Everyone has heard of the love story Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, many of them don't realize that it is not a story of love but of tragedy. For years there has been a debate about whether Romeo and Juliet was a real love story? Romeo and Juliet is not considered a true love story according to many sources. It doesn't follow the guidelines of a real love story, it's not realistic; they were also too young to know what love is. Cultural traditions could have played a role in Romeo and Juliet's false love. As published in The Brad Graduate Center: “Previous Italian society was very critical and sarcastic towards women who did not marry. The families of single women were very often mocked and teased. There's even an old Italian saying about it: "A single woman is like a headless fly." This is why the most important thing for fathers and brothers was to take care of their daughters and sisters first. Usually, Italian boys prefer to marry girls from their region. For women, it was not a good time to avoid marriage” (The Brad Graduate Center para. 1). This could have caused Juliette to marry someone before she was old enough to know what love is. Additionally, cultural traditions might contribute to their so-called love. According to Life in Renaissance Italy, "modern conceptions of marriage as an act of love were just beginning, and marriages of the period were more of a social contract between two families" ("Life in Italy in the Renaissance"). the Renaissance” para. 6). Romeo and Juliet contradict this because their marriage was private and none of their families knew about it. Also in the play, Romeo does not want to separate families but to bring them together. The story of Romeo and Julie......middle of paper......ve story but rather a tragedy. According to many sources, Romeo and Juliet is not a love story but a tragedy that followed the guidelines of a tragedy rather than a true love story. Their love wasn't real. Right now this situation would end badly, but not that bad in itself, but it would end badly most of the time. Works Cited “Life in Italy during the Renaissance. " Italy. Life in Italy, 2014. Np, Web. April 29. 2014."Love Inspired Historical." Harlequin. Harlequin Enterprises, April 29, 2014. The Bard Graduate Center, Np, April 29, 2014. Marseillaise, Puka. " Teen Ink. Np, nd Web. April 29 2014..