[In Kott's view , A Midsummer Night's Dream is the most erotic of Shakespeare's plays. Rejecting the traditional interpretation of the playas a romantic love comedy, Kott focuses on the undercurrents of sexual violence and bestiality, which in many ways determine the protagonists' actions. Kott identifies the female characters as the principal victims of sadistic sexual behavior, noting their masochistic tolerance of their lovers' cruelty. The confused lovers in A Midsummer Night's Dream, with their brusque shifts from one object of affection to another, resemble exchangeable puppets. According to the critic, the protagonists are not depicted as individuals in Shakespeare's play; rather, they are merely objects defined by their desires. What seemed to be a night of love, Kott concludes, was really a nightmare for the protagonists. "But that night, " he adds, "liberated them from themselves. They were their real selves in their dreams. "]

The Dream is the...