Love Story's premise harks back to the medieval conception of the connection between love, hatred and death. In the medieval romance tradition, such as the tale of Tristan and Iseult, and in the Shakespearean Romeo and Juliet (c.1597), star-crossed lovers abound. In all such cases, the lovers are unable to sustain the relationship on a permanent basis due to death's intervention. The successful utilization of this genre by Segal is evident when Love Story is compared with countless other works written in the same tradition.