Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, the tragedy that ultimately occurs appears to be a result of the feuding between the Capulets and the Montagues. Although the "pair of star-crossed lovers" (3) may not be responsible for the old grudge that their families hold against one another, it is only their foolish actions that cause their death.

The silly plan that Friar Lawrence hatched for Romeo and Juliet, albeit flawed, would not have come about had Romeo not killed Tybalt and gotten "banishéd." Although Romeo and Juliet both claim to not care about the feud between their families, they both uphold the tradition of hating people on the opposite side. The fact that they do not hate each other is rather irrelevant considering that they still show public distaste for other members of each other's families. An illustration of Romeo's immaturity is when he challenges Tybalt to a fight to the death shortly following Mercutio's murder. "Either thou or I, or both, must go with him" (97), an unwise statement that Romeo made to Tybalt, shows that is he not mature enough to realize that now that Mercutio is dead, more killing will only create more problems.

A main imperfection in the two characters Romeo and Juliet is that neither of them are willing to "come clean" to their parents about their relationship. Why not try "talking it out?" Nowhere in their initial plan (before Romeo was banished) is there any idea of how they will reveal their union and reunite the two enemies. If simply telling their parents about the marriage would have solved all of their problems previous to Romeo's banishment, why wouldn't they try the same thing after he was gone? Would it not produce the same supposed result? Romeo and Juliet should have rethought their situation before acting so hastily.

With Romeo and Juliet's complicated problems, a step back to reevaluate the events would have been the smart thing to do. Because of their rushed plan, they both ended up dead.