The Manipulation Of Rodorigo In Shakespeare's Othello

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Iago’s repetition of the phrase “Put money in thy purse” acts as a subliminal, metaphorical command for Rodorigo to follow. Iago wants Rodorigo to take control of the situation he is on while still unknowingly fulfilling his larger plan of destroying Othello’s relationship with Desdemona. Indeed, Rodorigo is known to have an infatuation with Desdemona (1.1.101-107) and thus when he is distraught that he will never be able to love her due to her marriage to Othello, Iago plays on this by this to his advantage. Rodorigo states, “It is silliness to live when to live is torment […]” (1.3.328) which means that a life without Desdemona is not a life worth living to which Iago responds by saying, “Our bodies are our gardens, to the which our wills are gardeners […]” (1.3.339) which Iago uses to plant the idea that Rodorigo is not helpless in this situation at all. …show more content…

For Rodorigo to act on his own accord in regards to his infatuation with Desdemona fits well into Iago’s larger scheme to undermine everything that Othello has. As for the repetition, Iago has been shown to go on longwinded monologues in the past (1.1.42-68) so it assumed that Rodorigo would take this as one of the rhetorical devices Iago has used before. Furthermore, Iago’s tone and prose when talking to Rodorigo is much different than his tone when talking to Othello. The monologue he delivers to Rodorigo has a commanding yet convincing tone in order to persuade him to follow his

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