Under Milk Wood: A Play for Voices

By Amy Elizabeth Smith

A moving and hilarious account of a spring day in a small Welsh coastal town, Under Milk Wood is "lyrical, impassioned and funny, an Our Town given universality" ( The New Statesman and Nation ).

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0811202097
• ISBN13: 9780811202091
• Release Date: January 1954
• Publisher: New Directions Publishing Corporation
• Length: 106 Pages
• Weight: 0.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.2" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

"It's another paternity summons, Mr. Waldo."

Written as a "play for voices" for the BBC, this work was originally performed in 1954, with Richard Burton as the First Voice, connecting all thirty-three characters--men, women, and small children. Depicting one full day in the life of Llareggub, a small town in Wales, Thomas shows its motley residents as they awaken, perform their daily tasks, socialize and gossip, and daydream about the past that might have been and the...

"Time passes. Listen. Time passes."

Written as a "play for voices" for the BBC, this work was originally performed in 1954, with Richard Burton as the First Voice, connecting all thirty-three characters--men, women, and small children. Depicting one full day in the life of a small town in Wales, Thomas shows its motley residents as they awaken, perform their daily tasks, socialize and gossip, and daydream about the past that might have been and the future that...

What a moon in that sunny seafaring field!

One full day, from night to night, in a Welsh village, town and harbour. All Dylan Thomas's art is there everywhere everpresent in those few odd but packed pages. Unforgettable oxymorons : « night's first darkening snow ». Unforseeable metaphors : « his dream buckets down ». Unpredictable similes : « her ears fall off like figs ». A permanent joy, even in the most squalid situations : « and quick as a flash he [Mr Pugh] ducks...

A Moving Experience. . . .

I first heard this recording over 30 years ago while an undergraduate student. I was stunned. It is the full theatrical experience on tape -- Dylan Thomas wrote the play for voices alone, and this recording was made with the actors simply sitting on folding chairs while delivering the lines. You can note some similarities with both Spoon River Anthology and Our Town, but Under Milk Wood contains more humor and really a...

A little piece of poetic history.

On November 7th, Dylan Thomas collapsed in his hotel room. On the 9th, he died. This was only a few days after the final performance of "Under Milk Wood", a special play with no acting but voices, the sort of work Thomas believed would replace the poetic impulse he feared had dried up. Although believed by many to be unfinished, "Under Milk Wood" seems perfect as it is. A journey through the events of a single day in a...