Essay: Under Milk Wood Essay

Under Milk Wood Essay

Write an essay which you explore the influence of Dylan Thomas’ context in shaping his testament of three significant themes in Under Milk Wood.

Dylan Thomas’ Under Milk Wood is a radio play which entices its readers to celebrate the ordinariness of life in the fishing village of Llareggub through a voyeuristic journey over a period of twenty-four hours. Thomas utilises the fictional town of Llareggub, which resonates with his home town of Laugharne, to explore the thematic concerns of the inexorability of the passage of time as he searches for the possibility of innocence in a world shadowed by the Second World War. Thomas also pays tribute to Sigmund Freud as he dwells into the secret yearnings of human beings in their dreams, which are starkly contrasted to their appearance in reality. Furthermore, he humorously satirises materialistic love and dysfunctional relationships.

The very structure of Under Milk Wood revolves around a twenty-four hour period from a “spring, moonless night” to “the thin darkness”, underpinning a feeling of ordinariness in the small Welsh village Llareggub. This aura of ordinariness can be related back to Thomas’ desire to find a place devoid of his horrific experiences in the Second World War which displayed man’s inhumanity against man, particularly during Germany’s Blitz (Lightning war) campaign over Britain from 1940 to 1941. It was this incident, coupled with the fact that his birth town of Swansea was utterly destroyed during its third raid which deeply sickened Thomas. To achieve this timelessness and peace, Thomas utilises the First Voice in conjunction with the ‘second person’ to invite the reader to “come closer now” as “only you can…listen” as “time passes” through short, commanding statements. By enticing the reader, Thomas puts them through a journey to search for a town, as said by the Voice of a Guidebook, that has “a picturesque sense of the past” and hence, the possibility of innocence in a world in conflict. This sense of peace is highlighted by the unique qualities of the town as described by the commentary on how “the hands of the clock have stayed still at half past eleven for fifty years”. Thomas gives the town a sense of timelessness which reverberates with his home of Laugharne, accentuating the idea of the war having bypassed the peaceful town.

The significance of time as a major theme in Under Milk Wood is embodied in the character, Lord Cut Glass, who is seen as having an ostensible obsession with time. Thomas portrays the inevitable march of time as Lord Cut Glass is seen as living in “a house and a life at siege”, yet. His eccentric character, as seen in Thomas’ use of erratic sentence patterning reinforced with exclamatory sentences in “-mind there-Rover!” emphasises the ironic nature of Glass’ behaviour as he is driven by time in a place where there is effectively ‘no time’. The constant progression of time as a major theme in Under Milk Wood is also apparent as it is said to death to all “creatures born to de”. This rather cynical view proposed by the Reverend Eli Jenkins highlights the ever-present presence of God’s ‘kind’ judgement as Jenkins prays to “let us see another day!”. Through the sense of timelessness, symbolisation of time in Lord Cut Glass and the march of time to death, Thomas has made the notion of time a major thematic concern in Under Milk Wood.

Another theme worthy of note in Under Milk Wood is that of dreams in contrast with reality, which Thomas utilises to make fun of the materialistic aspects of love. As mentioned before, Thomas compels the reader to follow the dreams of the various characters throughout the radio play from the beginning. Myfanwy Price’s rather humorous, erotic dreams are satirised by Thomas as she confesses how she is a “draper mad with love” to Mog Edwards. In evocative imagery and gross hyperbole, Mog Edwards is seen as a businessman who is more concerned with his “calico, candlewick, dimity, crash and merino” of his “emporium on the hill”. Furthermore, irony is created as Myfanwy Price’s apparent love is overshadowed by Mog Edwards’ desire for materialistic goods, which she seems unaware of. Thomas also amuses the audience by conjuring an atmosphere of sensuality by his euphonious repetition of “yes, Mog, yes, Mog, yes, yes, yes”. This sexual allusion is starkly juxtaposed further on in the radio play as Mog embraces and entrepreneurial tone by advertising Myfanwy to “shop at Mog’s!!!”. Thomas’ satirisation of the materialism associated with love in Myfanwy Price’s dream accentuates the importance of dreams as a major theme in Under Milk Wood.

In contrast to the materialistic ‘love’ between Myfanwy Price and Mog Edwards, Thomas relishes the opportunity to exaggerate the acidic, distasteful relationship between Mr. and Mrs. Pugh. This dysfunctional marriage is emphasised by Mr. Pugh’s constant muttering of “here’s your arsenic dear. And your weed killer biscuit”, which is juxtaposed by his sarcastic nature in “…nice tea, dear”. The extent of Mr. Pugh’s hate generates humour and is all the more prevalent with Mrs. Pugh’s analogy of Mr. Push as a “pig” and Mr. Push’s longing for Mrs. Pugh’s “ears [to] fall off like figs, her toes to grow big and black as balloons”. Thomas’ extensive use of evocative language, vivid imagery and simile all coincide to poke fun at dysfunctional marriages, alluding to the themes of relationships ever so prevalent in Under Milk Wood.

Accordingly, Thomas’ Under Milk Wood revolves around Thomas’ wish to find the possibility of innocence in a town that is away from the ravages of the Second World War and has a “picturesque sense of the past so frequently lacking in towns that have kept more abreast in time”. Additionally, his rather humorous take on the materialism of love in Myfanwy Price’s dream of Mog Edwards and the dysfunctional nature of Mr. and Mrs. Pugh’s relationship all serve to create the main thematic concerns in the radio play.