This is the excellent foolishness of the world, that, when our fortune is ill, -oft from the excess of our behaviour, -we make the sun guilty of our disasters, the moon and the stars: as if we were evil by necessity; fools by heavenly compulsion; scoundrels, thieves and traitors, by spherical predominance; drunkards, liars and adulterers, through forced obedience to planetary influence; and everything in which we are evil, by a divine push. (I.II.442-449)When this quote was said, Edmund was telling Gloucester about a letter Edgar wrote about killing him to get his money, however, Edmund forged the letter, making Gloucester believe that Edgar was a bad guy. Upon hearing this, Gloucester said: These latest eclipses of sun and moon do not bode well for us. (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 their own actions, but people believe that when they suffer it is not their fault and they blame others. This, according to Shakespeare, is the idiocy of the world. In Shakespeare's works, particularly in King Lear and Romeo and Juliet, mourning is a common theme and highlights the importance of humanity. Shakespeare makes people suffer in his plays to show the audience that suffering is universal and is often the product of one's own poor decisions. By using the characters of Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare shows that one's actions in love can make people suffer. After the meeting, Romeo and Juliet kiss and appear to fall in love, even though they have only known each other for a short time. When Juliet leaves, she goes to the balcony and Romeo sees her, then tells himself that he loves her more than anything. She's my lady. Oh, I... middle of the paper... look at his failures and the nature of the people around him. Gloucester realized that he didn't need eyes because even when he had them he couldn't see clearly. Shakespeare's greatest meaning is that people will suffer if they do not look beneath the surface, and that having literal sight does not mean that people can see clearly. The public should understand that they should not look at the world and make decisions with their eyes, but with their heart and mind. The theme of suffering in Shakespeare's plays, King Lear and Romeo and Juliet, is used to demonstrate that suffering is universal and often the product of one's own poor decisions. His works show many truths about humanity, and many of them are explained by characters such as Romeo, Juliet, King Lear, and Gloucester who have to suffer because of their actions. Shakespeare shows his audience that everyone suffers.