Introduction
Dylan Thomas is a unique personality in the modern history of post-war radio and, thanks to the play of his, poetry.
The play to be discussed in this essay is titled “Under Milk Wood”. Originally it was written as a play for radio, but later adapted for the stage, and in 1972 was adapted for the filmmaking.
Main body
The first glimpses into interesting and charming world of the Llareggub were made by the author in his early years, in his surrealistic work titled “The Orchards”. It is the first time, when the reader comes across the town with the strange name Llareggub. But dont be confused with that, just read it backwards(bugger all) and everything takes its own place.
The play “ Under Milk Wood” has a subtitle-“A Play for Radio”, that is possessing some inner meaning. And this inner meaning is its creation originally for the listening. The author used many way approach to get it listened interestedly.
But lets come closer to the village in which eccentricity is treated with tolerance, every sin is forgiven and love is nourished or at least is dreamt of.
Along with the personalities of the play, the town itself has its own personality divided along psychological Freudian line. It is no mere chance that the play has psychological aspect. One of the interesting structural points of the play is that narration in the play is being led by two voices: one presenting the listener with the real day life activities of the character and the second voice whispering the innermost thoughts and dreams of the character, presenting subconscious world of the character, his or her often intimate thoughts or old memoirs.
The names of the characters and, whats the more of it, of the town are mostly meaningful and speak to themselves: Captain Cat, an old see captain, Mr. & Mrs. Floyd, an elderly couple; Evans the Death, the undertaker; Nogood Boyo; Dai Bread; Organ Morgan or for instance Mr. Waldo, a rabbitcatcher. And each of them dreams his or her the deepest sometimes intimate and sometimes deviated.
In his play Dylan Thomas, in descriptive parts, uses many letter repetitions to make the language more poetic, hissing sounds to describe every small feature of the moment, every trait. The intonations the voices speak are out of query, to appeal the ear of the most sophisticated listener. The characters speak yawning, bleating, whispering, murmuring, sometimes drawing out the word. The doors in the play crack open, the bells softly note. The language the author uses in the poetry is somehow singing and meditative.
The prominence of the play is singled out by the fact that many well-known personalities such as George Martin, Anthony Hopkins, Elton John took part in performing, producing and writing the music for the play.
Conclusion
But is the love or sin, or some sexual dreams of the characters are the main themes of the play? As the time of the creation of the play coincides with the post-war period, there is definitely inside meaning of the whole text. But it does not imply the allegories or symbols. As the author himself reported once, after the publishing of the play, it was created as a demonstrative response to Hiroshima atomic bombing, as the way to find the beauty in the world.
Bibliography
Thomas, Dylan. Under Milk Wood. 1945.