: Exploring Shakespeare’s Language, CUP, 2008: CHAPTERS 1, 7, 8, 9 • Paula Blank, Shakesplish, 2018: INTRODUCTION
• Ton Hoenselaar, ed., Shakespeare and the Language of Translation, Arden, 2004: INTRODUCTION
• Susan Bassnett, Translation Studies, Routledge, 2002
• Nadia Fusini, Iolanda Plescia, trad. e cura, Sir Thomas More, Feltrinelli, 2022
Modalità di valutazione: scritta.
 
ENGLISH AND ANGLO-AMERICAN STUDIES, Year 1: 12 CFU II SEM.
This course will explore the issue of ‘Shakespeare’s language’, which has long intrigued critics and linguists who are now posing new questions about the popular idea of Shakespeare as the “father” of the English language. Starting from David Crystal, Jonathan Hope, and other linguists' recent work, which positions Shakespeare’s linguistic creativity within the broader socio-cultural transformations of his age, the module will concentrate on choice texts from the Shakespearean corpus, carrying out stylistic and diachronic analysis; at the same time, other early modern text type samples (especially prose) will be analysed in contrast, so as to single out the most prominent linguistic features in fictional dialogue as a speech-based text.
Reading List:
• A.C. Baugh & T. Cable, A History of the English Language, Routledge, 2002 (ch. 8)
• Jonathan Hope, Shakespeare and Language, Arden, 2010 (ch. 1, 2, 3)
• David Crystal, Think on My Words: Exploring Shakespeare’s Language, CUP, 2008 (1 5, 7, 8, 9)
• Iolanda Plescia, ed., The Shape of a Language. Memoria di Shakespeare: A Journal of Shakespearean Studies, 2016 [Editor’s Forweword (Plescia), The Shape of Early Modern English (Culpeper-Plescia), Who invented 'gloomy'? (J. Hope)]
• Nadia Fusini, Iolanda Plescia, trad. e cura, Sir Thomas More, Feltrinelli 2022
 
 
VERBALIZZAZIONI
 
A message for students who need to register their marks after receiving lettorato and linguistics results. 
1) If you have both marks (lettorato + linguistics), your final mark will be registered by me (you may come to my office hours if you wish, but there is no need to do so unless you need to discuss something with me). Send me proof of both results in an email to request registration. You MUST be on an Infostud verbale in order for me to do so. You should register at the beginning of the session regardless of your results. 
2) If you have a doubt about your final mark, write to me or come to office hours- you will receive an answer and a request that you confirm acceptance. 
3) If you write to register your result with a previous lettorato exam, please also send the link to your result. 
4) If you have not passed your lettorato exam or have not requested registration, you will be marked as absent or 'rinuncia' on the register. This does not mean you have to repeat my exam. Your mark will remain valid for two years. 
5) Please note that your registered marks will have to be validated by the secretariat and this takes some time as the register must first be filled and closed.  
 
 
Email policy
 
Students should be aware that an excessive volume of email will slow down answers to urgent queries. Please take note of the following email policy: 
1) Emails requesting information posted on this page will not be answered; exam results, exam dates, and office hours are posted here. If this information is not yet available, please wait for the page to be updated. 
2) Thesis/dissertation requests should be made in person during office hours. 
3) Requests for marks to be registered ('verbalizzazione') will be attended to as soon as possible. Please do not send multiple emails or confirmation requests, as I will not be able to answer these.  
4) Anonymous, unsigned, or inappropriate emails (i.e. containing inappropriate language or register) will not be answered. 
5) It is illegal, as well as inappropriate, to circulate/publish personal correspondence from a professor to Whatsapp groups and other social networks. Action will be taken whenever this conduct is suspected. 
 
 

Iolanda Plescia is an Associate Professor of English in the department of European, American and Intercultural Studies of Sapienza University of Rome and the current director of the international MA programme in English and Anglo-American Studies. She earned her PhD in 2006 at Sapienza, where she taught English language and translation before going on to complete a two-year research fellowship at RomaTre University (2008-2010).
Among her research interests are stylistics, the history of the English language, the history of Italian-English translation, literary translation, with special regard to the early modern age and the twentieth century. While her PhD focused on the language of war and the political dimension of Virginia Woolf's use of language in her novels and essay-writing, her main interests in the past decade have centred on Shakespeare's language and style, and more recently on intersections between literary and scientific texts and scientific translation in early modern England.
She has translated Henry VIII's Letters to Anne Boleyn into Italian (first Italian edition, Nutrimenti, 2013), and published a new translation of Shakespeare's 'Troilus and Cressida' (Feltrinelli, 2015). She is editor of the special issue of Memoria di Shakespeare 'The Shape of a Language' (2016) and co-editor of 'Elizabeth I in Writing: Language, Power and Representation in Early Modern England', Palgrave Macmillan, 2018. Her edition of Shakespeare's 'The Taming of the Shrew' was published by Feltrinelli in 2019, and her new translation of 'Flush' by Virginia Woolf was published in the Feltrinelli Classics series in 2021. Her new translation of 'Sir Thomas More', with Nadia Fusini, appeared in 2022 (Feltrinelli).
She was Visiting Professor in the Fall of 2022 at UCD - University College Dublin, School of English.
She is currently President of the Italian Association of Shakespearean and Early Modern Studies:
http://www.iasems.org/
She serves on the editorial board of Memoria di Shakespeare. A Journal of Shakespearean Studies (https://rosa.uniroma1.it/rosa03/memoria_di_shakespeare) and Status Quaestionis (https://rosa.uniroma1.it/rosa03/status_quaestionis).
She also serves on the Advisory Board of the Cambridge University Press Elements in Shakespeare and Text series (https://www.cambridge.org/core/publications/elements/shakespeare-and-tex...
Eds: C. M. Bourne and R. Loughnane)