Under Milk Wood: A Play for Voices: Analysis of Major Characters
"Under Milk Wood: A Play for Voices" is a unique theatrical work that presents a day in the life of a small Welsh fishing village, capturing the essence and intricacies of its inhabitants through a series of poetic monologues and dialogues. The play showcases a rich tapestry of characters, each revealing their desires, regrets, and relationships within the community.
Key figures include Reverend Eli Jenkins, who embodies the town's spirit through his prayers and poetry, celebrating its beauty amidst the surrounding landscape. Captain Cat, a blind retired sea captain, reminisces about his past adventures and lost loves, particularly Rosie Probert, a figure of innocence from his dreams. The narrative also delves into the life of Polly Garter, a washerwoman caught in local gossip yet devoted to her lost love, along with Mog Edwards, a draper whose courtship with Myfanwy Price remains constrained to letters due to their contrasting values.
Other memorable residents include Mrs. Ogmore-Pritchard, who whimsically interacts with the ghosts of her deceased husbands, and Mr. Waldo, a quirky character haunted by his past. Cherry Owen offers a glimpse into the humorous side of life in Milk Wood, while Gossamer Beynon, the young schoolmistress, navigates her own passionate fantasies. Mr. Pugh grapples with darker thoughts, contemplating poison for his difficult marriage, while Nogood Boyo and Dai Bread illustrate the town's more playful and complex relationships. Collectively, these characters create a vivid portrait of everyday life, love, and aspiration in a tight-knit community.
Under Milk Wood: A Play for Voices: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Dylan Thomas
First published: 1954
Genre: Play
Locale: Llaregyb, also called Llareggub, a mythical seaside village in Wales
Plot: Domestic realism
Time: Indeterminate
The Reverend Eli Jenkins, the town's minister, whose love for the fishing village of Milk Wood is expressed by his prayers and poetry as well as his life's hobby, writing a book about every aspect of the town. His poems articulate what he loves in the little town—its humble beauties in the midst of the grandeur of Welsh landscapes that surround it. His prayers remind God that “We are not wholly bad or good/ Who live our lives under Milk Wood,” a theme the play seems to endorse. The play, presented as a day in the life of the town, is somewhat formless but is given some structure by Jenkins' speeches, which begin and end the town's day.
Captain Cat, a retired sea captain, now blind, who spends his days dreaming in his room at Schooner House. He is the most important of several old people who seem to watch over the town. He dreams of his travels on the seas and of the young men who sailed with him, some of whom apparently drowned at sea. Most of all, he dreams of long-dead Rosie Probert, a prostitute who was loved by Captain Cat (and many other seafarers) and who speaks to him in his dreams. Her speeches suggest her essential innocence.
Polly Garter, the town washerwoman and the subject of much local gossip. Her fatherless babies appear yearly, to the horrified interest of more respectable women. Polly is alluring and very accessible to men. Her monologues make clear, however, that although many men have loved her, she herself has loved only Little Willy Wee, who died long ago.
Mog Edwards, who is described as “a draper mad with love.” He keeps a dry goods store and courts Myfanwy Price. Their courtship is carried out through letters. Mog's contain equal parts of local gossip, dry goods news, and love talk. His love for money and her fondness for her tidy life mean that their love will never go beyond letters.
Mrs. Ogmore-Pritchard, who is twice widowed and keeps a house for paying guests. She spends her days in a whirlwind of vacuuming and polishing, carrying on a conversation with the ghosts of both of her dead husbands. She ruled their lives with the same methodical ruthlessness with which she attacks dust in her home. In the morning, she makes the hapless ghosts recite a litany of their daily tasks, which include drinking herb tea and removing fleas from the family Pekingese.
Mr. Waldo, who is one of Milk Wood's many eccentrics. His occupations include rabbit catcher, barber, herbalist, cat doctor, and “quack.” He lives alone, haunted by dreams of his several dead wives, his dominating mother, and favorite foods of his childhood.
Cherry Owen, a newly wed man who shares the local weakness of having too much to drink at the local pub, the Sailor's Arm. His wife is forgiving, however, and they spend mornings in their one-room apartment laughing at his drunken antics of the night before.
Gossamer Beynon, the town's beautiful young schoolmis-tress. Her schoolteacher's demure propriety is belied by her own sexuality and her secret passion for the rough Sinbad Sailor, who dominates her passionate fantasies. She imagines a variety of intimate encounters with him but is unaware that he loves her; he thinks that she is too proud for him to approach her.
Mr. Pugh, who is miserably married and is a would-be poisoner. Like many of Milk Wood's citizens, Mr. Pugh finds his fantasies more powerful than his actual life. He spends his days imagining himself in a laboratory, mixing poisons with which he would like to murder his ill-tempered wife.
Nogood Boyo, Milk Wood's delinquent. He spends his days fishing in the bay and fantasizing about the town's women.
Dai Bread, the town's baker, who divides his time between his two wives. Mrs. Dai Bread One is a figure of blowsy respectability, and Mrs. Dai Bread Two is a gypsy, alluring in her bangles and dirty yellow petticoat. They vie for the attention Dai divides between them.