Shakespeare's presentation of Othello as responsible for his own downfall Shakespeare's Othello is composed of the themes betrayal, love, and dishonesty. At the center of this play is Othello's tragic fall at the hands of his so-called friend Iago. In this essay I will discuss the reasons for and against Othello's responsibility for his downfall through critical interpretations of his character and actions. In a way it could be said that Othello was highly responsible for his downfall as he was easily manipulated by Iago shows him to be gullible and naive. Iago manipulates Othello into suspicion through the inference, "Ah, I like him not." Iago mutters this in Act 3 Scene 3 when he sees Desdemona and Cassio talking. Iago implies that he knows something by making sure Othello can hear but making it subtle enough to pretend he didn't want him to know. Iago then pretends to be reluctant to tell Othello about Desdemona: “Speak my thoughts! Why, do they say they are vile and false?” He tells Othello just enough to make him curious; he does this by asking important questions: "Micheal Cassio, when you courted my lady, did he know of your love?" Iago exasperates Othello by revealing so little, "I did not think he knew her." This increases Othello's jealousy. about Desdemona and so continues to ask more questions about what Iago might know“What say you, Iago? Then he doesn't want to tell me all the details: "Please tell me about your thoughts." Iago is gaining more influence over Othello after this point “as Othello is becoming more confident in him, Iago is putting himself in a place of knowledge” and power. The critic Leaves also agrees that Othello has no one to blame for his actions but himself,'………………………………………….'. Yet in a sense it could be said that Othello would not have acted as he did if it were not for the fact that Iago was manipulating him and therefore might not have been entirely responsible. Bradley, a critic, also states that it was Iago's manipulation that ultimately led to Othello's downfall,'………… …………………………………..'.On closer examination, during throughout the opera we see Iago manipulating all the characters in turn; this shows that he is an expert master manipulator so that everyone can be deceived by him. Reading this play we do not expect Othello to be as easily manipulated by Iago as he was.