The phrase "whose misadventured piteous overthrows" appears in the prologue of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. It refers to the tragic and unfortunate failures or downfalls of the "pair of star-crossed lovers"—Romeo and Juliet themselves. Their "misadventured piteous overthrows" mean their unlucky and sorrowful defeats or deaths, which ultimately end the feud between their families by burying their parents' strife through their own deaths

. In modern English, this phrase can be understood as "whose unfortunate and pitiful failures" or "whose tragic attempts end in sorrowful downfall"

. The lovers' deaths are the result of fate and human conflict, described as "misadventured" (unfortunate) and "piteous" (deserving pity), emphasizing the tragic nature of their demise

. Thus, the "whose" in the phrase refers to Romeo and Juliet, the young lovers whose tragic end is central to the play's theme.