In Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, the characters Hermia and Lysander face a difficult situation when they decide to get married and are consequently forbidden by their father Hermia, who instead wishes her to marry another young man, Demetrius. Hermia and Lysander were forced to plead her case before both her father and the Duke of Athens, Theseus. But Theseus' only words to Hermia are those telling her that she should be obedient to her father. His requests are essentially ignored. While it's a shame that her thoughts aren't rethought, the audience is usually quick to judge Hermia's father as a tradition-bound old man, intent on ruining his daughter's happiness. Indeed, it should be important to note that the unfortunate circumstances of the two lovers are an aspect of the driving force of the work. It reveals so much about the nature of love, especially in someone's younger years. Although we as an audience can identify with and root for the two, and by the end of the show are satisfied with their happy union, it is important to question the actual intelligence of entering into a marriage, purely for the sake of brilliant love, stubborn and idealistic given the context of their situation. It seems unlikely that they actually know what they're getting themselves into. Surely if someone were to decide to marry their first love, they should do so with caution if they want the relationship to last. A relationship requires commitment and determination, especially when the two are so young. First love, in particular, requires a special kind of determination to succeed. There is no doubt that entering into a relationship, and especially a serious relationship like Hermia and... middle of paper... the future, we readers can only hope for the best. Works Cited in the Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece: Wilson, NG "Demography." Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece. New York: Routledge, 2006. 214. Print. A Midsummer Night's Dream: Shakespeare, William, Gail Kern Paster, and Skiles Howard. “Act 1, scene 1.” A Midsummer Night's Dream: Texts and Contexts. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 1999. Print.Romeo and Juliet: Shakespeare, William. Romeo and Juliet. Ware:worth Classics, 1992. Print.NCHS: Copen, Casey E., Ph.D, Kimberly Daniels, Ph.D, Jonathan Vespa, Ph.D, and William D. Mosher, Ph.D. First Marriages in the United States : data from the national survey on family growth 2006-2010. Rep. n. 49. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics, 2012. Print.Infoplease: “Median Age at First Marriage: 1890 to 2010.” Information, please. Infoplease, 2009. Web. 5 April. 2014.