Iago's manipulation of Othello in Shakespeare's Othello Once a seed of suspicion or doubt is planted in a person's mind, it is not long before the harmful effect of jealousy follows. Jealousy and suspicion are Othello's faults throughout the play and foreshadow to the audience his impending downfall. He believes so much in what Iago tells him that he compromises his close relationship with his best friend and his love for his wife. Iago manipulates Othello through extortion, literary techniques, and his keen judgment of character. His syntax and diction are so simple yet so powerful as he uses the right rhetorical questions and addresses Othello with respectful terms such as “my lord”. It allows Othello to speak and think; then begins to twist the mind...