Under Milk Wood

As the night comes to an end, First Voice and Second Voice begin to talk over one another. First Voice invites the audience to watch over the town from a nearby hill. The Voice of a Guide-Book describes the reality of the small town and its declining local economy but insists that Llareggub retains a “picturesque sense of the past” (19). Llareggub represents a way of life that is being lost. Dawn begins to break. The people of Llareggub begin to wake up as Captain Cat tolls the “get-out-of-bed bell” (20).

As morning arrives, the townspeople settle into their routines. Reverend Eli Jenkins wakes and throws open his doors, issuing his sermon to the town. He praises life in the small community and talks glowingly of Llareggub. While other towns may be richer or “lovelier,” he claims he could “never, never” bring himself to leave his hometown. The Beynons’ maid, Lily Smalls, looks at herself in her mirror and reflects on her life, refusing to reveal her lover’s name. Mrs. Beynon calls her away to make tea.

Mrs. Pugh is a notorious complainer. She moans about her cup of tea and her neighbors, wondering whether Polly Garter could be arrested for being a single mother. Her husband, Mr. Pugh, has secret thoughts about slipping poison into his wife’s tea. He has never told her how much he dislikes her. Mrs. Pugh complains about the sight of Lily washing the steps of her house and hopes that Police Constable Attila Rees will arrest Polly “for having babies” (23). Dai Bread is the local baker. He has two wives, known as Mrs. Dai Bread One and Mrs. Dai Bread Two. Mrs. Dai Bread One fits the traditional stereotype of a Welsh woman, while Mrs. Dai Bread Two is regarded as dark and mysterious. The two wives are friendly with one another. Dai complains to his wives that his breakfast is not ready. As the townspeople identify themselves, Polly nurses her baby while sitting in her garden. She fears that her only talent is having babies. In her mind, her baby is displeased by her. She believes that the baby still loves her, however.

Mr. and Mrs. Cherry Owen eat “last night’s supper” (26). They laugh together, amused at the drunken state in which Mr. Owen stumbled around the previous night. He threw a bowl of sago at the wall and danced on the tables. Only when he began to cry like a child was Mrs. Owen able to take him back to bed. They “laugh delightedly together” (27). Mr. Beynon jokes with his wife about the idea of selling cat or dog meat, or even eating such meats in their own home. Mrs. Beynon is concerned that her husband is serious and could find himself on the wrong side of the law, even though her maid Lily insists that Mr. Beynon is “the biggest liar in town” (28). A man named Nogood Boyo lies in a boat and looks up at the sky, declaring that he doesn’t know “who’s up there” (29). He doesn’t care, either.

The children of Llareggub run to school. Behind them, Captain Cat makes his way to the town pub. As he stands outside the pub, the footsteps echo through the streets around him. First Voice and Second Voice allow Captain Cat to take over the narration as he listens to Willy Nilly deliver the mail. Mrs. Ogmore-Pritchard refuses to take in a lodger, while Mr. Pugh receives a book in the mail. Willy Nilly takes a letter from Myfanwy Price and delivers it to Mog Edwards, who has his own letter to take to Myfanwy. Mog and Myfanwy are deeply in love, but they never meet. Their relationship exists only in dreams and on paper. Mr. Waldo tries to hide in the pub from “another paternity summons” (32).

At the water pump, the women of Llareggub exchange gossip. Their chatter interrupts and overlaps. Captain Cat notes that they stop when Polly approaches. He thinks about her scrubbing “the floors of the Welfare Hall for the Mothers’ Union Social Dance” (34), which will be held in the evening. Polly has had a number of children without marrying the children’s respective fathers, so the people of Llareggub shun her.

Willy Nilly and his wife use steam to open people’s private letters, updating themselves on the local gossip. In Mog’s letter, he declares his love for Myfanwy. In their garden, Mrs. Dai Bread Two invites Mrs. Dai Bread One to look into a crystal ball. Mrs. Dai Bread Two claims to be able to see the future. In the crystal ball, she says, she can see their husband in bed with two women. He wraps “his little arms” around one of the women (40), she explains, but she cannot discern which of the women he has embraced. Polly scrubs the steps of Welfare Hall. She sings to herself, remembering her long-lost lovers. She sings about Tom, Dick, and Harry, but mourns the loss of “the one [she] loved best” (41), Willy Weazel. Willy truly loved Polly, but he drowned at a young age, which broke her heart.