Finding true love is something most people search for their entire lives. Best said by Nicholas Sparks: “How far should a person go in the name of true love?” This recurring theme can be seen in William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, a comedy about the triumphs of foolish young lovers and the forces that work against them. The two main characters, Hermia and Lysander, face many obstacles in their love journey. Overall, Shakespeare uses the quote; “You could never hear from the tale or the story, the course of true love never ran smoothly” (I, i, 136-137), to foreshadow the entities that Hermia and Lysander must fight to be together. In the play, Hermia and Lysander face Aegeus' objection. Because he is Hermia's father, Aegeus believes he has the exclusive right to choose who his daughter will marry, and this man is Demetrius: “Step forward Demetrius, my noble lord; this man has my consent to marry her” (I, i, 25). In Aegeus' eyes, the love that Lysander offers to Hermia is simply a play on his innocent mind and heart because he stole her heart from Demetrius. Without his father's approval, love is ultimately unworthy and unacceptable. Hermia's disobedience to her father leads him to seek advice from Theseus, so that he can gain his "claim to power over her according to Athenian law" (Slights 3). Since Aegeus supports the law with his request, Theseus' decision on the matter is for Hermia to marry Demetrius or be put to death by Athenian law. To escape the wrath of her father and the Athenian law, the two lovers plan to escape into the woods: “There, sweet Hermia, I can marry you; and up to that place the severe Athenian law cannot persecute us” (I, i, 165-167). The character Elena plays s......middle of paper......and the next morning, their memories of the previous night are only realistic dreams. Lysander is once again free to marry Elena. “If true lovers have ever crossed paths, it represents an edict in destiny. Let us then teach patience in trials" (I, i, 156-158). Shakespeare uses this quote in A Midsummer Night's Dream as a tool to show that when two people truly love each other, no trial or misunderstanding can ever stop them from being together. Works Cited Shakespeare, William. A Midsummer Night's Dream. Clayton, DE: Prestwick House, 2003. Print. Side by side.Slights, Camille Wells. "The Changes and Possibilities of Mortal Life in A Midsummer Night's Dream." Shakespeare's Comic Commonwealths. Toronto: University of Toronto P, 1993. 103-124. Rpt. in Shakespearean criticism. Ed. Lawrence J.Trudeau. vol. 152. Detroit: Gale, 2014. Literature Resource Center. Network. March 12. 2014.