Although Romeo and Juliet is classified as a tragedy, it more
closely resembles Shakespeare's comedies than his other
tragedies. The lovers and their battle with authority is
reminiscent of As You Like It and The Winter's Tale.
"Characteristically, those comedies concern themselves with the
inborn, unargued stupidity of older people and the life-
affirming gaiety and resourcefulness of young ones. The lovers
thread their way through obstacles set up by middle aged vanity
and impercipience. Parents are stupid and do not know what it
best for their children or themselves . . . [Romeo and Juliet]
begins with the materials for a comedy - the stupid parental
generation, the instant attraction of the young lovers, the
quick surface life of street fights, masked balls and comic
servants" (Wain 107). Indeed, one could view Romeo and Juliet as
a transitional play in which Shakespeare merges the comedic
elements perfected in his earlier work with tragic elements he
would later perfect in the great tragedies -- Hamlet, O