Read the passage. excerpt from act i, scene 1, in a midsummer night's dream by william shakespeare lysander ay me! for aught that i could ever read, could ever hear by tale or history, the course of true love never did run smooth. what does lysander mean by "the course of true love never did run smooth"? true lovers always have to overcome problems to be together. if you truly love me, you wouldn’t be upset now. other people’s problems are much worse than ours. your father is testing us to see if we really love each other.