What's the point of Roderigo in Othello? | Top grade analysis
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- Опубликовано: 7 сен 2024
- We know Roderigo to be the "sick fool" and dupe whom Iago bosses around, so most of us probably won't consider him to be worthy of much attention. But given that there's no equivalent character for Roderigo in the play's source text, Shakespeare must have created him for a reason - and an important one at that.
In this video, I analyse just what makes Roderigo an insightful point of reference for us to understand both his relationship with Iago, but also his function as a conduit for us to deepen our understanding of Othello.
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anyone eles watching theses religiously hours before the exam
so stressed it’s unreal- good luck!
i cannot begin to explain how thankful i am for this video and for you! i have my first literature alevel on wednesday and i really needed a refresh on roderigo’s character, so this gave me a really insightful and unique perspective! :-)
- also i think the psychological elements of this analysis and the play as a whole are very interesting to me, especially as someone studying psychology, considering i now have a much better understanding of how the brain works hahaha
And I'm thankful for YOU! Appreciate the lovely feedback ❤️ Yes, I'm a sucker for analysing characters' psychology - it's just really interesting to consider motives and intentions that drive human behaviour.
Rodrigo's willingness to be humiliated by Iago stems from a deep self-consciousness about social standing and masculinity.
Iago uses Cassio's promotion to hook Rodrigo in at the start of the play. Iago does this because he knows that Roderigo is especially sensitive to matters of rank. Through this Iago is cruel with his manipulation of Roderigo.
Recurrence of the word "hand" surrounding Roderigo is Iago's exploitation of Roderigo's insecurities about his manhood. This is because "hand" was a sexual innuendo which references the male genitalia.
"see Desdemona paddle with the palm of Cassio's hand"
This would have appealed to Shakespeare's commoner audience of the time as a crude joke.
Roderigo subconscious association of Cassio with male virility and masculine drive causes his attitude to change immediately whenever Iago needs him to do something. Much like Lady Macbeth, Iago's subliminal hand references to Roderigo makes him afraid due to the unbearable thought of him being less than manly.
Roderigo ultimately presents the plays ending with poetic justice.
On a dramaturgical level he allows Iago to join in with the audience laughing at him but he also mirrors Othello's social and masculine insecurities.
thankuuuu again so helpfulllllll
This genuinely deserves wayyy more love, your a genius! Especially since my A level exams are in one month 😢 your videos have really been saving me!
Pleased to hear these have been helpful! Thank you for letting me know :)
@@JenChan can you do a video analysing important quotes for different themes, more specifically to do with love? Like desire and other aspects of love? That would be crazy helpful!
this is godsend tysm! could you possibly make a couple videos for death of a salesman? i read your blog post on it and have watched all of your othello videos so would def love to see similar content for that tragedy, especially since the fact it’s currently a bore due to how not very interesting it seems atm
Thanks for the suggestion - DOAS is certainly on my (long!) list of 'texts to cover' at some point, but I'm afraid it'll have to be post-this year's May/June exam cycle as I still have a whole bunch of content to get through...!
Loving your lessons.
Thank YOU for watching! I hope this is helpful for your studies x
This is so helpful, thanks so much ! ! !
You're so welcome! Thanks for watching :)
this has been so so helpful!! thank you :)
You're super welcome 😘 Keep up the good and hard work x
thanks jen, ly bae
thank you so much!!!! i love ur videos :)
Thank YOU for watching! I appreciate it :)
hi! i can’t find any information linking the hand to male genitalia, would you be able to point me in the right direction? :)
how would you suggest weaving in the source text in the essay, or is that just better for general knowledge of the play as a whole?, thanks:)
sorry I forgot to say that I mean in any context not specifically when discussing Roderigo :D
I answer your question in this video! ruclips.net/video/tIhHjL9c9G4/видео.html&pp=ygUQY29udGV4dCBqZW4gY2hhbg%3D%3D
hi what about a comparism between othello and roderigo
hiya jen i was wondering whether you could do any videos on twelfth night ?? I'm studying the play for a level !
Thanks for suggesting - I'm focusing on the popular texts right now so unfortunately Othello is my top priority. That said, definitely not ruling out doing Twelfth Night at some point...! Are there any general skill-based topics you'd like to learn? e.g. How to incorporate quotations in an essay (which I actually have videos on...) etc? Those would be easier for me to make because more viewers can benefit from them.