It is the excellent stupidity of the world that, when we are sick of fortune, -- often the excess of our own behavior, -- we make ourselves guilty of our disasters the sun, the moon and the stars: as if we were wicked by necessity; fools by celestial constraint; knaves, thieves and traitors, by spherical predominance; drunkards, liars and adulterers, through forced obedience to planetary influence; and everything in which we are bad, by a divine impulse. (I.II.442-449) When this quote was spoken, Edmund was telling Gloucester about a letter Edgar had written about killing him to get his money, however, Edmund forged the letter, making it appear in Gloucester that Edgar was a bad guy. Hearing this, Gloucester said: These late eclipses of the sun and moon bode us no good. (I.II.429-430) With this quote, Shakespeare tells his audience that misery is not caused by "the sun, the moon, and the stars." It is the cause of our own actions, but people believe that when they suffer it is not their fault and they blame others. According to Shakespeare, this is the stupidity of the world. In Shakespeare's plays, particularly King Lear and Romeo and Juliet, grief is a common theme and places greater emphasis on humanity. Shakespeare creates suffering in his plays to show his audience that suffering is universal and often the product of bad decisions. By using the characters of Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare shows that acts of love can cause people pain. When they meet, Romeo and Juliet kiss and seem to fall in love, even though they have only known each other for a short time. When Juliet leaves, she goes to her balcony, and Romeo sees her, then says to himself that he loves her more than anything. This is my lady. Oh, I... middle of paper... view of his failures and the nature of the people around him. Gloucester realized he didn't need eyes because even if he did, he couldn't see clearly. Shakespeare's main meaning is that people will suffer if they do not look beneath the surface, and that having literal sight does not mean people can see clearly. The public must understand that they should not look at the world and make decisions with their eyes, but with their hearts and minds. The theme of suffering in Shakespeare's plays King Lear and Romeo and Juliet is used to show that suffering is universal and often the product of bad decisions. His plays show many truths about humanity, and many of them are explained by characters such as Romeo, Juliet, King Lear, and Gloucester who must suffer because of their actions. Shakespeare shows his audience that everyone suffers.