William Shakespeare is considered one of the most influential playwrights of all time. Shakespeare wrote 37 plays, one of which is considered people's favorite play, the comedy “A Midsummer Night's Dream”. A Midsummer Night's Dream is believed to have been written between 1590 and 1596. "A Midsummer Night's Dream" is set in Athens in ancient Greece and is a light and magical play. The play begins with the Duke of Athens, Theseus and Hippolyta preparing for their nuptials. Aegeus requests the intervention of Theseus and brings Lysander, Demetrius and Hermia to Theseus in Act I, scene 1 to "beg the ancient privilege of Athens" because Aegeus's daughter, Hermia, will not accept his choice of Demetrius as husband, a young man from a noble Athenian family. Hermia is not in love with Demetrius, but loves another man from a noble Athenian family named Lysander. Aegeus disapproves of Hermia's choice of Lysander and appeals to Theseus to force Hermia to marry Demetrius. Egeus asks Theseus to enforce Athenian law, which would send Hermia to her death for not following her father's wishes. Theseus chooses to let Hermia choose her destiny: she can die, marry Demetrius or become a nun. Hermia replies that she would rather become a nun than marry Demetrius. Theseus gives him four days to think about his decision. This is where the law towards true love comes into play, the character of Egeus exemplifies the law theme of the play. Aegeus refuses to listen to his daughter and demands that she marry Demetrius or die. Hermia embodies opposition to the law and the wishes of her father; it is here that the character of Hermia illustrates the theme of true love. She is a strong-willed young woman, in love with Lysander and who decides that she is... middle of paper... Sander, her true love. In the end, true love trumps the law. Works Cited Chamberlain, Stephanie. "The Law of the Father: The Patriarchal Economy in a Midsummer Night's Dream." Journal of the Wooden O Symposium 11. (2011): 28-40. Academic research completed. Internet. November 24, 2013. “Literature: reading fiction, poetry, theater and essays. » DiYanni, Robert. 6th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1393-1453. Print.Montros, Louis Adrian. ““Shaping Fantasies”: Figurations of Gender and Power in Elizabethan Culture.” Representations, No. 2 (1983): 61-94. Print."Preview: A Midsummer Night's Dream." Literature and its times: profiles of 300 notable literary works and the historical events that influenced them. Joyce Moss and George Wilson. Flight. 1: From Antiquity to the American and French Revolutions (Prehistory-1790s). Detroit: Gale, 1997. Information Resource Center. Internet. November 6. 2013.