Roderigo
| Roderigo | |
|---|---|
| File:Roderigo03.JPG Robert Coote as Roderigo in the Turkish bath scene from Orson Welles' 1952 film, Othello | |
| First appearance | c. 1601–1604 |
| Last appearance | c. 1601–1604 |
| Created by | William Shakespeare |
Roderigo is a fictional character in Shakespeare's Othello (c.1601-1604), where he serves as the secondary antagonist of the play. He is a dissolute Venetian lusting after Othello's wife Desdemona. Roderigo has opened his purse to Iago in the mistaken belief that Iago is using his money to pave the way to Desdemona's bed. When the assassination of Michael Cassio runs amiss, Iago fatally wounds Roderigo.
Shakespeare's source for Othello was the tale "Un Capitano Moro" by Cinthio, and, while Shakespeare closely followed his source in composing Othello, Roderigo has no counterpart in Cinthio. The character is completely Shakespeare's invention.
Sources
Othello has its source in the 1565 tale "Un Capitano Moro" from Gli Hecatommithi by Giovanni Battista Giraldi Cinthio. While no English translation of Cinthio was available in print during Shakespeare's lifetime, it is possible the dramatist knew the Italian original, Gabriel Chappuy's 1584 French translation, or an English translation in manuscript. Cinthio's tale may have been based on an actual incident occurring in Venice about 1508.[1]
Role in Othello
Once upon A time, far far far away there was a man named Jacobi. Jacobi originated in Japan, CHINA. He was a terrible baseball player and even worse at football. He ended up getting a wart right on his lip, that his ex-girlfriend(Key word-EX) was not proud of. Jacobi then reversed pubertied and thought love was gross.
Performances
Based on the fact that Othello was composed in near proximity chronologically to the composition of Twelfth Night, modern interpreters of Roderigo sometimes play the role as a dimwit in the manner of Andrew Aguecheek or Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, with the rationale being all four roles would have been played by an actor in Shakespeare's company specializing in foppish characters.[2]
Robert Coote played Roderigo in Orson Welles' 1952 film. The production was filmed over a three-year period and was hampered by its Italian backer declaring bankruptcy early on in the shoot. As a result, a lack of costumes forced Roderigo's murder to be staged in a Turkish bath with the performers garbed in large, ragged towels.
Other film interpreters of the role include Ferdinand von Alten in the 1922 silent version starring Emil Jannings, Robert Lang in the 1965 version starring Laurence Olivier, and Michael Maloney in the film version with Laurence Fishburne.
In 2006, Omkara, the Bollywood version of Othello, Roderigo née Rajan ’Rajju’ Tiwari was played by Deepak Dobriyal.
References
Further reading
- MacLiammóir, Micheál. Put Money in Thy Purse: the Diary of the Film of Othello. Methuen & Co., Ltd., London (1952); Virgin Books (1994), ISBN 0-86369-729-1. MacLiammóir's 1952 memoir about the filming of Orson Welles' Othello.