Under Milk Wood
How does the writer involve us in his imaginative journey?Dylan Thomas, the writer of the play Under Milk Wood, takes his reader on an imaginative journey through a town at nighttime. From this journey, the reader is able to speculate and visualize the town in their minds, and experiences the lives of the town's people. Thomas uses many language techniques to create a metaphorical and powerful description, as well as to engage the reader. The play starts by informing the reader that it is a 'moonless night in the small town', so the image is locked into the reader's mind straightaway. Thomas then uses a repetition of black: 'bible-black', 'sloeblack', 'black, 'crowblack', which reinforces and emphasizes the theme of nighttime in the play. The repetition of 'it is night' also reminds the reader of nighttime. Thomas uses portmanteau words, such as 'fishingboat-bobbing sea', as an attempt to create a more vivid description. The second stanza begins with the word 'hush', which addresses and engages the reader. Thoma
The third stanza also starts by addressing the reader with 'you can hear'. s then introduces the town's people to the reader, which are packed together in one long sentence. Thomas uses soft affectionate words in his description: 'young girls lie bedded soft or glide in their dreams', which illustrates a sense of warmth and loving feeling. There is a strong emphasis put on religious imagery as well in the fourth stanza, with the words 'chapel', 'hymning' and 'hallelujah', which highlights the importance of religion in the town. Thomas is persistently trying to get his reader's attention by addressing them with the words 'listen', 'look', and 'you'. The writer also plays on words, such as 'bucking ranches', which adds a sense of humour to the play. Thomas presents an image of a very ordered and structured town: 'the horses sleep in the fields, and the cow in the byres, and the dogs in the wetnosed yards'. In the fourth stanza, there is a continuous use of simile, such as 'quiet as a domino' and 'coughing like nannygoats'. By combining the above techniques, the reader is able to easily visualize the town in his or her mind, and even travel subconsciously into the dreams of the town's people. The reader is constantly reminded that the whole town is asleep with the repetition of 'sleeping'. This creates an image of the variety of people who make up the population of the town. In conclusion, the writer Dylan Thomas takes his reader on an imaginative journey through a town called Milk Wood at night, and enables he or she to speculate and experience the lives of the people who are sleeping in the town. The last sentence 'from where you are, you can hear their dreams' take the reader further on an imaginative journey into the people's colourful dreams. This adds a sense of liveliness to the town, which in turn makes the imaginative journey more adventurous. He engages his reader on the journey by enlightening his play with metaphorical descriptions, and language techniques such as simile, repetition, imagery, portmanteau words, personification, and contrast.
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,
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Acceptance Essays
