| “ | Iago, thou inhuman dog! | „ |
| ~ Roderigo's most famous line, uttered as Iago stabs him to death |
Roderigo is the secondary antagonist of William Shakespeare's 1604 play Othello. He is a nobleman whom the play's villain, Iago, manipulates into helping him in his plot to destroy the Moorish general Othello by promising him the love of Othello's wife, Desdemona.
Overview[]
Roderigo is a young, none-too-bright Venetian nobleman who is hopelessly (and unrequitedly) in love with Duke Brabantio's daughter, Desdemona, who is married to the Moorish general Othello. Iago, Othello's treacherous ensign, manipulates Roderigo into helping him in his plan to destroy "the Moor", as they both disdainfully refer to him, by promising him that Desdemona will leave Othello for him once the plan is complete. Roderigo, who comes from a family of wealthy landowners, funds Iago's plan out of his own pocket.
In the play[]
Roderigo is first seen in Act One, Scene One, complaining to Iago that they have spent a great deal of his money with nothing to show for it and accusing him of not being serious in his plan. Iago pacifies him by saying that he hates Othello for passing him over for promotion to lieutenant in favor of Michael Cassio, and that he is merely biding his time in order to destroy him utterly. He then tells Roderigo to wake Desdemona's father Brabantio.
Iago and Roderigo call out to Brabantio and tell him that Othello and Desdemona are about to elope, appealing to his racism by saying that a "black ram", meaning Othello, is "tupping your white ewe", meaning Desdemona. Roderigo goes with the senator and his men to catch them in the act. Othello and Desdemona both convince the Duke of Venice of the sincerity of their love, however, and are allowed to marry, dashing Roderigo's hopes.
In Act Two, Iago sneaks Roderigo aboard Othello's ship to Cyprus, where Othello's army is to battle the Turks. After Othello and company win the battle, Iago tells Roderigo to pick a fight with Cassio, whom he has gotten drunk. Roderigo does as he is told and starts a brawl that ends with Cyprus' Governor, Montano, being wounded. Othello breaks up the fight and demotes Cassio, but Desdemona appears no closer to leaving him. He laments to Iago that he wants to drown himself, but Iago talks him out of it by assuring him that the plan is right on track and that, if he "puts money enough in his purse", they will soon ruin Othello and Desdemona will be his. Heartened, Roderigo promises to sell his lands and runs off; once he is gone, Iago derides him to the audience as a "snipe" and "my fool" and reveals that he is merely a pawn in his larger scheme to destroy Othello.
Roderigo is later seen in Act Four, Scene Two, waiting with Iago for Cassio, Iago having instructed him to ambush and kill his rival. In his final scene , Roderigo does attack Cassio, however, Cassio easily overpowers and wounds him before going to wake Othello. Realizing that Roderigo is now a liability, Iago stabs and mortally wounds him while calling out for help. Roderigo sees too late that Iago has been using him all along and calls him an "inhuman dog" as he dies (though there is a line by Cassio which reveals Roderigo either survived or stayed alive for a bit before finally dying, but the line is easy to miss so most versions of Othello keep Roderigo dead).
Portrayals[]
Roderigo has been portrayed by several notable actors over the years, including:
- The late Robert Coote in the 1952 film adaptation directed by and starring the late Orson Welles.
- The late Robert Lang in the 1965 film version starring the late Laurence Olivier.
- Michael Maloney in the 1995 film version starring Laurence Fishburne.
- Eldon Henson portrayed a version of Roderigo, renamed Roger, in the 2001 film O, an adaptation of the play set in a contemporary high school. This version of the character is a teenage social outcast who is manipulated by classmate Hugo Goulding, the film's version of Iago, into helping destroy star basketball player Odin James (Othello) by making him believe that James' girlfriend Desi (Desdemona) will love him once James is out of the way.