Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream is a play of love that reflects the sharp conflict between humanism and feudalism in the sixteenth century English society, which finds expression in the dispute between Hermia and her father Egeus on her marriage and Hermia's bold rebellion against the feudalistic parental tyranny. The final success of the lovers in their struggle for the freedom to decide their marriage not only embodies Shakespeare's humanist ideal but also reflects his firm belief that humanism would inevitably triumph over feudalism.
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