`A Poor Chipochia': A New Look at an Italian Word in Troilus and Cressida 4.2

Abstract

In Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida, an obvious, but curious, Italian word – chipochia – appears in an exchange between Cressida and Pandarus (4.2.31). All modern editions print this word as capocchia, following the emendation of Lewis Theobald in 1733. Theobald posited that this word meant "simpleton" or "blockhead," and editors since then have accepted this meaning, while many have argued for a sexual connotation here, a pun on Troilus' penis. This study offers evidence to support the original spelling of chipochia in both the Quarto and Folio versions and proposes a new definition for chipochia, sensible to dramatic context and founded on established philological evidence.